Climate technology leader, Pledge has secured USD10 million in Series A funding to drive its mission to help businesses reach net zero emissions, starting with the logistics and supply chain industry. Pledge provides accredited tools for supply chain leaders and freight forwarders to understand, report, reduce, and remove their logistics emissions. Its platform is built with accessibility, transparency, and simplicity at its core. “We started Pledge with the belief that technology can be a powerful lever in the fight against climate change,” said David de Picciotto, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pledge. “This funding round enables us to continue building best-in-class products to help accelerate businesses’ transition to net zero and remove gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere.” Increasing regulatory pressures from new climate directives, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Fit for 55 in Europe, mean supply chain and logistics leaders need to address their emissions and make significant, long-term reductions. Pledge is accredited by the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) for its adherence to the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework, the only globally recognised methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the logistics supply chain, which has formed the basis of the recently published ISO 14083 standard. Pledge includes unique features such as Clarity™ and Accuracy™, which guide users through every step of the emissions calculation process, ensuring calculations are auditable and customers are confident in fulfilling their reporting requirements.

As part of STARGATE project, Athens International Airport (AIA) will be implementing Nallian’s Cargo Cloud, aiming to facilitate growth in a synergetic manner through optimization of the Airport’s cargo area physical infrastructure. The application to be initially used is Truck Visit Management, which coordinates freight pick ups and drop offs between cargo handlers, freight forwarders and trucking companies. It will involve key players in the air cargo activity for the first phase of the project scheduled for a period of 12 months, effective July 2023. The solution consists of a digital front desk and slot booking system which enables cargo stakeholders to make landside dock capacity available for slot booking and maximize usage while facilitating resource planning and eliminating wait times at the gates. STARGATE (SusTainable AiRports, the Green heArT of Europe), is an EU project focused on the development of innovative solutions to create the green airports and aviation of the future,

Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO of Kenya’s Astral Aviation said the company is planning to set up three more cargo subsidiaries following its new JV Suid Cargo Airlines in South Africa and new AOC ventures in the Middle East, Europe, and Australia. The company also has plans to divest 70 per cent stake in Astral to raise money. He further informed that he is planning to retain at least 51 per cent of Astral Aviation to comply with Kenyan ownership requirements, with unnamed strategic investors taking a 40-45 per cent shareholding. Gadhia also said Astral is keen to take a stake in new Indian cargo carrier, Pradhaan Air Express, which he helped launch last year by providing it with the world’s first A320-200(P2F). A second A320P2F would join the start-up’s fleet this year. Gadhia was also evaluating A321 and A330-300(P2F)s for the new carrier.

Transguard, part of the Emirates Group, signed an exclusive deal with the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), the autonomous, apex body of the industry with more than 9,000 members, to provide end-to-end logistics support – from round-the-clock transportation and door-to-door services to vault management and the safe storage of diamonds and jewellery. “The division routinely and securely transports billions of dollars’ worth of gems, jewellery, cash and other valuables in a year,” says an official release. “India’s gems and jewellery exports to the UAE have surged in the past year, thanks to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, and there’s no one better to protect these precious and priceless items than Transguard.” GJEPC has set up its first international office, the India Jewellery Exposition (IJEX) centre, in the historic Dubai Gold Souk in Deira, the release added. “Here, its members will use the space to exhibit and showcase the rarest and finest gems and jewels India has to offer. Transguard will ensure unparalleled logistics and management, including the safe check-in and check-out process of gems and jewellery.” As part of the agreement, Transguard will fully insure all exhibitors’ products stored in the vault, the release added. The team is expected to handle diamonds, jewellery and gems worth around AED 100 million ($27 million) this year. India’s gems and jewellery exports to the UAE increased 16 percent to $5.77 billion in 2022-23.

An MoU has been signed by United Kingdom-based SRAM & MRAM Group and SpiceXpress for an investment deal according to which SRAM & MRAM Group will invest $100 million in SpiceXpress. SpiceXpress was hived off by SpiceJet into a separate entity effective April 1, 2023 paving the way for the company to raise funds independently, says an official release. “SpiceXpress is delighted to enter into a MoU with SRAM & MRAM Group for a $100 million investment into the company, ” says Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet. “We had recently hived off SpiceXpress into a separate company as we were extremely confident and bullish about the potential of our tech-enabled logistics business and this MoU reaffirms our belief. This investment should help SpiceXpress to further grow and expand and provide a more streamlined and efficient service to its customers.” Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani, Chairman, SRAM & MRAM Group adds: “We are pleased to join hands with SpiceXpress in its promising future and growth story. We see excellent growth opportunities in the logistics and cargo space in India. We are confident that SpiceXpress will contribute to India’s growth story. In a short time since its inception, the company has shown exceptional growth in the nascent air cargo market and we see a tremendous potential for the Company in India’s fast growing cargo and logistics market.” The MoU with SRAM & MRAM Group follows a restructuring agreement with aircraft lessor Carlyle Aviation Partner wherein the latter will pick up a stake in SpiceXpress at an anticipated future valuation of $1.5 billion (Rs 12,422 crore). https://www.stattimes.com/air-cargo/uks-sram-mram-group-to-invest-100-million-in-spicexpress-1348704

Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) has successfully concluded the initial close of its second Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), WOLP Fund 2, raising an impressive INR 500 crores from domestic high net worth and family office investors within a short span of eight weeks. The speed of the raise underscores the strong investor confidence in both, the Welspun One platform and the prospects of the warehousing and industrial sector in India. WOLP Fund 2 was launched in March 2023 and aims to raise a corpus of INR 2,000 Crore, including a green shoe option of INR 1,000 Crore. Along with project level debt, this is expected to give the fund enough dry powder to invest in projects which entail an outlay of over INR 6,000 crore. Fund 2 is the successor to WOLP Fund 1, introduced in early 2021, which has since been fully committed across a portfolio of 6 projects pan-India aggregating to 6.5 million square feet of grade A warehousing and industrial space. Fund 1 has also delivered an impressive track record with over 50% of the Fund 1 portfolio close to being leased and physically delivered within a short span of two years. Fund 2 will further add 10-12 million square feet of new projects to this footprint, taking Welspun One’s total portfolio to 16-18 million square feet over the next 4-5 years. Anshul Singhal, Managing Director, Welspun One Logistics Parks, said, “We are pleased to witness an exceptional investor response, as the first round of WOLP Fund 2 successfully closed at INR 500 Crore within a remarkable 8-week timeframe, which is a record of sorts in the alternative investments space. This achievement not only exemplifies the high …

As cargo-partner celebrates its 40th anniversary, founder Stefan Krauter has decided to sell the Austrian global logistics company to Nippon Express Holdings, which is also the parent company of Nippon Express, APC and Franco Vago. “Having started operations in 1983 with only five employees at Vienna Airport and having developed the company almost completely organically to now 4,000 employees in 40 countries around the globe, Stefan Krauter had already passed on the baton to his management and now has also passed over ownership to his ideal successor,” says an official release. cargo-partner’s turnover increased 14 percent to €2.06 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2022 compared to 2021 when it had increased 72 percent YoY to over €1.8 billion. “Leadership by agile founders bears some considerable advantages but from a certain stage on, highly professional and long-term stable ownership is the bigger asset,” says Krauter. “It is the founders’ challenge and responsibility to decide about both management and ownership succession at the right time. Not too early to be able to build a stable internal management succession but, for sure, also not too late. That is why, together with the corporate executive board, we started evaluating different options for the future of cargo-partner. “It would also have been a good option for the management and employees to continue going completely alone but since the ideal new strategic owner was found in NX Group, we were ultimately convinced that this was the right way to go forward. Following the integration policy we have seen from NX Group so far, cargo-partner will remain cargo-partner in regard to both organisation and branding – and it will become the strongest cargo-partner ever.” The deal was signed …

An agreement has been signed by DSV and Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) for a long-term European Gateway cargo handling contract for Liege Airport in Belgium. This latest agreement adds to a growing partnership between WFS, which was acquired by the SATS Group in April this year, and DSV. WFS also provides air logistics services for DSV in Amsterdam and at Huntsville International Airport in Alabama in the US. “Further network collaboration is under review”, WFS opined positively. WFS is resourcing and operating DSV’s hub facility in Liege, providing warehouse handling of cargo carried onboard the all-cargo charters and commercial freighter services that are operated by various airline partners of DSV. The DSV Liege Gateway consolidates and deconsolidates cargo for all European DSV businesses moving cargo along the company’s most frequently used trade lanes, including to/from Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Dubai and New York JFK. WFS operates 25,000 sq m of warehouse space, split over two facilities, and handles approximately 200,000 tonnes of cargo a year at Liege. WFS has direct airside access and also operates ramp services at Liege. Further development As well as handling general cargo, the hub will be developed for special cargo types, including pharmaceuticals and perishables, which WFS is already equipped to support.

The Samakhiyali Tollway, an SPV and Wholly-owned subsidiary of IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (IRB Infra) has executed the Concession Agreement with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for an upgradation of existing 4 lanes to 6 lanes of NH27 stretch of 90.90 Kms from Samakhiyali to Santalpur in the State of Gujarat on Build-Operate-Transfer (Toll) mode. Virendra D. Mhaiskar, Chairman & Managing Director said, “Executing the Concession Agreement is an important phase for any project that enables the developer to proceed to the next step, i.e., arranging finances for the project. We will excel ourselves to meet the expectations of our stakeholders on developing this project as one of the best world class quality and safety infrastructure with our rich in house domain expertise and experience in executing large projects” Key highlights of the Project are as Project length is 90.90 Km, Project Cost Total Project Cost – Rs. 2,132 Crores, Concession Period is 20 years from the Appointed Date including 2 years of construction period and the company endeavors to execute this Project through its Associate viz. IRB Infrastructure Trust.

EXZOD India will enter the Middle East and South East Asian markets as it expands into new geographies to cater to the ever-increasing market for pallets. At present, the company has four manufacturing units in Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana and Telangana. The units are equipped with state-of-the-art automatic pallet manufacturing machines. According to Nitin Kalla, founder & MD, EXZOD India, “Increase in trade across industries has led to demand for pallets worldwide and we have established our presence in India with our four plants. As we foray into overseas markets, we have decided to set up our presence in the Middle East and South East Asia.” He further added, “Dubai, Indonesia, and Vietnam are key hubs for generating business in the respective regions, and establishing a state-of-the-art manufacturing unit in these key hubs will allow us to be in proximity to our clients in the region.’’ The company also plans to expand its Annual Maintenance Contract services for pallets in these regions as this will enable logistics companies and manufacturers to focus on their business. The company’s expertise in the supply chain space allows it to provide customized solutions as per requirement. The company provides technology-embedded AMC Services which is the only organized player present in the industry. Exzod has seen the demand for pallets growing exponentially.