SAS Cargo separates Swedish air cargo handling terminals from parent company

SAS Cargo separates Swedish air cargo handling terminals from parent company The air cargo terminals in Stockholm-Arlanda and Göteborg-Landvetter have become an independent legal entity under the name Spirit. The new company is currently owned 100% by SAS Cargo Group but the objective is to seek other partners to join the company. "I see great advantages in separating Spirit from the other handling companies within SAS Cargo. We now have the ability to optimize our business and adjust it to the needs of our customers and the Swedish market," says Anders Skantz, Managing Director of Spirit. "We are now searching for partners with a common interest who can help us build up a high and stable cargo volume. This will help reduce unit costs, which will also benefit our customers. "The name Spirit has been chosen to stress one of the essential elements in being able to deliver a good product and a good service. Having the right spirit is important. Spirit is a new company but it has more than 40 years of experience in air cargo handling. We will use this experience to develop our business when we adjust it to fit the Swedish market," Anders Skantz continues. For some years the air cargo terminals in Sweden have experienced falling volumes and watched increasing truck traffic bring cargo from Sweden to the European mainland in order to fly it out of the major cities there. It will be one of Spirit's tasks to make it more attractive for forwarders to fly goods directly out of Sweden. Spirit and SAS Cargo Spirit has some 250 employees and handles approximately 140 000 tons of cargo annually. In total the two terminals have more than 15 000 square metres of production space. Each terminal is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified and has both cooling and freezing facilities. Furthermore, the well-equipped security system includes both x-ray machines and surveillance cameras. SAS Cargo Group is a partner in the air cargo terminals in Malmö, Sweden and in Riga, Latvia. SAS Cargo owns air cargo terminals in Norway, Denmark and USA. SAS Cargo Group A/S had a turnover in 2003 of 2 954 MSEK (325 MEUR) and has 1 250 employees in Scandinavia and 130 outside Scandinavia. For further information Managing Director Spirit, Anders Skantz: +46 8-797 3498 or infospirit@sas.se Head of Corporate Communications, SAS Cargo Group, Ulrik Marschall: +45 32326733 or sas.cargo@sas.dk Pictures available at: http://www.newsonline.nu/imgway/index.asp?pmid=46495 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/09/06/20040906BIT00070/wkr0001.pdf http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/09/06/20040906BIT00070/bild.html Pictures