When food transportation is an art

Express Trailers recently launched its latest campaign promoting its service of food transportation and how this, just like the transport of other fragile and sensitive cargo such as personal effects, antiques, fine art and pharmaceutical products require

Express Trailers has been transporting food for many years. Today, it has a fleet of around 80 reefer trailers dedicated solely to the importation of food to Malta. With its food transport service operating over 60 weekly export and import departures, Express Trailers ensures timely deliveries and collections from all depots together with Customs clearances, NSO declarations, domestic deliveries and lifting services.

“We understand that food transportation is a very delicate business not only because of the time factor but also because this depends on transport in the right temperature conditions. In fact, our service proposition is built on three key features, namely the quality of our vehicles, our GPS tracking system and our adherence to international guidelines that help us provide a food transportation service of the highest level,” explains Franco Azzopardi, chair and CEO of Express Trailers.

“We service over 20 consolidated depots across Europe located in Spain, France, Italy, UK, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany among others. We work with established partners who, like us, maintain the strictest controls and have invested in the right equipment and temperature-controlled hubs,” Azzopardi added.

The handling of food, as with other perishables and fragile cargo does not only mean having the right equipment or complying with strict regulations.

“Handling food is far from a straightforward task. It requires insight that only logistics managers like us who are responsible for the smooth flow of goods, from order and storage to transport and distribution. Today, through our proven track record, we service the main food importers and distributors on the island with the transport of dry and refrigerated food, full or part load shipments as well as groupage services for both palletized or non-palletized cargoes,” he added.

Express Trailers’ reefer trailers are fully monitored, temperaturecontrolled and operated according to the EU’s strict Good Distribution Practice guidelines to meet all its customers’ requirements in terms of regulation, security, quality and handling of food transport.

“Being well-equipped allows you to be flexible enough to adapt to specific requirements. In fact, we also support those companies who require a groupage service. When handling food, time is the most crucial aspect and this is where our GPS tracking system comes in handy because this gives

Handling food is far from a straightforward task. It requires insight that only logistics managers like us who are responsible for the smooth flow of goods, from order and storage to transport and distribution Franco Azzopardi

us visibility of every trailer on its way to Malta. This enables us to provide clients with timed collections and deliveries especially when time is of utmost priority.”

Express Trailers’ investment in this sector goes beyond vehicles and equipment. Today, IT plays a very important role in shaping the way operators like Express Trailers manage the huge food deliveries and consignments.

“Our GPS system is constantly monitoring the temperature inside our reefer trailers and temperatures are measured every 15 minutes. In case of any sudden change in temperature, the person managing the delivery receives an instant notification to look into the matter and, through an automated system, make the necessary adjustments. Upon arrival and consignment, the client is given a log of all the temperature readings throughout the whole trip from pick-up to final delivery.

“All this would never be possible without the huge investment we have channelled into this GPS tracking system,” Azzopardi added.