Logistics

Skytraders boasts extensive commercial air transport experience, with the company’s original operations focused on the intercontinental airfreight market. Concentrating historically in the exportation of heavy freight throughout Asia and the Middle East, Skytraders achieved great success through consistent high-level performance, and the lobbying of governments to adopt policies encouraging the deregulation of the international air charter industry.

Skytraders pioneered the movement of live cattle from Australia and also developed highly innovative containers designed to preserve free chilled carcass beef, without the need for refrigeration, on long distance journeys between Australia and Japan. This container, known as the Skybox, has been deemed sufficiently important and technologically advanced to today be housed in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. By 1990, Skytraders was established as Australia’s largest shipper of export airfreight, whose personal achievements and contributions to the industry were acknowledged with its awarding by the Australian government of the Austrade Gold Medal.

The company has additionally worked closely and forged strong relationships with industry giant such as Qantas and DHL, involved primarily in the movement of larger numbers of racehorses between Sydney and Auckland. The programme addressed the need to move large numbers of racehorses at the same time as meeting the international express operators requirement to have a specialist aircraft scheduled to enable close of business pick up and next morning delivery on each side of the Tasman.

Whilst company operations have evolved from a purely logistical focus, Skytraders retains the critical capabilities and experience developed from three decades of work necessary to ensure the successful completion of any freight and logistics operation.

*Photo taken by Rob Finlayson