According to industry estimates, healthcare cold-chain market is growing by 10 percent per year since companies producing blood plasma, insulin, vaccine or other biological pharmaceuticals need tailored services to transport their products around the world. It is essential that these products reach patients in as effective and safe condition as they left the production line.

Sweden-based Envirotainer is one such company that provides active temperature control for air transportation of temperature-sensitive healthcare products. The company provides containers for air cargo on a rent-it-when-you-need-it basis through its global network and related services that ensure correct temperature throughout transportation, from loading to delivery.

Envirotainer opened its first operation in Singapore recently and plans to be aggressive in the Asia market to make a foray into other countries of the region as well. During a visit to Singapore, Mr Gustaf Ljunggren, CEO and group president of Envirotainer, shared with BioSpectrum strategies on how the company plans to penetrate the Asia market and the challenges in providing special services.

How do you plan to strengthen your position in Asia with direct presence in Singapore?

We have had operations in Asia for sometime in certain areas, but till now we were not very serious about the region. Most of the business was coming from European or American markets, but now the Asian market is growing. There is big potential. We chose to have our operations in Singapore as there are a number of multinational companies who require our services. Besides, Singapore has a robust airline hub, which is a perfect match. The combination gives us reasons to start operations here. Asian businesses cannot be managed from sitting in the US or Europe as we need to understand the market, its requirements and the challenges, which can be managed only by operating from here.