Brambles buys air cargo equipment provider

Brambles buys air cargo equipment provider    Brambles, a cargo equipment pooling services company, has acquired JMI Aerospace, further strengthening its aviation service following the acquisition of Unitpool in August 2010.
   JMI specializes in the maintenance and repair of galley-carts and unit-load devices (ULDs) — the containers that airlines use to transport cargo, baggage and mail. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, JMI has service centers in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It specializes in maintenance, engineering and information technology services, with expertise in asset tracking across airline networks. Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia and Jetstar are JMI's customers.
   The acquisition is expected to further benefit Unitpool.
   'Since our acquisition by Brambles, Unitpool's growth plans have progressed well,' said David Harman, chief executive of the independently operated company.
   Unitpool has since deployed more lightweight and fuel-efficient ULDs, improved ground controls, supported growth of existing customers and added new carriers to its network. 'The addition of JMI to the group will allow us to optimize our repair costs and controls and offer a more complete solution for the management, tracking and repair of ULDs and other non-flight critical aircraft equipment,' Harman added.
   Harman said over the next 12 months the JMI acquisition will assist Unitpool's continue to expand its network and asset base, and new carriers to the equipment pool. Since its acquisition by Brambles, Unitpool has increased its ULD fleet from 30,000 to 42,000 units.
   In November 2010, Canada's Air Transat signed a five-year extension with Unitpool to include the transition of contracted conventional aluminum LD3 containers to lightweight containers made from composite materials that will provide substantial fuel cost savings over the life of the contract, the company said.
   The most recent addition to the pool, Scandinavia's SAS, transferred its ULD operations to Unitpool in July 2011. Other contract wins for Unitpool during 2011 include Bahrain's Gulf Air, National Air Cargo of the USA and France's Corsair. The signing of Corsair completes the portfolio of TUI group airlines to contract Unitpool.