e-floralink

e-floralink

FINDLAY TWP. — Pittsburgh International Airport officials have been working on several large-scale efforts to expand cargo operations, including preparing a 90-acre site for development of up to seven cargo warehouses and trying to broker a deal to establish a direct cargo route to China.

It could take years for those efforts to come to fruition.

But one smaller cargo development could get off the ground by the end of the year — and it could be a boon for local florists.

The startup Pilgrim Air Cargo Inc. plans to create a hub at Pittsburgh International, initially leasing two Boeing 747 jets to make several cargo flights a week to South America, said Doug Grossinger, the company’s executive vice president for corporate development.

FLOWER POWER

At the outset, the focal point of Pilgrim Air’s business would be transporting flowers from South America to Pittsburgh and then distributing them to various markets on refrigerated tractor-trailers.

Aside from flowers, Grossinger said the company will transport other perishables, medical supplies, automotive parts and other goods to Pittsburgh and other airports from elsewhere in Latin America, China, India and Eastern Europe.

“We’re very excited to be in Pittsburgh because it’s within a one-day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population and over 50 percent of the Canadian population,” Grossinger said of making Pittsburgh its hub city.

Grossinger said up to 50 percent of flowers sold in the United States are grown in Colombia, and 10 percent come from Ecuador. Almost all are flown to Miami, a major distribution center for the floral industry, and then flown or trucked around the country.

Before the lengthy truck deliveries even get on the road, though, it can take up to eight hours for a cargo plane to be cleared for landing and its flowers unloaded onto delivery trucks in Miami because of congestion there, Grossinger said.

The same process in Pittsburgh could be completed “within a few hours or less,” Grossinger said.

“It would extend the shelf life of flowers,” Grossinger said.

FLOWER CAPITAL?

Pat Macaleese, manager of Columbiana Floral in Columbiana, Ohio, a wholesaler that supplies many area florists, said it can take up to three days for South American flowers to get to his business via Miami.

“It’ll be interesting if it works out and they can bring in a large variety of flowers,” Macaleese said of Pilgrim Air.

At the same time, Macaleese said his business and other wholesalers have had long-standing business relationships with suppliers and haulers in Miami.

“It can be hard to change,” Macaleese said.

Bill Smith of Snyder’s Flowers in Beaver, which gets many of its flowers from Columbiana Floral, agreed that the prospect of direct shipping to Pittsburgh was intriguing.

“If you fly the flowers directly into Pittsburgh, it could save some time and mean fresher flowers. There’s nothing people want more than for their flowers to last longer,” Smith said.

Brad Penrod, executive director of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, thinks Pittsburgh International has all the ingredients to become a successful distribution center for the floral industry.

“Whether we become the flower capital of the country, well, that might be a stretch. But our feeling is the first one is always the toughest nut to crack. If it works out for Pilgrim Air, nothing breeds success like success. That could attract more companies,” Penrod said.

Tom Fontaine can be reached online at tfontaine@timesonline.com.

Source: Times Online

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Tags: e-floralink, Fresh Cut Flowers. Flower Industry, Floral Industry, Floral Logistics, Flower Logistics, Flower Growers, Flower Exports, Flower Imports, Flower Market, Flower Wholesale, Floricultores, Traceability, Trazabilidad

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