Airpak buys two companies
Published:Wednesday | February 1, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Airpak Express delivery company has acquired rival Speed Couriers Limited and Supply Chain Solutions, an inventory distribution service company.
Airpak owner Khary Robinson was tight-lipped on the cost of the acquisitions, but said they have expanded the company's corporate client base to more than 3,000.
Speed Couriers Ltd was founded by Carl Sharpe in 2004. Its shareholders prior to the sale were listed as Shomari Sharpe, Carl Sharpe, Carolee Johnson and Cain Livingston.
Carl Sharpe will be retained as an adviser in the transition period for the business.
Speed Courier offered similar services as Airpak's islandwide and round-town document and package delivery. Robinson said the business would be consolidated with Airpak's operation.
The acquisition will add 14 vehicles and 4 bikes to Airpak's fleet of delivery vehicles, increasing it by approximately one-third.
Robinson has been aggressively growing Airpak through acquisitions, but the company still trails Tara Couriers, which is leader in the local same-day delivery market.
''I don't exactly know our market share but Airpak was second while Speed was third, and even with the combination we still haven't overtaken the leader," he said. The company has seen "a significant increase in scale," he said.
Supply Chain Solutions will provide inventory delivery outsourcing services to medium-size manufacturing and distribution companies islandwide.
The company was set up in December 2009, with shareholders listed as Steven Whittingham and Wendell Whittingham, according to Companies Office records.
"The acquisitions provide Airpak with the opportunity to expand our reach and introduce our unique technology-driven platform to a wider cross section of the corporate market in Jamaica. Both companies perfectly complement our current base of first-world delivery service offerings to the Jamaican business sector, and position us as the only full-service delivery company in the country," said general manager of Airpak, Candice Kerr, in the release announcing the acquisitions.
Already the company said it has made investment in the launch of its technology platform in anticipation of the acquisitions which allows customers to make pickup requests online, track packages online from the point of pickup until delivery, upload bulk pickup requests, order inventory online, and access to Airpak's 14 collection points nationwide.
"We have expanded our operations facility at our hubs in Kingston and Montego Bay to make room for additional manpower and shipment volume. We have also allocated dedicated customer service agents to different segments of our new-found client base to ensure their transition is as smooth as possible," said Kerr.
Airpak also said that it has partnered with call centre company Fullgram for customer care services.
Airpak Express started trading in 1992 as a division of Airways International Limited, then transformed into a limited liability company in 1995.
It was acquired by Robinson's local private equity firm Norbrook Capital Management in January 2011.