Nippon Cargo Airlines has entered into a global lease agreement with Envirotainer for temperature-controlled air-cargo containers. The deal supports NCA's new Pharmacare product for the transportation of high-value, sensitive pharmaceutical products. The airline said it has been running trials of the service over the past 12 months, using several models of Envirotainer equipment. It had previously purchased 60 containers from the supplier. Kuniaki Inaoka, senior manager in the Cargo Business Division of NCA, said the decision to work with Envirotainer was based on the latter's network of stations, handling procedures, quality and accreditation programs, and expertise in the movement of high-value life-science products. NCA Pharmacare provides specialized handling according to the needs and characteristics of each customer's temperature-sensitive shipments. Customers can specify the internal temperature of each Envirotainer box, as well as the ambient temperature of the aircraft's cargo hold. Japan is the world's second-largest pharma market, worth an estimated $80bn per year, according to NCA.
