Author: Jochebed Menon

Jochebed Menon is the Editor of Logistics News Middle East. She covers issues related to the logistics and supply chain industries in the region. She’s been a journalist since 2012 and has primarily worked on B2B titles in travel, hospitality, aviation, and construction.

Back to Powerlist Since Mohammed Alsharaf joined the company, he has fronted major expansions for iFM Holdings while focusing on services of the highest quality and growing both organically and inorganically to bring outsourced functions in-house with a goal of maximising profitability. As part of its extension strategy, iFM Holdings acquired Inspire Integrated that accelerated its service offerings and industry-specific scalability. New contracts through Tafawuq doubled the size of the organisation while 800TEK expanded to the Northern Emirates. In addition to 100% client retention, it won some prominent contracts such as the UAE Pavilion at EXPO 2020, a long-term MoU…

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Saudi ports’ container throughput volumes reached 600,107 TEU, which is a 1.38% increase compared to numbers recorded in May 2021. As the exported containers remarkably increased by 2.57% with a total of 175,958 TEU, while the imported containers hit a minor setback as it decreased by 0.64% with a total of 176,978 TEU. The initiatives launched by Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), in line with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS), which offer competitive services in throughput and operations, have raised the number of transshipment containers in Saudi ports to reach 247,172 TEU, which is 2.01% compared to numbers recorded…

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SOHAR Port and Freezone has signed an agreement with Sohar Steel Rolling to lease approximately 40,000 sqm of land for the construction of a steel rod manufacturing unit at the Freezone. With an estimated total investment of OMR 7 million, the project includes the construction of facilities for melting/smelting in the first phase and steel rolling in the second phase. Anticipated to be in operation towards Q3, 2023 the project is expected to create considerable opportunities for business collaborations, while adding to the growing number of leased areas in SOHAR Freezone flourishing metals cluster. Omar bin Mahmood Al Mahrizi, Chief…

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AD Ports Group signed a head of terms agreement with Enter Engineering Group to launch new businesses providing logistics and freight forwarding services in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan. Under the agreement, the two companies will establish joint venture companies to manage logistics and freight forwarding services, including air, sea, land and rail logistics, warehousing, contract logistics, and customs clearance. AD Ports Group will also support Enter Engineering Group’s work on tenders in the UAE, with a particular focus on the energy sector. Enter Engineering Group was incorporated in 2012 and is one of the fastest growing companies in…

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Leading societies to a low carbon future, Alstom’s Managing Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey Mama Sougoufara reveals how the company is frontrunning energy-efficient mobility French manufacturer and operator of rail transport across the globe Alstom has been part of region’s transportation and mobility development since the 1950s. In the UAE, the sustainable mobility company delivered the Dubai tramway, the first fully integrated tramway system in the Middle East and the world’s first 100% catenary-free line, which opened in 2014. Since then, it has been awarded the maintenance of the tram for a period of 13 years.…

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In line with its global sustainability ambitions to become a net-zero logistics company by 2050, DHL Express is investing in solar power projects across all its regional facilities, with the first solar photovoltaic (PV) installation completed in its Amman facility, which will reduce energy consumption by 100%. DHL has installed 434 solar panels in its Jordan facility, in partnership with Yellow Door Energy. The solar plant is expected to produce 294 kWh of clean energy in the first year of operation, which would cover 100% of the facility’s energy consumption needs while halving the facility’s electricity costs. “We continue to…

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FedEx Express has signed a collaboration agreement with Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) to start autonomous trials for Roxo, the FedEx SameDay Bot, in the Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) community. The trials are also being conducted under an agreement signed previously with Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) as part of Dubai’s self-driving strategy. Roxo is being designed to be a personal delivery device. Its purpose is to make local same-day deliveries autonomously – with human teleoperators constantly available if intervention is needed – to customers’ homes and businesses. Roxo is battery powered, is 157 cm tall, and weighs 204…

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Xos, Inc., a manufacturer and services provider of Class 5 through Class 8 battery-electric vehicles, has entered a strategic partnership with Allison Transmission, Inc. to jointly develop heavy-duty Class 7 and 8 commercial electric vehicles. Allison has delivered the initial eGen Power e-Axle hardware for integration, validation and testing in heavy-duty vehicle platforms that are designed and built by Xos. Allison will deliver additional eGen Power 100S and 100D units to Xos throughout 2022. “We founded Xos in 2016 to build electric vehicles that solved the challenges many fleet owners were facing due to rising costs of maintenance and diesel…

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Unil has commissioned Swisslog to more than double the size of its automated warehouse, in order to meet NorgesGruppen’s rapid growth in Norway. Unil, owned by the NorgesGruppen grocery chain, is responsible for development, quality assurance, import, purchasing, warehousing and marketing of NorgesGruppen’s own brand portfolio of circa 4,000 products. The project is one example of the market’s high demand for automation solutions needed to handle increased demand quickly and efficiently. “The new warehouse gives us a competitive advantage because it gives us a low handling cost and fast and reliable pallet handling. It will likely be one of the Nordic region’s…

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Logistics News ME delves into discovering the best last-mile delivery service providers in the region in terms of efficiency, transparency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability Aramex Express Alaa Saoudi, Chief Operating Officer “In the past five years, we have seen a lot of changes in last-mile delivery. Among the main disruptors are the pandemic-induced surge in eCommerce volumes, changing consumer trends, and innovation in last-mile delivery,” Alaa Saoudi says. The growth in eCommerce sales can be attributed to the growing number of businesses with new digital business models that allow for digital payments, increasing purchasing power of customers, and the widening range…

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