Panalpina Inc history

The company became independent under the name “Panalpina” in 1954.

In 1969 the Ernst Göhner Foundation in Zug took over some of the shares.

1973: Panalpina launches the Air Sea Broker subsidiary, which grows to become a leading air-based freight forwarder.

The company gained a larger share of that market in 1984 when it acquired Rohner, Gehring & Co.

At the same time, begin of 1987 Panalpina purchased the landing craft OSA MERLIN from OSA, Offshore Supply Association, Bremen and opened its own coastal liner service for the oil industry along the West African coast, mainly between Angola and Nigeria.

Initially the commercial and technical management was carried out by Panalpina, but in 1990 it was handed-over to Harmstorf Shipping Co.

In summer 1992 a combined express freight service, the "African Star Service" to West Africa was introduced, a service with cargo plane and a fast crew boat.

In 1996 the two ships were sold abroad.

In 1999 Panalpina took over the Jacky Maeder Group and became one of the world's leading logistic companies with about 800 employees in Switzerland only.

In May 2001, Panalpina bought out its partner in SwissGlobalCargo, and subsequently announced its intention to change its subsidiary's name to ASB Air.

2002: Panalpina reorganizes and adopts a regional operational structure.

Since 22 September 2005, Panalpina has been listed at the SIX Swiss Exchange.

In cooperation with ABCmaritime two Ro-Ro barges were built in 2006 in Russia, the BELUGA in Volgograd and the BELUGA 2 in Astrakhan.

However, time goes on, the conditions on the West African airports improved and in May 2010 the AFRICAN STAR 2 was sold, as she was not required for the "African Star Service" anymore.