ECSLA and GCCA Create Partnership
To Speak for Industry in Europe

Signing an historic agreement forming a single organization to represent and serve the public refrigerated warehousing industry in Europe are (left to right): Bill Hudson, Global Cold Chain Alliance president and chief executive officer; Derk J.B. van Mackelenbergh, WFLO chairman; Wim van Bon, ECSLA chairman; Larry Laurin, IARW chairman; and Hans van Leeuwen, WFLO board member.

Among those celebrating the new GCCA-ECSLA partnership with glasses of Champagne are (seated, left to right, Svend Pedersen and Jan Nielsen of Agri-Norcold AS, Aalborg, Denmark, and (standing) Paul Shortt of of Castlecool Limited, Castleblaney, Ireland.

The European Cold Storage and Logistics Association (ECSLA) and the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), meeting recently in Amsterdam for an international cold chain conference, opted to form one organization to serve the temperature controlled warehousing and logistics industry in Europe. The agreement came after a great deal of deliberation.

The new organization will retain the name ECSLA and be an affiliate partner of GCCA. The partnership allows the two units to offer expanded programs and services to European national cold storage associations and cold storage companies. Zwolle, Holland-headquartered Theo van Sambeeck will serve as managing director, and a general secretary will be appointed in Brussels to lobby industry issues before EU authorities.

“I look forward to the challenge of bringing these two associations together into a powerful force in Europe,” commented Van Sambeeck. ECSLA President Wim van Bon, also from Holland, was on the same page: “ECSLA plays a critical role in lobbying for industry interests in Brussels and providing a network for the many national cold storage associations across Europe. This new partnership gives us even more clout and allows us to take advantage of the many other services and resources that GCCA offers.”

“This combination will form a strong service organization in Europe,” declared GCCA President and CEO Bill Hudson. “The cold storage industry is increasingly integrated across the globe, and this partnership will provide European cold storage operators with access to the worldwide resources of GCCA, including our five offices strategically based around the world.”