Vanderlande has signed a strategic baggage cooperative agreement (SBCA) with Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to work together to design and deliver baggage handling projects to meet growing capacity, redundancy and flexibility requirements.
The agreement also demonstrates Vanderlande’s continued commitment to supporting the airport in successfully achieving its goals and growth strategy.
The SBCA represents an important milestone in the long-standing partnership between the two organizations, which began in 2003. The agreement was formally approved by YVR’s Supervisory Board in February and, after a small ceremony, officially signed earlier this month.
Since 2003, Vanderlande and YVR have enjoyed tremendous success together, most recently on the installation of the new ‘backbone’ system that was designed to link all of the airport’s baggage halls.
This project was one of many in support of YVR’s aim to become a world-class connecting hub, which includes improving transfer connectivity and reducing transfer times. The backbone system features Vanderlande’s state-of-the-art individual carrier system technology, TUBTRAX, and the company’s high-level controls suite, VIBES.
Vanderlande executive vice-president and member of the board Andrew Manship says: “We’re proud of the history and partnership that exists between our two organisations. We have been involved in a number of significant projects over the past decade, and the SBCA highlights the fact that we will remain at Vancouver’s side by helping it to reach its business objectives.”
Vancouver Airport Authority president and CEO Craig Richmond says: “We are pleased to have this agreement in place with our long-standing partner, Vanderlande. Building on the success of our new high-speed backbone, this partnership provides the necessary long-term continuity for this key component of our baggage system. We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with Vanderlande over this next five years with this SBCA.”
The SBCA sees the beginning of a new chapter of increased cooperation between Vanderlande and YVR and will remain in place until 2023. Combined with the ongoing service support on site, YVR will remain fully prepared for both present and future demand. The timing of the signing also perfectly aligns with another milestone for Vanderlande, which is the tenth anniversary of its incorporation into the Canadian market.