Winners of the TransLog Awards, a first for Malta, are now only a step away from gaining prestige in the industry as a panel of judges has selected the finalists for the inaugural edition. Supported by HSBC Malta, the TransLog Awards 2014 is aimed to create awareness and enhancement of the transport, logistics and supply chain industry in Malta, and seeks to recognise the efforts and investments in this industry done by the different stakeholders operating in Malta.

Competing in twelve different categories, the finalists in alphabetical order are as follows: Best Express Courier of the Year: Gozo Express and MaltaPost; Best Freight Forward of the Year: B.A.S , Express Trailers and Falcotrans; Best Warehouse Facilities of the Year: Express Trailers; Best Cargo Operator of the Year: Emirates SkyCargo and Express Trailers; Best Shipping Agent of the Year: Sullivan Maritime; Best Importer/Exporter with Emerging Markets of the Year: Aurobindo, Avifilm Export, FreightZone, and New Energy; Best Technology Solution Provider of the Year: Cyberpass, Emirates SkyCargo, and HandsOn; Corporate Social Responsibility of the Year: Emirates SkyCargo, Express Trailers, Liquigas Malta, MaltaPost; Logistics and Supply Chain Managers of the Year: Arkadia,  Lufthansa Technik, and VJ Salomone Marketing; Transport Manager of the Year: e-Cabs and Falcotrans. The first edition also includes two other categories, namely Young Achiever of the Year and the Outstanding Achievement Award. The winners of these two categories will also be announced at the Awards Presentation Ceremony.

Alex Borg, Director of SSM Group, the organisers of the awards together with marketing communications agency BPC International, remarked on the overwhelming diversity of nominations received for the first edition of the Awards. “We are heartened to receive applications from both Maltese and regional businesses operating in Malta. The TransLog Awards offer the opportunity to recognise and celebrate exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions made by organisations in training the workforce and in business development in these important sectors for the Maltese economy. Their collective contribution highlights the best of our industry, and raises the bar for excellence across the board.”

Mr Borg added that the finalists were shortlisted following a technical assessment, and on the merits of individual achievements based on pre-defined criteria in order to determine the winners of this year’s edition. Consisting in a number of categories, the TransLog Awards are based on international benchmarks and values, and geared towards performance excellence, using global and standards systems.  The winners in their respective categories will be revealed at the Awards Presentation ceremony set to take place on Friday 10 October 2014.”

HSBC Malta’s Head of Commercial Banking Michel Cordina said: “Logistics is one of the fastest growing industries with a global value of $4 trillion, almost 10% of global GDP. The global transportation services market has seen a 7% year-on-year growth since 2011. With our geographic location we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on this growth.  We are sponsoring the TransLog Awards to give logistics the due importance it deserves in our economy and with a view to support the growth in this sector.