ACL Airshop, a provider of products and services for the global air cargo industry, announced the appointment of Marc Terpstra to the role of Board Advisor.
Previously its Managing Director-International for over ten years, Marc Terpstra has been with the company and its predecessors since the merger of Airshop BV and Airline Container Leasing Inc. Marc Terpstra was formerly the CEO of Airshop BV, and thus was instrumental in the recapitalization of the ACL and Airshop enterprises ten years ago, merging them into a fast growing air cargo services network as one international brand, ACL Airshop. The combined business quickly expanded into numerous new international markets, largely due to his bold leadership and industry connections. In 2016, he and other senior shareholders successfully negotiated for multiple institutional investment companies and Ranger Aerospace to infuse new strengths for taking ACL Airshop to its next level. Marc Terpstra remains a key Advisor to the Board of Directors of Ranger Airshop Holdings, Inc. (parent company), is a substantial shareholder, and will be an ongoing mentor to the company’s management and its investors. Widely known and respected by scores of airlines around the world, Marc Terpstra says “Just call me, I’ll always be keen to help ACL Airshop grow on behalf of its cargo and airlines clients.”
Marc Terpstra has been the #1 leading executive for international expansions, vaulting ACL Airshop to aggressive new levels of competitiveness in the past several years. Noteworthy accomplishments in his distinguished air cargo leadership career spanning over twenty-five years include the introduction of one-way ULD leasing, expanding ACL Airshop’s client count to over 200 airlines, and creating strategic alliances with numerous ground handlers and freight forwarders. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment is dramatically building ACL’s worldwide presence in less than ten years from just 5 airports to now nearly 50. He and the whole officer team also initiated the new Bluetooth ventures of ACL Airshop with CORE Transport Technologies, creating first-to-market technology leadership for his firm, giving airlines real-time tracking of ULDs.
Marc Terpstra is also the Co-Founder, Managing Director, and CEO of Fast Forward Freight BV, a global freight forwarding company with over 7000 clients for Air, Sea, Rail, and Road transportation services, headquartered at Schiphol Airport, Netherlands. He will continue building this award-winning worldwide company, whilst serving as Board Advisor to ACL Airshop.
Commenting on the remarkably successful growth in numerous new countries over the past decade, Marc Terpstra said: “We are entrepreneurs. We look at our business through the lens of our airlines and cargo customers. That is what drives our mission. The larger we make the international network, the more valuable we are to our customers. We are the global leader in Custom ULD Solutions. Our equipment now serves over 200 airlines clients. I look forward to helping the executive team that I helped promote and coach to now take ACL Airshop to new altitudes of service, quality, and success.”
For 2018 and beyond, the Company plans to ramp-up its hub investments around the world. Marc Terpstra, in his new role as Board Advisor, said: “Customers should know this enterprise is in good hands. A powerful Board. A highly experienced CEO. And most importantly, the executives who drive our success day-to-day in each region are the best in the industry. Our expansion strategy is exciting and well-capitalized: we are creating the strongest niche leader for Custom ULD Solutions in the world. Our customers are delighted, and our competitors are worried—those are good dynamics. We are winners.”
ACL Airshop intends to invest for growth in each of its lines of business, and expand geographically to keep pace with rising industry trends. The air cargo sector worldwide is enjoying unprecedented sustained growth, buoyed further by the impact of e-commerce. The main international office is in Amsterdam, NL. Other hubs include Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, Dubai, Bogota, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, and many other major air cargo sites around the world. The headquarters is in Greenville SC, but in many ways, the company is a customer-centric global network operating with linked efficiencies. “The center of gravity of that network,” as Marc Terpstra has often said, “is Amsterdam.” That is why he initiated a modern new Operations Center there, plus ULD Care, and other technical and logistics upgrades.
Steve Townes, Ranger Aerospace founder and CEO of Ranger Airshop Holdings, stated: “The international growth of ACL Airshop has been a huge success because of leaders like Marc Terpstra. He and I are kindred spirits in many ways, starting with our Customer Focus and People Focus. It’s an honor to be his partner in this admirable enterprise.”
