SEATTLE, WA -- June 21, 2000
In a move to strengthen its ties and solidify existing market share within the European shipping community, Airborne Express has assumed operations of its former agent in Sweden. Full ownership of the operation, previously held by Aerocar Spedman AB, was effective April 18, 2000.

"This acquisition gives Airborne a tremendous opportunity to continue our expansion into key Scandinavian markets, " said John Birds, Vice President and General Manager, International, Airborne Express. "We can significantly control our costs, and at the same time provide greater services to our multinational accounts within the Scandinavian community. Airborne has successfully used a combination of strategies in cultivating new markets, sometimes using agents or joint venture partners, and in other cases assuming full ownership, " said Birds.

Several multinational companies including Volvo, Dupont, and Sportus (a large Scandinavian e-commerce site) are served by the newly acquired Airborne facilities in Sweden. "Airborne has been a committed partner, and has a long track record of fulfilling our stringent demands in our transportation of parts for the automobile industry, "said Ingemar Abrahamsson, Manager at Volvo Transport Corporation. "We welcome Airborne Express as they strengthen their presence in the Scandinavian community through this purchase."

Airborne now owns and operates two offices in Sweden; Stockholm-Arlanda, and Gothenburg-Landvetter. It has 36 employees in the two offices, and is a full service operator providing international air express and air freight service, customs brokerage, logistics, and ocean freight service.

For more than 50 years, Airborne Express has served the shipping needs of business customers around the world. Today, Airborne offers total distribution solutions by providing time-sensitive delivery of documents, letters, small packages, and freight to virtually every U.S. ZIP code and more than 200 countries. Customers can select from a variety of services including domestic next-morning and next-afternoon, international air express, freight, brokerage, ocean, and logistics management.