Politics Jeopardize Luggage Wrapping Contract at Miami International Airport

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Politics Jeopardize Luggage Wrapping Contract at Miami International Airport;
High-Bidder Sinapsis Trading Says County Officials May Forfeit $55 Million

MIAMI, October 11, 2010 – Executives from luggage wrapping company Sinapsis Trading, a subsidiary of industry leader TrueStar Group S.p.A of Italy, today announced that its contract at Miami International Airport may be in jeopardy due to political pressure from the No. 2 bidder and hyper-technical airport officials.  Sinapsis won the luggage wrapping contract in August with a bid of $55.5 million over five years while the second place and incumbent bidder only offered $20.5 million for the same five-year period.

Sinapsis is asking for an extension of the contract negotiation period to finalize the agreement, but company executives fear that airport and county officials may bow to increasing pressure from the politically connected lobbyists of losing bidder Secure Wrap.  If an extension is not granted at a meeting tomorrow, financially struggling Miami-Dade County will lose $35 million.

“We have negotiated in good faith in hope of finalizing the contract so we can begin paying the airport approximately $10 million more per year than what it is receiving today,” said Fabio Talin, president and CEO of TrueStar Group.  “We do business in 33 airports in 13 countries and have never seen a bidding process so politicized.”

Aside from supplying financial paperwork to comply with the contract, Sinapsis has already submitted a transition plan to the airport, screened potential employees and ordered production of the luggage wrapping equipment.  Executives said that hyper-technical interpretations of the contract requirements by airport and county officials have put the contract in jeopardy.

“Our competitor senses an opportunity to have us disqualified and has assembled an all-star team of lobbyists to derail us,” said Talin.  “The contract had been locked-up for years until the county’s own inspector general forced the airport to open the luggage wrapping business to competitive bids.”

TrueStar Group S.p.A. is an international airport services operator with a widespread presence in 33 airports in 13 countries located on three continents.  The company offers a complete range of comprehensive passenger assistance services and provides luggage and document wrapping, protection and insurance services to the passenger, with its SecureBag brand.  More information is available at www.truestargroup.com.

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Source: www.miamipublicrelations.com