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 She
was one of the great women in air cargo.
Susan Furth passed away on July 28, 2015,
after a brief illness.
Not only was Susan one of the first female
managers in the air cargo industry, she was also a pioneer in the air
cargo perishable business.
Susan started her career in perishable cargo
at Airborne Air Freight.
She then went to Emery Worldwide, where
she ran their perishable department, and then to Pan American as manager
of Perishable Sales.
After Pan American, Susan went to American
Airlines to head up their total perishable cargo operations. Susan left
American to form her own perishable cargo operations company, FURTH &
ASSOCIATES, which she ran successfully for the last 15 years.
Susan was a visionary in the early days
of air cargo in the 70s, when jets replaced prop aircraft. Susan understood
that the movement of perishables has been a mainstay in world trade throughout
history.
From the early days of logistics—when
armies depended on their supply lines for food, to the Europeans’
desire for spices, which drove them to discover faster routes between
India and Europe, to the shipment of tulip bulbs from Holland, to products
from the Americas like tomatoes and corn—the need for new foods
and spices ruled transportation. But produce moved mainly as seeds rather
than as grown fruits, vegetables, and flowers, because of the slow speed
of sailing ships. Countries that had a product like pineapple made it
a capital offense to move the seeds out of the country, as they wanted
to maintain their monopoly. The steam era arose thereafter, but still
highly perishable fruits, vegetables, flowers, and fish could not weather
the transit time, even in refrigerated containers.
Air cargo changed everything, as visionaries
like Susan understood. Perishables started to move by air mostly as back
hauls, but even at jet speed the product deteriorated. Susan modified
air cargo containers with insulation and ice packs, which helped. The
aviation authorities would not allow electric plug-in containers to move,
so Susan worked with companies like Envirotainer to develop self-contained
cool containers that would hold special temperatures for 48 hours. The
perishable market took off and consumers no longer were limited to having
fresh produce only in season, but now had the world's fresh fruits, vegetables,
fish, and flowers 12 months a year. It took visionaries like Susan Furth
working so hard to make that dream a reality.
Malcolm Heath, CEO of Schenker Inc., said
about Susan, “A very sad loss indeed. Having had the opportunity
and pleasure to work with Susan recently, I have to say that I found her
to be highly knowledgeable in her specialized subject, a person with high
energy and most of all, an individual with high integrity who managed
her work with sincerity and passion. The industry has lost a good person.”
Lou Conte, one of the largest shippers of
perishables, said, “Susan Furth was one of the best air cargo perishable
experts in the movement of our products. She followed our shipments, both
big and small, from origin to destination and we rarely had a problem
when Susan was involved.”
Bill Boesch, who worked with Susan, said,
“I have known Susan for over 35 years. People were struck by her
energy, intelligence and genuine nature. Susan was a unique person who
left a lasting impression on me and the people she met. She was a leader
in developing the movement of perishables by air. Her knowledge helped
develop numerous shipping devices to insure the freshness of the products,
which put fresh fruits and vegetables on our tables all year round. Every
time I go to a supermarket in December and see fresh peaches, berries,
flowers, Chilean Sea Bass, etc., I know that Susan helped make that possible.
Her leadership will be dearly missed and the whole air cargo industry
including myself deeply mourns her passing. I will miss Susan and the
contribution she left on our industry."
Geoffrey
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