A new logistics trade association that is directly affiliated to the United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) has been formed.

The All Ireland Warehousing Association (AIWA) will be run from an office in Claremorris, County Mayo. Companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that produce warehousing and other logistics support services in the supply chain can join AIWA. Like UKWA, it is also open to retailers and manufacturers who operate their own warehousing and distributing functions.

UKWA CEO Roger Williams announced AIWA's launch at a recent UKWA networking lunch in Newcastle, County Down.

Williams says that the new organisation will be able to properly serve the needs of the Irish warehousing sector. "We believe that an organisation affiliated to UKWA and working closely with us will provide a focus for this important sector."

The launch of the new association means that for the first time, Ireland's third-party storage and warehousing community has an Ireland-based trade body dedicated to its needs.

"Membership of AIWA will give companies the peace of mind to concentrate on their core business, confident in the knowledge that the association is representing their interests and keeping them updated and informed on news and developments covering issues affecting the 3PL sector," Williams says.

The new association's membership categories have been structured to allow companies whose distribution sites are less than 50,000 sqft (4,645 sqm) in size to those with facilities of over 1,000,000 sqft (92,903 sqm) to join AIWA cost effectively.

AIWA's website - www.warehousingireland.ie - is being established and an executive steering group will be formed to take the association forward.

UKWA is the UK's only trade association that serves the warehousing and logistics sector. Established in 1944, the association's members control nearly 100 million sqft (9,290,304 sqm) of warehousing space in almost 1,300 locations in the UK.