Lufthansa Cargo has announced it has set up a company to provide freight handling services for itself as well as for airfreight forwarders.

The new company, Handling Counts GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Cargo, will begin operating initially at the Frankfurt base but intends to extend its activities later across the whole of Germany.

"We have founded this company in consultation with our collective bargaining partners ¨C and, in the physical cargo handling area, we will be absolutely competitive in respect of both costs and efficiency," Karl-Heinz Köpfle, board member operations, Lufthansa Cargo AG, said in a statement.

With a workforce of up to 100 staff initially, Handling Counts GmbH is to provide services for Lufthansa Cargo AG, while additionally seeking to exploit market opportunities that come on stream at Frankfurt Airport.