Wingcopter has two new cooperation partners

The drone start-up wins a distribution partner for Japan. In addition, the Time Freight Group plans to buy up to 132 drones.

Drone start-up Wingcopter has announced two new collaborations. The company, based in Weiterstadt near Darmstadt, Germany, announced that it will now cooperate with both the Japanese retail group Itochu and the German Zeitfracht Group.

Japan is one of the most important future markets for drone deliveries, the company said in light of the Itochu deal. The Japanese company will now become the official sales and leasing partner for the Germans' drone. Itochu is also making a strategic investment in Wingcopter, though the amount was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, Zeitfracht Group is buying 17 transport drones and securing options on 115 more through 2023. The company, based in Kleinmachnow near Berlin, plans to use the Wingcopter drones to deliver spare parts to offshore wind farms, among other things. Zeitfracht plans to use the company's own Rostock-Laage airport as its departure point, where Wingcopter will also adapt the drones to the customer's needs. To this end, the Hessians are again working with German Airways. The charter airline is part of the Zeitfracht Group and holds the necessary permits to operate the drones.