G7 Heavylift and Logistics Services Corp. is beefing up its equipment in anticipation of increased operations in the next five to 10 years.
In an email to PortCalls, the Manila-based heavylift and project cargo services provider said it foresees 2015 and 2016 business to be an improvement over last year, with growth coming mainly from power-based industries, as new power plants go online, existing plants are refurbished and upgraded, and wind farm and other renewable-energy-based projects are implemented.
For its barging operations, the company said it is continuously expanding strategic alliances with accredited subcontractors. “With our total 7,100 islands, barging is a growth industry in the Philippines,” G7 noted.
In terms of equipment, G7 recently acquired a Man TGX 41.680 8×4/4 heavy-duty tractor head — its third unit — with a rating of 680HP and 250-ton towing capacity, and Goldhofer 2×3 axle lines from Germany, bringing its multiaxle fleet to a total of 14 axle lines, all from Germany.
The new equipment will be used to haul more and more heavy and over-dimensional loads, in keeping with the recent trend for transformers and generators becoming heavier and taller.
“For clearing vertical obstacles and bridge spans, we can interconnect our Goldhofer 250-ton capacity dropdeck with a deck height of only 30cm,” G7 noted, adding it can also combine 14×1 single file, 7×2 side-by-side combinations for single cargo units up to 500 tons, as well as come up with other possibilities depending on the type of cargo, roads, and bridges.
Other recent acquisitions are a SANY 50-tonner truck-mounted crane and a 16-tonner Tadano crane.
Also part of the equipment are a 15-tonner Mitsubishi forklift, a TCM 5- and 6-tonner, and a NISSAN 3-tonner. G7 likewise owns two Hyundai 12-wheeler boom trucks with 10-tonner cranes, two Isuzu 16-wheeler self-loaders with a 2.9-tonner crane, and a six-wheeler Isuzu boom truck with a 2.9-tonner crane.
For rigging works, G7 has several sets of ENERPAC hydraulic jacking and skidding tracks, with hydraulic jacks and rollers from 10- to 200-ton capacities. It has an ENERPAC 7-gallon computerized pump for synchronized 4-point jacking system operation used in aligning power transformers to foundations.
Meanwhile, asked how government policies such as the 15-year limit on truck age affects its operations, G7 said “this is an ongoing challenge to everyone in the transport industry” but that the company “supports the move to consider road worthiness of transport equipment as the standard other than a15-year tenure so fleet owners can exercise due diligence in the maintenance of their fleet.”
As for road congestion and road blocks arising from numerous infrastructure projects, G7 said these are challenges it has to overcome but “we believe in the adage ‘in every difficulty is an opportunity.’” – Roumina Pablo
