Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) PLC has unveiled the first set of Bombelli Cool Dollies from Italy, yesterday.
Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc recently at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos commissioned Cool Dollies which is the first of its kind in West Africa amongst other multi-million naira Ground Support Equipment (GSE) to further augment its services to its clients.
In the quest to continue to serve as the most effective Ground Handling Company in West Africa with the capacity to convey items at specified and required temperatures fitted with the latest technology to adapt the required temperature for any cargo, it is safe to say SAHCO PLC is a gateway for temperature-sensitive cargo.
The Ground Support equipment unveiled by SAHCO includes Cool dollies, Pallet dollies, Pushbacks, Air Conditioning Units (ACUs), water, and toilet bowers.
The three Cool Dollieswhich can be described as Mobile Cold rooms were manufactured by Bombelli a renowned G.S.E. manufacturer from Italy, has the capacity of taking a pallet or two AKE container load of temperature-sensitive shipment from the aircraft to the cold rooms or freezers in the warehouse.
Furthermore, the Cool dollies are equipped with an automatic electric-powered engine that is environmentally friendly and is fitted with data loggers to catalogue the pressure and temperature level of the compartment to protect its contents.
Left-Right: Mr. Basil Agboarumi, Managing Director/ CEO, Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC (SAHCO); Mrs. Omolara Bello, A.G.M, Legal Services and Company Secretary, SAHCO; Engr Toyin Oriowo, A.G.M, Engineering and Maintenance, SAHCO; Mrs. Adetola Uansohia, Manager, Corporate Communications at the commissioning of SAHCO’s new equipment recently.
In addition, at the event, two 45 tonnes Push Backs were commissioned. These which were manufactured by Goldhofer, a German G.S.E manufacturer, have the capacity of pushing back all wide-body aircraft except an A380 aircraft, is user friendly, and are equipped with a tier 4 engine.
Speaking at the unveiling, Mr. Basil Agboarumi, the Managing Director/CEO, SAHCO, said that the new equipment would be added to its arrays of facilities at the airport, explaining that SAHCO believed in the continuous enhancement of facilities and would continue to invest in modern equipment in a bid to satisfy its clients, especially the airlines who he described as a very important segment of its business.
Agboarumi lauded the Board of Directors of SAHCO for giving its approval for the purchase of the equipment but appealed to the Federal Government to also grant the Ground Handling companies customs duty waivers on the acquisition of equipment.
He said: “SAHCO is doing this because we believe in adding values to the environment, we operate in. Despite the current economic challenge in Nigeria, we are doing this at this time. These cool dollies are the first of their type in Nigeria. It can be used for the movement of perishable cargo from cold rooms to airlines and vice versa.
“We also have the Pushbacks, which are the real money-spinners, the ACUs, Water and toilet browsers, which were fabricated by our engineers here in Nigeria. These we do to help reduce the search for foreign exchange, which is always hard to come by. The world is going green and SAHCO as a company is also in compliance with carbon emission.
“This equipment was manufactured in Europe and it’s easier to deliver these to those in Europe without the additional cost of shipping and clearing, but for us, we pay more for the same equipment as we need to pay for shipping and clearing of the equipment at our seaports.”
Also speaking at the occasion, Engr. Toyin Oriowo, the Assistant General Manager, Engineering and Maintenance, SAHCO, said that all the equipment acquired were carbon emission complaints and stated that the spare parts of the equipment were readily available in the market and commended the Management and Board of SAHCO for acquiring such equipment at this time especially for the support of enabling his team to produce G.S.E from locally sourced materials.
He emphasized that the three Toilet bowsers and two Water bowsers have the capacity of servicing wide-body aircraft, as a result of looking inwards due to the high cost and unavailability of forex that made his team come together to manufacture the G.S.E.
Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) PLC has won the Aviacargo Export Handler of the year in Nigeria. This award was presented to SAHCO at the Chinet Aviation and Cargo Conference at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja.
Speaking during the award presentation, the Organiser of the Conference, Ikechi Uko praised SAHCO for their immense contribution to the growth of the Aviation and Cargo industry especially in the Agro-export sector.
The annual two-day event which was the 3rd edition of the Chinet Aviacargo conference was well attended by delegates from both the international and local aviation community and was geared towards discussing the challenges of the Nigerian agro-cargo industry and the solutions.
In addition, at the event, the Managing Director/ CEO of SAHCO, Mr. Basil Agboarumi was presented with the Aviacargo Champion award for 2023, due to his continuous support to ensuring that the Aviation Cargo industry thrives despite all odds. Agboarumi who was represented by the Head, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Adetola Vanessa Uansohia, expressed his gratitude and said he is humbled and genuinely surprised at the award. He went on to say that the aviation industry can only thrive through the joint effort of all stakeholders and if everyone contributes their quota the sky would be the starting point for the aviation industry especially the agro-export industry in Nigeria.
Left-Right: Organiser, Chinet Aviation and Cargo Conference, Ikechi Uko; Chairman, BOOF Resources, Chief Babatunde Olatunde-Agbeja; Head, Corporate Communications, Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC, Adetola Vanessa Uansohia; Managing Director, Asaba Airport, Christophe Pennick; Director, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Alhaji Yakubu-Funtua at the event.
He went on to say that as a company, SAHCO is always poised to always ensure a safe, efficient, and speedy service by continually expanding and improving the facilities of its import and export warehouses and by procuring environmentally friendly ground support equipment. SAHCO owns Cool dollies to convey temperature-sensitive cargo from the aircraft to the data-logged cold rooms and freezers, thereby ensuring that there is no denaturing of the shipment. SAHCO has also shown that the company is positioned to ensure that all types of cargo can be accepted and properly handled irrespective of the special handling that it requires through owning warehouses for Dangerous Goods, Live Animals, and Human remains amongst others.
Furthermore, SAHCO is RA3 Certified which is a requirement for Ground Handling Companies to be able to ship to Europe. Also, SAHCO is IATA’s Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certified.
SAHCO is a Publicly Listed Aviation Ground Handling Service provider that is present in all the commercially operated Airports in Nigeria and is involved in activities that include Passenger Handling, Ramp Handling, Cargo Handling and Warehousing, Aviation Security, Premium Lounge services amongst other aviation related services.
Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) PLC’s Port Harcourt station has been certified by International Air Transport Association Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) recently.
ISAGO is an aviation-specific audit for the global oversight of ground handling service providers (GHSPs) and it focuses on the standardization of operational procedures and management thereby increasing harmonization of best practices among the ground handling stakeholders.
By this certification, it means that SAHCO’s Port Harcourt International Airport station has continued to model its operations to ISAGO standards, as a result committing to continue to operate to globally accepted industry best practices.
The Audit cuts across Organization and Management (ORM), Aircraft Handling and Loading (HDL), Aircraft Ground Movement (AGM), Cargo and Mail Handling (CGM).
As already pledged to its clients (current and prospective), it is SAHCO’s resolve to continually provide quality and efficient Passenger, Ramp, and Cargo Handling Services in line with best practices and the highest International Standards to the delight of its customers and benefit of all stakeholders, utilizing State-of-the-art equipment, skills, procedures and facilities, and employing a dedicated workforce who are highly skilled.
ISAGO audit is essential to promote safe ground operations and understanding of high-risk areas within ground operations, the audit also eliminates redundant audits from airlines thereby promoting a uniform audit process and harmonized standards that improve quality standards in Aviation Ground Handling.
SAHCO Plc is a publicly quoted company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange that was incorporated as an Aviation Ground Handling services provider under the Nigerian Company & Allied Matters Act of 1990. SAHCO is involved in Passenger Handling services, Ramp Handling services, Cargo Handling and Warehousing services, Aviation Security services, Premium lounge Servicing, Crew administration services, and other aviation-related services.
It will be recalled that SAHCO recently held its 13th Annual General Meeting where the Chairman Dr. Taiwo Afolabi promised better dividends for the shareholders of the company for the current financial year ending Dec. 31, 2023.
Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC (SAHCO) has won the 2022 Accuracy and Precision Excellence award.
The Award was conferred on SAHCO PLC by AVOLAD Engineering Nigeria Limited during their 2022 Accuracy and Precision Excellence Award Dinner held in Lagos.
According to AVOLAD’s General Manager, Adebayo Oluyamo, the nomination of Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC (SAHCO) for the 2022 award is based on SAHCO’s relentless pursuit of accuracy and precision in cargo operational services at all times.
AVOLAD Nigeria Limited is an Indigenous Engineering Company that specializes in cargo/baggage weighing equipment that is used for weighing Cargo bulks which is used to provide load control with the accurate measurement of the pallets loaded on the aircraft and for determining the cost of the cargo for import and export.
Speaking further on why SAHCO has conferred the award, Oluyamo stressed that “After careful consultations during the screening process, the committee approved the conferment on SAHCO based on sterling performance and exceptional contributions towards proper maintenance and calibration of SAHCO weighing equipment, development of standard accuracy and precision procedures in operational services thereby maintaining world standards in offering cargo services.”
Reacting to the award, the Managing Director/ CEO of SAHCO, Mr. Basil Agboarumi said “SAHCO, who recently got ISO 900:2015 Certification is a company that adheres strictly to International Standards in everything we do, we are known for providing excellent services to our numerous customers, using our world-class Ground Support Equipment and this award will spur us to continue to do more” he thanked the organizer for recognizing SAHCO.
SAHCO is a Public Liability Company that keeps raising the bar in the Aviation Ground Handling industry by building and maintaining a fleet of ultra-modern ground handling equipment that is fitted with the latest technological innovations. SAHCO also has well-trained customer-centric staff with presence in all the commercially operated airports in Nigeria and ultra-modern warehouses with massive cold rooms and freezers.
SAHCO is involved in Passenger Handling services, Ramp Handling services, Cargo Handling services, Warehousing, Aviation Security services, VIP lounge services, and other Aviation related services by delivering quality services that are always aimed at exceeding customers’ expectations.