ZAINAB JUNAID
Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) has continued its journey of creating greener ground handling in Nigeria, as it added ten (10) electric conveyor belt loaders worth $26,000 each to her Fleets.
The ground support equipment, which are first of its kind in the country, were manufactured by Charlatte Manutention, a renowned aviation industry manufacturer and supplier of quality Ground Support Equipment in France, are fitted with modern technology with zero carbon monoxide emission, it uses 80 volts rechargeable batteries with low maintenance cost which has the potential to save handling company a lot of money that could have been spent on diesel, petrol, fuel filters, Engine oil etc.
Each Charlatte CBL- 200E is designed with a 25-foot belt length and is capable of widebody service with its reach of 30- 172-inches.
They are an upgraded version of existing conveyor belt loader in the market, very convenient to use, fitted with an anti-collision system. Each Loader is ruggedly built to withstand African terrain and weather conditions.
Speaking on the new equipments, Mrs Uansohia Vanessa Adetola, Manager, Corporate Communications of the ground handling company noted that SAHCO is reputed to invest in environmental friendly Ground Support Equipment hence the need for the purchase of the feats of technology. She explained that “the electric conveyor belt loader can service wide body aircrafts and also narrow body aircrafts.
To her, “SAHCO which was recently crowned with the Best Performing Stock Award during the BusinessDay/NGX Awards in Lagos is constantly investing in unique Ground Support Equipment to serve her constantly growing list of clienteles that are spread across all the commercially operated airports in Nigeria.
“It should be noted that SAHCO was the first to introduce electric GSE into the Nigerian Ground Handling Support System when it commissioned five Electric Tow Tractors in 2021 which have since been deployed and have been in use,” She added.
The ground handling company had also recently acquired ten Passenger Step Units that have the capacity to provide passenger access to a wide range of aircrafts which included B747, B777, B767, A340, A380, A320, an Air Starter Unit (ASU) which is used to supply necessary quantity of air at a specified pressure to aircrafts while it is parked and two units of Airmarrel High Loader LAM 7000.
SAHCO is a Publicly Listed Aviation Ground Handling Service provider that is present in all the commercially operated Airports in Nigeria which are Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Calabar, Ilorin, Enugu, Maiduguri, Gombe, Ibadan, Jos, Asaba, Benin, Bauchi, Uyo, Sokoto, Kaduna, Yola, Bayelsa, Warri and Anambra
