Bahrain’s Turk Heavy Transport says it is riding out the economic slowdown thanks to ongoing contracts and prospects of new business. 
Executive director Khalid Turk said five high-value contracts involving project cargo were in the finalisation stage and their implementation would cross over into 2010.
He also said the company had received fresh inquiries some of which could translate into orders.
Turk Heavy Transport, part of the Ali A Jalil Turk and Sons Co wll, is a major logistics and heavylift company whose services include delivery of ‘out of gauge’ or overweight cargo and offloading.
The company has tie-ups with prominent heavylift engineering companies, in particular with Abnormal Lift Engineering (ALE), and provided services for other major companies such as Mammoet and Fagioli.
“There’s much reciprocity in terms of contracts on either side with regards to the international heavy lift companies,” Turk said.
Turk expressed confidence his company would keep going despite the difficult times.
“Because we have ongoing projects we have a fair amount of scope to continue to cover ourselves for the next year or so.”
Turk Heavy Transport was not affected by the overall slide in the construction industry as it was not directly involved with companies importing building materials or construction works, he said.
But it was indirectly affected as some industrial companies for whom it delivered cargo, also owned companies trading in building materials whose prices had plunged and therefore had a negative effect on them, making it difficult for them to invest further in industrial ventures or expansions – and that had repercussions on the transportation industry.
There would be business to be had from critically important projects such as expansions in power stations, oil rigs and the refinery that did not brook delays.
But currently, the company had much on its hands by way of implementing contracts won earlier, and prospects existed of gaining new business during this year, Turk said.
The company describes itself as a one-stop shop for logistics management solutions with a fleet of over 70 trucks to serve clients within the GCC region as well as specialist heavylift capability supported by heavylift hydraulic, jacking and skidding equipment. It is also equipped with a significant count of 20-ft, 40-ft and 60-ft trailers and sided flat bed trailers while also making available all-purpose cranes and forklift equipment for short- and long-term hire and storage space.

Ongoing projects
The company is transporting potshells for Emirates Aluminium (Emal) which is building an aluminium smelter that will eventually have a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes annually.  The potshells are manufactured by Bahrain’s Ahmed Mansoor Al Ali – Structural and Mechanical Division (AMA-SMD) and each is 5 m wide, 15 m long, 2.5 m high and weighs 44 tonnes. About 700 of these will be delivered to the smelter site in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi Emirate, by the end of this year.
Turk Heavy Transport has given on lease its trucks and certified drivers to Bapco for the transportation of diesel under a five-year contract. There are still three-and-a-half years to go.
The company is also commissioned by Aluminium Bahrain to provide customs clearance and transportation of raw materials from port and airport to site.
The company is currently engaged in contract delivering heavy equipment to Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC). It transported recently several large equipment parts including a cyclindrical vessel 48 m long and 5 m high that involved civil work for road alterations along the route to enable the cargo to be moved. This was undertaken after mid-night so as to cause the least inconvenience to motorists. The contract was awarded through Bahrain International Cargo Services, part of the Kanoo Group.
Another large equipment piece is to be delivered this month (April).
Among other deals it is busy with, Turk Heavy Transport is fulfilling a contract for the supply of equipment for regular work at Bahrain’s Ministry of Electricity and Water. 

Projects over the past year
Turk said 2008 was ‘a completely busy’ period for the company, yielding higher revenues than in the previous year. “We were in full force – the ball was still rolling for us.”
Among the highlights of the year was the movement of an 800-tonne reactor for Bapco’s low sulphur diesel project. Turk Heavy Transport accomplished the delivery in a joint venture with ALE and classified it as a milestone in its operations. The contract for moving the cargo was awarded by Almoayed Wilhelmsen Ltd (previously Almoayed Barwil), which was operating under the main contractor JGC.
Also during 2008, the company transported potshells to Sohar Aluminium Company’s smelter. As in the case of Emal, the potshells were manufactured by AMA-SMD.

Part of a group
Turk Heavy Transport was officially established in 1971 by Ali Abdul Jalil Turk who serves as its chairman. The Ali A Jalil Turk and Sons Co, of which it is part, includes Turk Mechanical Industries Company (TMI) and a trading firm.
TMI was founded in 1985 and became one of the first foundries in Bahrain for manufacturing industrial parts. It performs heavy and light fabrication, casting, machining and engineering repair services and has exported its manufactured products to Gulf states and markets as far as Iceland.