THE logistics business of the Philippine’s largest shipping company has already begun building a cold-chain facility, allowing it to store and distribute its customers’ products in controlled temperatures.

Located at Pier 4 of the Manila North Harbor, the business is expected to take off by next year, according to Sabin Aboitiz, president and chief executive of 2Go, a unit of the publicly-listed Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATSC). He said the company is still studying the market acceptance of its cold chain business, which was conceptualized in late 2006.

Besides providing an uninterrupted series of storage and distribution activities under a given temperature range, cold-chain facilities are usually used in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Last year 2Go has folded its three units—Cryo companies, Reefer Van Specialist Inc. and Reefer Trucks Specialist Inc.—into ATSC to effect efficiencies in its operations.

Cryo has over a hundred refigerated containers and 50 refrigerated trucks, which will be used for 2Go’s cold chain’s less container load service.

The company also said it will expand the capacity of its Pasig City supply chain hub by increasing its pallets—platforms used to carry shipments by forklifts—to 30,000 by year-end.

Currently, its supply-chain facility could handle 6,500 pallet positions, wherein 1,200 are for air-conditioned storage.

“We will continue to expand our supply chain facilities as we believe that there is so much growth opportunities in the supply chain, particularly here in the Philippines,” Aboitiz said. “Our main focus now is to further develop our supply chain management nationwide as it already made 2Go a complete logistics solutions provider.”

Among 2Go’s customers include multinational companies such as Wrigley’s, Mead Johnson, J&J Vision Care and Mercury Drug, which all use 2Go’s facilities as the single-stocking point for distribution to other areas nationwide.

Earlier, Aboitiz said the company will not enter the livestock-shipping market in General Santos once another shipping line, Solid Shipping, will stop its service this May.

However, he remains hopeful that hog farmers in Mindanao will be convinced to bring their livestock to the slaughterhouse for processing before shipping it to Manila.

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THE Philippines maritime regulator has extended the deadline to ban single-hull oil tankers from its waters to April 30 from April 1 to give charterers more time to switch to vessels fitted with two hulls.

THE logistics business of the Philippine’s largest shipping company has already begun building a cold-chain facility, allowing it to store and distribute its customers’ products in controlled temperatures.

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