Sarens enters Papua New Guinea joint venture

Teams from Sarens and Trans Wonderland Limited mark the establishment of Sarens PNG. Photo: Sarens

International heavy lift and transport specialist Sarens has established a joint venture company in Papua New Guinea with leading local operator Trans Wonderland Ltd (TWL).

Belgium-based Sarens set up Sarens PNG with TWL to “bring together the global knowledge and reach of the world’s leading crane and heavy lift brand with one of Papua New Guinea’s most successful local landowner companies, with a history of meeting and exceeding client expectations,” Sarens said.

“Being a giant in the industry worldwide, we can bring immense knowledge and experience to new and emerging markets, eliminating the need to reinvent the wheel,” said Dave Smith, Sarens director of global fleet and rental operations.

TWL was started in 2009 and it supports PNG’s oil, mining and other industries.

“Sarens, as a family-owned company, sees TWL as a company built upon very similar values, where integrity, compliance and governance are at the forefront. Alongside this is the appetite within TWL to grow, not just in the fields where they have excelled over the years, but also to branch out into new fields and markets,” Smith added.

Key factor is local input

It will be a “local company managed by PNG nationals, employing PNG nationals and serving the PNG market. It will provide opportunities for local people to enter and excel in an industry where previously the focus has been on expat labour and management,” Smith continued.

For his part Andrew Fury, TWL Group chief operating officer, said, “We see the opportunities and know what the business is capable of becoming, but we also recognise we are the new kids on the block. We have a fleet of local cranes on the ground in PNG ranging from 40 to 250 tonnes, and our priority for the first six months is to get them all working. In order to do that we know we need to be competitively priced and deliver a superior experience for clients, and we are prepared to do both.”

Construction work in PNG includes new ports and mines and new oil and gas projects are expected. Access to the Sarens equipment fleet around the world will be complemented by TWL’s ability to get heavy equipment to often remote sites with limited infrastructure.