Singapore-headquartered Gaylin, a specialist supplier of lifting, rigging and marine equipment primarily to the oil and gas industry, has opened a new facility in Busan, South Korea.
Gaylin will co-locate at a purpose-built, 3,967 square meter site with Phoenix Offshore Co. Ltd, a Gaylin-owned ship chandler supply business. The new facility will stock a full range of equipment, including a vast range of lifting equipment, marine mooring systems, winch packages and associated services.
The site, located near a number of major seaports, comprises a three-story office and a sprawling workshop over two levels. It is the cornerstone of a multimillion dollar expansion investment plan.
Desmond Teo, CEO of the Gaylin Group, said, “We intend to invest further into the local economy and build an industry competent national workforce with the aid of Rigmarine’s [another business in the Gaylin Group] development programs. These programs have a global track record of building world-class workforces in the oil and gas sector, capable of delivering the highest standards of quality in addition to health and safety compliance.”
“The opening of the Busan facility marks another significant milestone for the Gaylin Group of companies. We have grown significantly over the past three years despite the industry downturn,” Teo added. “This underlines the focus and drive of our management team and our passion to become a global force in our sector. We remain in a phase of growth, but already cover a larger footprint and offer greater diversity of product lines than any other business of our kind.”
The facility is Gaylin’s sixth global hub—others are in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China—but, inclusive of Rigmarine sites, it is a landmark 10th in the group. A commonality is the core customer base in offshore oil and gas, renewables, construction, break bulk, shipping and marine industries.
Gaylin will manufacture wire rope slings up to 128mm diameter in Busan, where overhead cranes offer complete material handling coverage across the site, which also boasts a 2,000t horizontal test machine and a smaller 600t unit. Eventually, Gaylin will use the location to supply more specialist offerings, such as crane examination, light engineering and spooling services.
Teo concluded, “The facility is in the heart of the southeast economic zone and on the doorstep of the machinery, steel, shipbuilding and marine industries. The oil and gas sector has been hit hard in Korea, similarly to other global hotbeds, but it will bounce back and when it does we’ll be ready.”
