At Global Specialized Services, one of the biggest services we offer are heavy haul transports. This includes Haul Box Moves, which involve moving and offloading oversized loads of coal, iron, or other materials to different sites across the country. 

One of the key people involved in Haul Box Moves is Condo Edwards, the Dispatch Permitting Specialist for GSS. 

While working for Austin Engineering, Edwards developed a close relationship with GSS and eventually wanted to make a career move. So he came to the company and began working primarily in the permitting department. 

When moving heavy loads across the United States, getting the correct type of permits are required in order to actually perform the transport. That’s where Edwards comes in, which is why he’s such an integral part of Haul Box Moves. 

“When I worked down at [Austin Engineering], I was sending quotes to Matt,” Edwards said. “Now that I work for GSS, they’re sending quotes to me, and I’m quoting them. Matt has just kind of handed that off to me to take care of, seeing as how I know how to load them, what we can haul, what type of equipment we’re going to need for the weights and widths we haul, etc.” 

There’s a process involved in Haul Box Moves, and that process illustrates how pivotal Edwards is to the entire operation. 

“Austin will send me a quote,” Edwards said. “I’ll figure out what the miles are, what we’re gonna charge per mile, the fuel costs, the permit costs, the pilot car costs, and the police escort costs because some states require police escorts. So I have to figure out which states they are, and then I have to go through my big book telling me what permits we need and what we’re going to be allowed to haul and where we can haul it, depending on the size of these things. 

GSS performs route surveys to ensure that drivers won’t run into any powerlines or telephone poles, or bridges, or any other obstruction. 

“The route survey will pinpoint all those obstacles, and then, when we get to the mine site, we make sure to do a complete job safety analysis,” Michael Orr offered. “We get everybody on board and have a nice 10-15 minute discussion of any hazards, anything to watch out for, and we ask if anybody has any questions, they need to be addressed before we do the job.” 

Safety is the utmost priority, and it’s something that GSS – something that Michael Orr and Condo Edwards, personally – take seriously. 

GSS’ commitment to safety is just one of the reasons why Austin Engineering continues to hire them to perform these Haul Box Moves. 

“We’ve got the equipment to do what we need to do, and we can haul just about any size that is requested,” Edwards said. “We’ve got 10 years of experience hauling these things. The drivers that we’re putting on these projects have years of experience hauling these haul boxes at this width. We’ve become very proficient at hauling these and hauling them safely for the public and for everybody else involved in the process.” 

There’s something to be said about starting a business from the ground up. There’s even more to be said about starting that business with your family.

That’s exactly what Matt Orr did. Matt, along with his brother Justin, began working for Transportation Partners and Logistics in May of 2011. TP&L was the brainchild of his father, Jim Orr, and when Matt came aboard, he did so with the knowledge, skills, and experience that could have only come from already having spent years in the transportation business.

“My dad has been in the transportation business as long as I can remember,” Matt said. “He worked for a previous heavy haul transportation company for 23 years as the Operations Manager. So, I worked there and my brother worked there ever since they would let us. I started out as a mechanic in the shop, moved out to a pilot car driver, got my CDL and did some truck driving, and then I did a lot of project management work myself. We shipped out a lot of drag lines and that sort of thing, and that was how I got my background in the transportation industry.”

That background would serve him well, because a year after TP&L started, Jim brought his boys on board. This wasn’t a case of nepotism, however. Both Orr brothers knew the job backwards and forwards, and both were eager to bring it to the next level.

Jim Orr started TP&L because he saw the need for a laydown facility with rail access that was centrally located in the United States. So, they chose Garden City, Kansas as their location and started a company that included distribution services, transportation management, and product maintenance for port, rail, truck, and distribution centers.

Following the creation of TP&L, Global Specialized Services was added to provide wind energy transportation across the country. GSS specializes in heavy haul transportation for energy sectors, including wind, oil and gas, coal, natural gas, power plants, and more. They offer a taxi crane service, as well as project management.

Matt said that it just made sense to create a laydown facility with cranes. They already had the contracts. They already knew where loads were going and when they were going. So they might as well be the ones to deliver them.

“We had that background that most over transportation companies don’t have,” he added.

So once the inception of GSS was determined, it was up to Matt to get to work.

“We started off with one truck,” he said. “I was the driver. We had one trailer. And then we just slowly added equipment and personnel as we grew. At TP&L, I started off as a rigger. I had a lot of background experience in cranes and rigging, so it made sense. Then I got moved up to an offload foreman. Then I got my CCO, so I got a lot of crane experience. And then once we started GSS, I had a driver position, I was a crane operator. Basically, I did anything that was needed because we were limited personnel-wise, and it just made sense. Slowly but surely, we got the right people in and added more equipment, and then I moved in as the office manager as we continued to grow.”

And grow, they did. GSS has been in existence for ten years, and Matt Orr has been there for all of them. From driving the first truck, to where he is now, Orr said that the growth of GSS has been incredible, and it’s due solely to their employees and their customers.

“I think over the first year we got up to four trucks and four drivers,” Matt said. “I moved into the office as soon as we hired the drivers and other personnel. We added two cranes within the first year, and now we have seven cranes total. On the transportation side, we’re doing entire wind farm projects in-house, and it’s just great to see.”

Recently, GSS added a second yard in Enid, Oklahoma. Matt said that, in ten more years, he hopes to have ten more locations. And, he said, the success that both TP&L and GSS have achieved is due to the people who work there – from the drivers, to the crane operators, the project managers, the technicians and more.

“They’re the ones that really make everything successful,” Matt affirmed. “They’re the ones out there doing the jobs. And we hear that from our customers. We hear that our communication is great. Our people working with them are great. Everything we’re doing on the project management side has really grown over the last couple of years, as we’ve gained more projects and learned more lessons. Our people are everything.”
 

And if there’s one lesson that Matt Orr has learned over the last 10 years, it’s this: Your people are what make you successful. Investing in them, teaching them, even learning from them ensures a successful company. Both TP&L and GSS are successful and, according to Matt, it’s solely because of the people who work there.

He should know. He’s been there from the beginning.

Acquisition Continues the Expansion of TAKKION’s Renewable Energy Operations and Maintenance Services 

DALLAS, Texas, May 3, 2022  — TAKKION TP&L Holdings LLC (“TAKKION” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) today announced that it has acquired Broomfield, CO-based Harvest Energy Services, LLC (“Harvest”). Harvest is an independent services provider of operations and maintenance (“O&M”) solutions to the renewable energy industry.

TAKKION is a premier independent services provider supporting the energy transition. The acquisition of Harvest demonstrates the continued expansion of TAKKION’s capabilities in long-term O&M solutions for renewable energy markets. Harvest is TAKKION’s third significant acquisition in less than 18 months and expands TAKKION’s scale and capabilities in the wind services market.

Harvest acquisition expands TAKKION’s scale and capabilities in the wind services market

The Harvest team will join TAKKION’s leading logistics and O&M services companies: Transportation Partners and Logistics (“TP&L”), Global Specialized Services (“GSS”), RENEW, and AIRWAY SERVICES. The addition of Harvest will grow TAKKION’s wind O&M presence in North America, meaningfully enhancing TAKKION’s ability to provide comprehensive solutions for the evolving needs of the renewable energy supply chain. In particular, the Harvest acquisition expands TAKKION’s technical capabilities in blade repair, and adds a high throughput, state of the art training center in Broomfield, Colorado that will support continued hiring and job creation for the renewable energy industry.

“We are ecstatic to welcome Harvest to TAKKION. Harvest has a long history of performance and we are fortunate to incorporate the expertise of its employees into our businesses. We see compelling opportunities to expand the already market-leading scope of TAKKION’s services, leveraging Harvest’s skills and equipment. The acquisition of Harvest furthers our goal to be the strongest partner to companies across the renewable energy industry.” said Jim Orr, CEO of TAKKION.

Vinson & Elkins LLP acted as legal counsel to TAKKION in this transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to Harvest.

ABOUT TAKKION

TAKKION is a premier independent service provider of logistics, O&M, and technical repair and remanufacturing services to the renewable energy industry. With the industry’s largest network of people and assets across North America, TAKKION is uniquely positioned to support and optimize the growth and lifecycle of renewable energy. Our brands TP&L, GSS, RENEW, and AIRWAY SERVICES work together seamlessly to deliver quality, performance, and efficiency for our customers. We live by our core values of safety, integrity, transparency, and putting our people & customers first. To learn more about how TAKKION is Moving Energy Forward, visit www.TAKKION.com/

ABOUT APOLLO

Apollo is a global, high-growth alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three business strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2021, Apollo had approximately $498 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.