Cat® Dealer Facilitates Delivery and Setup of Gensets at Temporary Hospital in Colombia
Established in 1927, General Equipos de Colombia S.A. (Gecolsa) is the only authorized Cat® dealer in Colombia, South America.
The Cat dealer was called upon by their loyal customer Union Electrica to supply and deliver two stationary Cat generator sets to a 156-bed hospital being set up in Medellín to treat COVID-19 patients.
Cat C27 and C18 gensets will provide standby power at Hospital de la 80, which is being established in a vacant former hospital by the Mayor's Office of Medellín. The facility ceased operations in 2018 and still has radiology medical equipment, CT scanners, vital signs monitors, operating tables, and more.
As the only authorized Cat® dealer in Colombia, Gecolsa delivered Cat C27 and C18 generator sets to provide standby power at Hospital de la 80, which was set up to treat COVID-19 patients.
With support from Grupo Unión Eléctrica and Gecolsa, the generator sets arrived to the hospital within one week.
In addition to the generator sets, Gecolsa is providing canopies for sound attenuation of the Cat gensets, as well as the necessary equipment, materials, and labor for the project.
On April 10, the Cat generators arrived in Medellín in less than a week’s time with the support of Grupo Unión Eléctrica and Gecolsa. The Cat dealer was able to procure the generator sets from Brazil and the U.S. and have them shipped to Colombia on short notice. A police escort was essential for the arrival of the gensets in the city during their road transport from Cartagena.
Colombia’s National Directorate of Taxes and Customs was in charge of nationalizing the equipment and allowing it to be put into operation in the shortest possible time.
"This is part of the strategy to increase the number of intensive care and special care beds to have at least 1,000," said Medellín Mayor Daniel Quintero.
At the converted hospital, Gecolsa is supplying canopies for sound attenuation of the Cat generator sets, as well as all ancillary equipment and labor to connect and commission the standby power installation, said Diego Gonzalez, an energy manager with Gecolsa.
“We have the necessary equipment and materials, and also the people to make this project come together in a short amount of time,” Gonzalez said. “We are here to help in any way we can to fight this pandemic.”
The COVID-19 hospital is expected to open by the end of April or in early May.
