The Alo Group, a rental company based in Santiago, Chile, delivered an International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) training course as planned on March 1, 2010, despite the devastating earthquake that hit the country on Feb. 27.

“We were amazed when three people who had arranged the training with us the week before arrived that morning,” said Sandra Franco of the Alo Group. “We really had not expected them to come due to the chaotic situation in the city, but these three people braved the mess of the earthquake and crossed the city amid the traffic jams just to receive IPAF training.”

The classrooms and offices of Alo Training and Alo Rental were less damaged than most and IPAF-certified instructor Claudio Figueroa performed the training. Two operators were successfully trained: Christian Hernandez and Rolando Albornoz from Talleres Graficos Cordillera, a company that serves the International Airport of Santiago with signboards.

The Alo Group has a fleet of 400 units and a staff of 70 people. The machines located in Santiago escaped without damage, but technicians are being sent to different job sites to evaluate the damage in other areas of the country. The Antofagasta branch in the North has had no problems. The Concepción branch in the South, the epicentre of the earthquake, suffered a communications blackout. The company has sent an emergency group with four-wheel-drive vehicles to help in the reconstruction, to transport food, water and diesel, and to evacuate employees where necessary.