With an updated count of 7,641 islands in the Philippine Archipelago we Filipinos barely get the chance to explore half of these islands especially with the rising cost of living and taxes along with the long work hours and never ending deadlines, I mean if not for the holidays we probably won’t survive and quench our thirst for that next adventure.
But even the sheer amount of choices of where to travel to becomes more confusing and down right problematic especially when we think about budget Air fares! Thankfully, there are more ways #2GO to these Philippine budget friendly travel spots than through plane! Yep! You guessed that right! To go and see why not travel via #2GO sea! Being the biggest passenger and shipping company here in the Philippines, they have always been giving us consumers plenty of options and even promotions to get us to our destination on the more affordable side wherever it is in the Philippines, 2GO Travel has got you covered with all of their official 2GO travel ports and branches distributed across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao!
Well, we know it has always been exciting to pack our bags and prepare early before our trips but have you ever found yourself lying in one of 2GO vessel’s cabins and wondering how this massive shipping and transport line came about? To answer that specific question we have to go back 24 years ago on December 21, 1995 when the one of the predecessors of the 2GO Group was initially formed with the merging of the three giant shipping companies in Visayas: William Lines, Carlos A. Gothong Lines Inc. , and Aboitiz Shipping Corporation which formally took on the name of William, Gothong, and Aboitiz Inc or commonly know as WG&A.
After almost a decade, on February 4, 2004 it was renamed to Aboitiz Transport System Corporation (ATSC) after the Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc (AEV) bought out the shares of the Chiongbian (William Lianes) and Gothong (Gothong Lines) groups for P3.65 billion. The Chiongbians, now separated and concentrated on their logistics and courier operations through their company Fast Logistic while the Gothongs formed their own company through Carlos A. Gothong Lines (CAGLI)
After 3 years, ATS Corp acquired the SuperCat Fast Ferry Corporation for P13.7 million from it’s affiliate company, Accuria. And after only a year, they purchased Scanasia Overseas Inc for P373.87 million, Scanasia is a shipping company that mainly focused on sales, warehousing, and transportation of temperature sensitive products to customers in the Philippines. As of December 31, 2008 they owned a total of 17 vessels comprised of 6 SuperCat fast crafts, 6 SuperFerry Vessels, and 5 Cebu Ferries vessels. During this time the ATS Corp has already solidified their place in the freight business and thus this new movement of cargos was operating under the brand name ‘2GO‘ which primarily focused on shipment of different cargo across the country.
On December 2010 however, ATS Corp was acquired by one of their competitors and one of the biggest local shipping company in the country at that time, the Negros Navigation Co, Inc (NENACO) for around P4.6 billion which was made possible through their major shareholder the China-ASEAN Investment Coopertion Fund (CAF) which is a private equity fund directly under the Goverment of the People’s Republic of China. With the merger of the two giants of the transportation and distribution ATS Corp is considered as the biggest shipping company in the Philippines which cater not only to passenger transportation but also to any equipment or cargo involved shipping across the country.
Now with Nenaco, the ATS Corp actually changed its name to ATS Consolidated on August 24, 2011 before changing it to the 2GO Group Incorporated that we know today on March 9, 2012. Since then the company has further improved its offerings by formally acquiring different companies such as Special Container and Value Added Services Inc (SCVASI), NN-ATS Logistics Management and Holdings Co, Inc (NALMHCI) and more, which has formally formed the current 2GO Group structured as reflected below:
The 2GO group is comprised by 3 main divisions, the first is 2GO Travel, which focuses mainly on passenger transit comprised by 18 vessels, while the 2nd and 3rd divisions which is comprised by the 2GO Distribution and 2GO Supply Chain focuses more on logistics, freight shipping and mercantile domestically as well as internationally using their 7 cargo vessels. Today the 2GO group is steadily improving their passenger and cargo services which is reflected in their recent revenue increase which is now at P5.59 billion as of the 2nd quarter of this year.
The future goal of 2GO group is to expand as a recognized global brand that will serve everyone across the world, perhaps in the future we can get one of 2GO’s passenger vessels and explore the world, but for now the next question really is where 2GO Travel next in the Philippines? Don’t forget to share your travel adventures and be the first to know about up coming promotions and top deals for your next voyage by giving us a like and a share at our 2GOPromoFares FB page!
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