A Unic mini crane proved to be invaluable for working at height on a telecoms project recently, replacing a defective telephone mast in Uppermill, Saddleworth.

The 1300mm wide Unic URW-376 mini spider crane was narrow enough to be able to get into the confined area where the telegraph pole stood behind a row of shops. The customer was impressed with how quickly and easily the crane could be set up ready to work in the most awkward of spaces.

Before the 8.5 metre pole could be replaced, overhead cables connected to the top of the mast needed to be uninstalled. Usually this can easily be done by a worker using a ladder, but as a neighbouring tree was in the way this was impossible.

To solve this problem, the spider crane was configured to lift an operator in a man basket, the operator cutting down the obstructing branches on his way up and then disconnecting the phone lines when he got to the top of the pole. For this first lift the Unic URW-376’s usual 2.9 tonne lifting capacity was reduced by 50% as per safety regulations for lifting people using craneage.

The mini crane was then reconfigured back to normal lifting capacity to lift out the faulty wooden mast and install the new one. The new 300kg pole was lifted from its trolley, slung ¾ of the way up and lifted until it was upright. The load could then be slewed round, lowered into the position and securely fixed in the ground before the crane was detached and derigged.

To read more about how Unic mini cranes can be used for telecoms maintenance projects, take a look at our blog story about mini cranes working in the great outdoors.

Our Unic mini crane made an appearance in the national press this weekend as The Shard skyscraper project featured in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday.

The newspaper feature looked at the progress of work on The Shard now that construction is almost complete after three years. Coverage of GGR’s work on the project has also been featured in construction industry press such as Construction News, Cranes Today and Glass & Glazing Products.

The image alongside the article shows our 6 tonne capacity Unic URW-706 mini crane sat on the building’s rooftop working alongside the tower crane, making the final touches to the highest floors of London’s tallest landmark.

Take a look at how we got the mini crane to the top of The Shard and some photos of it in action.

Follow the link to take a look at the article online on the Daily Mail website.

courtesy of Mail Online

A versatile glass vacuum lifter and two of GGR Group’s most popular compact cranes were hired to complete glazing work at Brandon Primary School in County Durham recently.

Unitized glazing panels in different sizes needed to be installed in several locations around the school, so an MRTA6 glass lifter was chosen thanks to its multi-configurable lifting frame.

In the school’s courtyard area, a 2 tonne capacity G20 pick and carry crane transported the 220kg glazing units to the right spot ready for installation. The aluminium glazing system was then lifted into place using the MRTA6 glass sucker.

Surface obstructions such as mullions and transom bars on the unitized glazing panels were not a problem for the Woods Powr-Grip MRTA6 lifter as it was fitted with new Woods pad frame extensions so the lifter’s frame sat proud from the surface. The lifter could be adjusted so its vacuum pads could reach the load and achieve full contact with its glass surface.

A Unic URW-095 mini spider crane was also used with this vacuum lifter to install glazed panels under a canopy. The mini crane was fitted with a 700kg capacity searcher hook which could be set at the precise angle required to move the glass into place.

These lifting machines are becoming more and more popular with contractors for school construction and maintenance projects as they are easy to set-up and can complete a job efficiently, causing minimum disruption to the day-to-day running of schools. Compact cranes and vacuum lifters are also ideal for reaching restricted access areas and working safely in confined spaces around site.

Read about how GGR’s lifting equipment has been used on other schools projects here.

GGR Group had chance to show off some very accurate lifting skills recently as a Unic mini crane took to the roof of a city residence in London’s exclusive Belgravia neighbourhood.

The 3 tonne capacity Unic URW-506 mini spider crane weighs just 4840kg, and measures only 1.4m wide making it compact and light enough to be placed on the small rooftop of a house in this fashionable area of London.

The mini crane was lifted 9 metres up onto the roof of the building by a lorry loader crane.  Once set up in place it started on moving its first load of the day, a 1640kg glazed swimming pool panel from a stillage on street level.

A Hydraulica 2000 glass sucker was used with the Unic mini crane as its 2 tonne capacity and 26 vacuum pads could safely handle the 4.6m by 2.9m glass sheet. The glass was lifted up to the roof where, thanks to the Hydraulica’s 210° lockable rotation function,  the load could be rotated to fit down a gap it needed to be lifted through to reach its final destination in the house’s basement.

The 360mm deep Hydraulica was slimline enough to for the mini crane to easily lower it down the metre wide gap with its thick glass load attached. Once this tricky lift was complete, the mini crane and Hydraulica 2000 then lifted a second large 950kg glass panel to the rooftop ready to be installed as a roof light.

Our compact and transportable Unic mini spider cranes are taken to all sorts of lifting locations, but this Unic URW-706 crane has surely gone to one of the most spectacular spots around as it sits at the very top of The Shard.

For the faint-hearted who don’t like heights, it’s probably best to look away now! The operators working on The Shard have been treated to some amazing birdseye views of London, and in these new shots taken by GGR staff from a helicopter you can see what a truly incredible height we are working at.

Find out about the work we are doing on the project and how we got our Unic mini crane all the way up there in our blog.

Here are the latest photos of our bright red Unic URW-706 mini spider crane standing out in the London skyline by sitting pretty on the rooftop of The Shard.

A Unic mini crane was hired to complete potentially dangerous work at a power station near Reykjavik, Iceland recently.

The mini crane operating team had to be extremely careful as they needed to work close to live high voltage power in the power station which supplies electricity to an aluminium smelter.

First the 3 tonne capacity Unic-URW 506 mini spider crane worked on the conductors which are used to transfer electricity to the station’s transformers. It helped to install 16 aluminium pieces to the conductors, each weighing between 900kg and 1500kg, including eight circuit breakers which were worth a whopping €50,000 each. The Unic URW-506 was then also used to lower six 600kg electric units from their stacks in the station so there would be enough room to safely install power lines above them.

The mini crane’s safety features made it the perfect piece of lifting equipment for this job where very strict safety measures had been put in place. The operators and machine were required to work in a designated safe zone, so the precision controls and working area limitation functions of the crane meant they could effortlessly carry out lifts in this restricted space.

Unic mini cranes are popular choices for lifting jobs in the energy sector, take a look at our work at Scotland’s biggest biomass energy plant for another example of the Unic-URW 506 in action.

We are excited to reveal that this year GGR Group will be an official corporate sponsor of the Help for Heroes 4×4 European Rally.

Since the annual rally began in 2010, the organizers have raised a massive £300,000 for Help the Heroes, and we hope that we can help them make this their most successful trip yet. The money they raise will help support British troops who have been wounded whilst being on military service in the Middle East.

The rally will see 45 teams following the route of the Allied Invasion across Europe, setting off on the 16^th June and visiting six European countries in 12 days.

Take a look at their official website for more information about the rally, how to make a donation or, if you’re up for the challenge, how to enter the rally yourself.

We’ll be updating you on the rally’s progress on our blog and Twitter, but you can also follow the Help for Heroes 4×4 European Rally team on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube for all the latest news.

As the cold weather sets in we’d like to remind all customers that we do not recommend using any vacuum lifters in temperatures below 0°C.

The cold weather can not only affect the lifting capacity, but the battery and vacuum levels too.

Full details can be found here –  Information about using Woods vacuum lifters in freezing temperatures

For further information please contact your nearest GGR Group depot.

GGR Group recently took a trip to the upmarket suburb of Highgate in London to work on a garden of palatial proportions.

The extravagant garden is part of a massive multi-million pound redevelopment project at Withanhurst House, London’s second largest private residence after Buckingham Palace. GGR Group took their largest mini spider crane, the 6 tonne capacity Unic URW-706, to the manor’s grounds to help plant trees in their new lavish gardens.

The mini crane lifted seven trees from a forklift, each one weighing just under a tonne, to a height of 5 metres to their correct position over freshly dug holes surrounding the grand fish pond.  The Unic crane’s millimeter precision controls and steady movement ensured that each of the trees stood perfectly upright as per the customer’s request – a spirit level was used to check that they were exactly vertical!

The soft, uneven ground of the landscape garden posed no problem for the Unic crane since it is designed with a traction system and flexible outrigger positions to cope with lifting on uneven surfaces.  Read more about how Unic mini cranes took on another landscape gardening project at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The City of Salford Community Stadium, home to local Rugby League team Salford Reds, opened earlier this month after GGR Group helped glaze executive boxes overlooking the pitch.

An EMU glazing robot was used to install the 400kg glass units to the spectator boxes from inside the building.  This piece of lifting equipment was perfect for the job as its precision controlled hydraulic head could easily pivot, tilt and rotate the load into the correct position ready for fitting.

The 1000kg capacity EMU glazed the building from the inside out and was a quick alternative to craneage in this difficult to reach area. Its four outriggers made sure the dual circuit glazing robot was perfectly stable during operation and spread the machine’s weight over the ground.

The new 20,000 capacity stadium cost £16 million to build, and thanks in part to a simple glazing solution from GGR, it could open its door in time for Salford Reds’ first match of 2012 against Leigh Centurions.