Last year GGR Group’s UNIC spider cranes helped to create a new landmark for the city of Glasgow, The SSE Hydro Arena, which is now the largest entertainment venue in Scotland.

At 45 metres tall, this impressive silver dome was inspired by Ancient Greek and Roman amphitheatres. A 3 tonne capacity UNIC URW-506 mini crane was fitted with a GL-UMC600 Glass Manipulator to install two levels of angled glass panels inside the SSE Hydro Arena.

An expert crane operator hired from GGR made the most of the limited space available at the bottom of an escalator, working at a 7 metre radius to lift the glazed units into position for installation. The UNIC mini crane and robotic vacuum head lifted the 520kg panels up to a maximum height of 9 metres to complete the job. GGR’s lifting solutions were also used for other internal glazing work around the arena’s escalators and balustrades.

The 12,000 seat arena was a £125 million project and will host gymnastics and netball events at this year’s Commonwealth Games. The music and sports venue opened its doors to the public in September 2013 with a Rod Stewart concert.

A UNIC mini crane and GL-UMC600 lifting head were also used to install façade panels to the newly opened Leeds First Direct Arena. Take a look at our HOMER glazing robot working on Liverpool’s Echo Arena in this video clip.