One of GGR’s UNIC mini cranes and a Stone Magnet vacuum lifter came to the rescue when semi-porous glass reinforced concrete (GRC) panels needed to be installed inside a new office development in London’s Soho.

Semi-porous GRC panels weighing 400kg each were fitted onto the interior walls of Great Pulteney Street’s building using a UNIC URW-095 mini crane and GGR ‘s exclusive Stone Magnet. At just 0.6m wide in its stowed position, the UNIC URW-095 mini crane had no problem getting into position to lift the 3 metre tall panels in this restricted access area.

The dual circuit Stone Magnet lifter features closed cell foam lipped pads and a modified constant running vacuum system which can safely handle semi-porous materials such as glass reinforced concrete. GRC has grown in popularity as a cost-effective, lightweight alternative to more traditional precast concrete cladding in the UK building industry.

Available to hire with 270kg and 405kg capacities, GGR’s Stone Magnets can safely rotate and tilt stone slabs and are ideal for use with our UNIC mini spider cranes or pick and carry cranes. A 270kg capacity Stone Magnet was hired to lift and install these stone cladding panels at Liverpool John Moores University.