EXECUTIVE REPORT


The remote-controlled TC1 tracked carrier and the Flexi-Mover electric trolley.


Smart moves


EHN’s Consultant Plant Editor Nick Johnson visits the GGR Group’s new head office and reports on the company’s latest machine introductions.


The family-run GGR Group is busy expanding its specialist mini crane and glass/materials handling equipment sales and hire business. It has officially opened an impressive new headquarters and southern UK support base in Buckinghamshire whilst expanding its product range. The purpose- built facility at Haddenham replaces GGR’s former base at nearby Long Crendon, providing 22,000ft2


of office, training and


conference space together with 80,000ft2 workshops and covered machine storage.


of


Formed in 1995 by Group MD Gill Riley and her brother Graeme (now Group CEO), the business takes its name from their initials. It is established as a leading supplier of compact pick-and-carry cranes and vacuum handling equipment and Gill Riley says the new complex, which covers 5.5 acres and cost £9m, provides a high-quality facility with plenty of room for expansion. Its crane fleet includes Unic spider cranes from the Japanese manufacturer Furukawa Unic, for which the Group is the European distributor through its company Unic Cranes Europe.


package with an Appointed Person. As part of the desire to provide a one-stop-shop, the company also now runs its own modern transport fleet that provides FORS compliance.


GGR’s latest spider cranes are the Eco models, painted in a distinctive lime green rather than the established Unic red. Two sizes are offered: the Eco-295 with a maximum lifting capacity of 2.9 tonnes and its smaller brother, the Eco-095 which lifts up to 995kg. Both are powered by rechargeable 48V batteries and are available on wheels or, more recently, rubber tracks. Judging by the number of lime green machines ready for dispatch in the Haddenham storage area, demand for the quiet, fume-free units is on the increase.


The AC500 wheeled mast crane, left, demonstrated with the fork-equipped GF30 pick-and-carry crane.


Also of great interest to the many visitors who attended the official opening were two recently launched compact pick-and-carry cranes. The taller machine was the AC500 produced


Some of the compact Unic Eco spider cranes inside GGR’s new Haddenham facility.


Turnover is now split 70/30 between hire and sales. The growing hire fleet now has more than 190 spider cranes, over 50 pick-and-carry cranes and 500 items of lifting equipment including specialist glass handlers. GGR aims to give customers a complete advisory service with free site surveys, lift plans and method statements. Machines can be provided under CPA Hire Conditions or as a complete Contract Lift


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in Germany by Hematec. This 980mm-wide, wheeled mast crane has a five-section vertical telescopic mast that carries a 5.1m telescopic jib. Maximum capacity and tip height are 500kg and 10.5m respectively. The other new model is the four-wheeled GF30 which can be battery or diesel driven. Able to be remote controlled, it has a maximum capacity of 3.0 tonnes when configured as a crane. It was displayed during the Open Day with an optional forklift attachment.


The profusion of specialist glass handling equipment on show included the new Glassboy 850 floor crane and the Oscar 1000 Plus glazing robot with the latest hydraulically powered slewing head. New small materials movers included the 1,200kg-capacity remote controlled TC1 tracked carrier and the 1,100kg-capacity Flexi-Mover electrically controlled wheel trolley.


To help train both customers and staff on the correct selection and safe use of small cranes and glass handling equipment, the new Haddenham headquarters also contains a large Training Department which is fully accredited to carry out CPCS, CSCS, RTITB and LEEA training and testing.


• 01844 202071 www.ggrgroup.com


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