Crane supplier GGR enjoys a lift in sales

A CHADDERTON-BASED mini-crane supplier saw a big lift in sales in the latter part of 2009.

GGR UNIC’s sales rocketed in November with the sale of five cranes in the UK in quick succession.

The firm, a supplier of mini-crawler cranes, reported sales nearing 2008 levels — which saw them feature in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 for the second year running — and put them on target for an extremely strong end of year, despite the current economic climate.

The company’s international sales are also showing no signs of slowing down, with 22 cranes being sold in France, Germany, Italy, Abu Dhabi and the Czech Republic in November alone.

GGR, which has its head office at Presentation House on the Broadway Business Park, delivered equipment to Arco Engineering in Essex, Burnley Council and Dowlen Technic Ltd, Wise Steelwork in Oxfordshire, plus a spider crane to Mars Petcare in Melton Mowbray.

Mars Petcare produces well-known pet foods such as Whiskas and Pedigree. The petrol LPG crane with a searcher hook option will be used for maintenance of the production line.

The Mars team operating the crane also attended GGR’s specialist training centre.

Burnley Council bought a crane mainly for lifting and resetting fallen grave stones, an application for which GGR UNIC mini cranes have become increasingly popular following from their use at Yardley Memorial in Birmingham. GGR also supplied the stone-lifting clamp to minimize manual handling.

Steel fabricators and erectors Wise Steelwork, in Oxfordshire, offers steel fabrication and steel erection services, specialising in more complex contracts, often with difficult access.

Managing director Keith Gresty commented: “We’ve got an extremely high-profile job at a luxury hotel in London and knew there was no other way of getting the steel into place without GGR’s help.

“The new crane will be extremely useful for all areas of our business. We’re so pleased that we’ve promised to buy Gill and Graeme Riley a bottle of champagne at our local pub.”

GGR chief executive officer Graeme Riley said: “With increasingly strong sales despite the unfortunate current economic climate, GGR’s position as number one in the industry is unquestionable.”