Granada have employed apprentices for over seven years within their 12-year residency as the Cranes and Lifting Service provider at Airbus. Justifiably very proud of their scheme, Granada are particularly pleased with the latest success for one apprentice, Jake Jones, who has recently been selected as Electrical Engineering Apprentice of the Year for Coleg Cambria which covers a large area of North Wales.

Achieving Distinctions * across every subject on his Engineering BTEC L3, Jake has now progressed on to his HNC in Engineering. In applying for the award, Jake’s tutors noted his proactive, mature approach; his all-round subject knowledge, and his outstanding effort and commitment to all aspects of the apprenticeship. His focused approach to career progression at Granada was highlighted, noting that he will doubtless go on to be an asset to his employer. Jake’s fellow Granada apprentice, Sam Moore has also excelled in his training, being on target to complete his apprenticeship qualifications ahead of schedule, by the end of June.

Granada Material Handling are delighted to be exhibiting at the world-leading aerospace trade show, Farnborough International Airshow, 11th- 17th July 2016.

We look forward to welcoming clients old and new, from across the global aerospace community, to FIA 2016 – please contact us for more information, or see the show link, here

Aibel AS have awarded Granada the contract to design, manufacture, third party certify, deliver and commission 10 davit cranes for the Hywind Offshore Wind Farm. Each of the Granada Python crane units has been specifically designed for Hywind and the challenging marine environment in which it will operate. Two Python crane units will be fitted to each of the five floating platforms.

Each Python crane unit measures approximately 4 metres in height, 5.3 metres in radius, and weighs 3,000kgs. Due to the floating nature of the Hywind foundations, the cranes have also been engineered to cope with the larger than normal foundation motions. A maximum lifting capacity of 2,000kgs is needed to hoist the heavier serviceable components from the supply vessel to the laydown area on the platforms of the transition piece platform. The crane units have been designed with a particular emphasis on health and safety and the crane operator’s needs, and are a design unique to Granada Material Handling Ltd.

Granada Material Handling have been successful in the 60th year of the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2016, in recognition of their work with Airbus.

Granada have been awarded the Gold achievement award in this prestigious annual scheme run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). They will be presented with the award during a ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel, at the RoSPA Diamond Anniversary celebration this July.

The RoSPA Awards is celebrating 60 years of presenting highly-regarded and sought after accolades to businesses and organisations which have shown commitment to accident and ill-health prevention. Through the scheme, which is open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas, judges consider entrants’ overarching occupational health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

GMH has supplied and installed 2 x 33m span 5te cranes to Cosentino Group, a long-standing customer who required a bespoke and innovative lifting solution.

Cosentino Group is a global, Spanish, family-owned company that produces and distributes high value innovative surfaces for the world of design and architecture. For this project, they needed a large, uninterrupted storage area below the cranes to maximize product layout.

GeoSea, DEME’s specialist company in complex offshore marine engineering projects, has awarded a major contract to Manchester company Granada Material Handling Ltd to design, manufacture, deliver and commission 56 davit crane units for the Galloper Offshore Wind Farm, located 27 km off the Suffolk coast. Each of the Granada ‘Python’ crane units has been specifically designed for the Galloper offshore wind farm and the challenging marine environment in which it will operate. One ‘Python’ crane unit will be fitted to each of the 56 transition piece platforms.

Granada Material Handling recently completed the design and manufacture of engine build cells for a world-leading aircraft engine manufacturing client.

The new Granada engine build cells lift the 787 Dreamliner aero engine from an incoming transport shuttle for routine service work to be carried out. Once suspended from a series of powered trolleys, the engine can be easily separated, if required, and component parts can be transferred from the engine to outside the build area using the integral hoists.

Granada are delighted to announce the roll-out of their latest DATAHUB software, and engineers are already visiting customers to demonstrate the system’s new features.

The new DATAHUB is the result of major investment, a further development of Granada’s bespoke software, developed in conjunction with and in response to user feedback and customers’ needs.

Fulfilling the numerous health and safety obligations associated with lifting equipment can be a daunting task, and DATAHUB was designed to make this much easier. While Granada have always put ease-of-use and the need for thorough and detailed information at the heart of DATAHUB, preferring to develop a bespoke system rather than purchase an off- the- shelf package, the new DATAHUB offers a number of significant new features that build on the existing product.

DATAHUB now includes the most intuitive and detailed search features for any system in use today. All information is updated across the network immediately, so customers can be sure that what they see onscreen is the latest information on each and every piece of equipment. With individual logins for each person involved in the management of lifting and handling, customers can view exactly what is relevant to each and every job or project. Customers can search by site, by location, SWL, safe to use or not, what’s due for inspection or servicing, and the status of each individual piece of equipment. The new DATAHUB includes both equipment and accessories – with equipment all tagged with a RFID chip for added security and ease of use on-site.

Granada Material Handling have completed installation of a range of tray handlers for a major international chemical and pharmaceutical operation – an environment where safety, precision and cleanliness are critical.

The equipment supplied by Granada features a number of key benefits to such clients. The pneumatic powered lifting devices assist operators to move loads safely and ergonomically. Loads can be handled very comfortably, with the movement of the operator’s hand directly transferred onto the load.

The pneumatic Up / Down balancing control includes a memory feature which can be used to save the load weight suspended on the manipulator by the push of a button. Once the load weight has been saved, the load can be freely balanced across the full lifting range without actuating any other button.
Here, the load can be guided by the control handle or directly on the load.
Thus, precise assembly or mating work can be carried out across the full lifting range. This mode of operation remains active until the Up or Down buttons are actuated or the attached load is released and put down. Once the load has been put down, the control automatically returns to the no-load balancing mode.

All the crane trolleys are fitted with brushes that clean the enclosed runway continuously – a key feature of these handlers, and one that makes them ideal for the dusty atmosphere of this plant.

Mark Sidwell, Director of Granada Material Handling commented,

“ We offer products that match the particular requirements of a broad range of sectors, whether off- or on-shore. In this instance, Granada were able to specify equipment that perfectly matches both the tasks and the environment, and we are delighted to have managed another successful installation for a client in the global chemical sector.”

Granada Material Handling have been awarded Achilles UVDB (Utilities Vendor Database) accreditation, following a rigorous, 2-day on-site assessment by one of the world’s leading global supply chain risk management companies. Overall, Granada’s rating was 98% – an exceptionally high score for this independent audit.

Used by over 1,000 buyers from over 40 UK Utilities companies, Achilles UVDB accreditation pre-qualifies Granada as an approved supplier to the Utilities sector, and makes it easier for buyers to comply with EU procurement regulations and to manage supply chain risk in a range of key areas, including:

• health and safety
• quality
• financial and legal
• environmental
• professional and technical
• sustainability and CSR

Membership of this community offers Granada access to the latest industry thoughts and trends, helping to ensure that they stay at the forefront of developments in quality and customer service, and can pass these on to customers across the UK.

Mark Sidwell, Director of Granada Material Handling, commented,

‘I’m delighted to have this independent recognition of the standards we work to here at Granada. The overall rating given by Achilles is testament to the dedication and expertise of staff across SHEQ and all areas of our business, demonstrating Granada’s commitment to best practice to both existing and potential customers in this sector.’