Those watching the skies around the south side of the River Thames in London this week may have been surprised to see GGR's compact mini crane being lifted to an incredible height of 283 metres onto the roof of The Shard—making it the highest ever compact crane in Britain.

The 6 tonne capacity Unic URW-706 mini spider crane was dismantled into two and lifted by a tower crane onto the 87th floor of the building which is due to be completed later this year. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and being developed by Sellar Property Group, the Shard will reach a staggering 310 metres in height and accommodate a hotel, offices, apartments, restaurants and a viewing gallery.

GGR's Unic mini crane and specialist operators will be working from the rooftop for the next few months to lift glass panels from a storage unit on the 62nd floor onto the levels above on the north and west sides of the building. A total of 11,000 angled glass panels will eventually cover The Shard’s façade which has been specially designed to reflect the London skyline.

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The Unic URW-706 compact crane was chosen to work at the summit of the skyscraper thanks to its proven experience with rooftop lifting. The 1.67m wide crane can be easily dismantled , weighs just 7.9 tonnes yet provides 6000kg of lifting power, making it a cost effective and flexible alternative to traditional tower cranes.

The variable outrigger positions of the crane made it an ideal choice to work within the limited space of The Shard’s spire construction. The outriggers were moved with millimeter precision via radio remote control before the crane was lowered onto the building’s four main support columns, with little margin for error. The boom was then lifted up to the 87th floor and reattached to the crane, ready for work to commence.

The GGR team who managed the lift were treated to an amazing bird’s eye view of the capital and were elated to witness the start of what will be a record breaking job for them. GGR Group’s Managing Director, Gill Riley, commented: "This iconic landmark is going to make a big impact across the London skyline and we are thrilled our cranes have been a part of this exciting project. It's definitely the highest point we’ve ever taken one of our Unic cranes to, luckily our operators that are working on site have a good head for heights!"

For more information about Unic mini cranes and GGR Group's full range of lifting products and services visit the website at www.ggrgroup.com