A leading industrial manufacturer was given a huge lift during Covid after securing a series of major energy projects and taking on new staff.
Anglesey-based Mona Lifting has completed a raft of complex jobs over the past 12 months, most recently the design, manufacture and installation of an 18-metre maintenance footbridge at Maentwrog hydro-electric power station in partnership with Magnox Ltd.
Since launching 16 years ago, the business has grown from directors Steve Jones, Robin Evans and Anita Davies to almost 40 staff.
鈥淒espite the challenges of Coronavirus this has been one of the busiest periods we鈥檝e ever had, and we鈥檝e employed more people,鈥 said Steve, the managing director.
鈥淎s the company has grown, we have expanded our services to become a multi-discipline operation, which means working in numerous sectors and allowing us to be selective and take on bigger, more intricate projects that demand our experience and expertise.
鈥淭he bridge at Maentwrog was an example of that; logistically it was a tough task, sited on a mountainside at the top of the plant, so we had to use a helicopter to put it in place.
鈥淏ut these are the kind of challenges we relish, and to work closely with Magnox Ltd 鈥 with whom we have a long-standing relationship 鈥 is a privilege for us.鈥
He added: 鈥淲e have other big projects lined up in the months ahead, including the design and manufacture of overhead travelling cranes and structures for the decommissioning of a heavy water reactor at Magnox Ltd鈥檚 Winfrith site in Dorset.
鈥淲e also have international clients and recently manufactured a 105-tonne safe-working load tool for lifting the small Atlas Wheel at the Hadron Collider in CERN, Geneva, which was brilliant to be a part of.
鈥淥verall, like many we have been in uncharted territory but are pleased to have been able to continue working and are looking ahead to the future with confidence.鈥
Challenging project
Meanwhile, the implementation of the bridge at Maentwrog was lauded by Andy McAteer, who manages the plant.
鈥淲eather conditions were near-perfect for the operation to proceed,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t was mesmerising to watch the helicopter pilot skilfully guide his craft to lift the bridge beams up to site, orientate them to their correct plane and guide them into position within the 2.9 metre space between the pipelines.
鈥淚t is a great credit to supply chain partners Mona Lifting and Heli-Lift Services for their extensive preparatory planning to ensure the installation was successfully completed.鈥
The design and fabrication of the structure took place over six months and included a mock-up and full trial assembly to ensure everything went perfectly on the day of installation.
Gethin Jones, Mona Group Operations Manager, said: 鈥淎 team of 12, including two apprentices, worked on this unique project which began with a 3D dimensional scan of the site to ascertain the abutment points the new bridge would be attached to.
鈥淲e reformed one of the degraded abutments, erected scaffolding for site access and removed the former wooden structure.
鈥淎 traffic control team closed a section of highway so that the load could cross, and the bridge beam sections were flown about 700 metres to the site where a team of riggers and mechanical fitters carefully controlled the lowering of the bridge beams into place 鈥 it was some achievement.鈥
He added: 鈥淭he Mona Group has worked with Magnox Ltd for 16 years manufacturing cranes, bespoke lifting devices, mechanical components and carrying out decommissioning work.
鈥淭he Maentwrog footbridge installation was a challenging and exhilarating experience for us and one that we were very proud to have been involved with.鈥
Want more news like this? Sign up to the Business Live Wales newsletter here
