Heavy lifting: How Irish forklift firm Combilift developed technology for moving giant turbine blades

Located just a few kilometres from the border with Northen Ireland, Monaghan-based forklift manufacturer Combilift has had to move with the times. The company started business in 1998 – the same year the Good Friday Agreement was signed – and over the past quarter century has grown to employ big numbers from both sides of the divide. 

“About 100 of our employees would be living in Northern Ireland, travelling across the border to Monaghan,” Martin McVicar, Combilift CEO, told The Engineer.

As with most manufacturers, Brexit has created headaches. But the nature of the UK’s deal with the EU and the importance placed on maintaining an open Irish border has meant Combilift has continued to thrive. In fact, it was the earlier global financial crisis that helped lay the foundations for the company’s success today.

Onshore blades have been getting bigger, but offshore, they’re at a different scale. And there’s been no product offering out there designed for handling that industry…no bespoke products made for handling really long and heavy blades