25.07.2025

GH Cranes marks five decades in Bakaiku

Spanish overhead and industrial crane manufacturer GH Cranes & Components has celebrated the 50th anniversary of its factory in Bakaiku, Navarre in Northern Spain.

The facility covers 10,200 square metres and employs 84 individuals. 27 percent of the workforce live in the village itself with additional employees from the Sakana Valley. One third of the current employees have worked at the facility for more than 20 years.

GH Cranes chief executive José Antonio Guerra said: "Over the past 50 years, like any company, we have gone through difficult times, with uncertainty and significant challenges, but we knew how to read the world, open up to the outside and find in internationalisation a way to continue moving forward without ever losing sight of our goal."

"The Bakaiku factory is key to GH, not only because it's one of the group's historic factories, but because today it represents the future of our company.”

The event included tours of the production facilities, where attendees observed the manufacturing process for overhead cranes.

Garbiñe Basterra, general manager of energy at the Government of Navarre added: "The GH factory in Bakaiku has not only been an economic engine, but also a space for employment, training, and growth for many people. Investment in innovation and continuous improvement has allowed it to become a benchmark in technology and quality, contributing to Navarre's competitiveness in the global market."

GH Cranes & Components was founded in 1958 in Olaberria, Gipuzkoa, by brothers Alejandro, Jesús, Marcial, and Vicente Guerra. The Bakaiku factory opened in 1975.

Established in 1958 as a manufacturer of overhead cranes and lifting equipment, GH cranes is based in Beasain, Gipuzkoa, Northern Spain. It has manufactured approximately 130,000 overhead cranes since its founding with its equipment used in different 70 countries.

The company employs 1,000 people, with production facilities and sales offices in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, France, Poland, India, China, Thailand, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. In Spain, GH operates factories in Bakaiku, Alsasua, Beasain, and Olaberria.

As part of the anniversary, the company is creating a YouTube series interviewing GH staff members about their time at the facility, you can watch the first episode below: