Grant Engineering donates cutting edge boilers to AIT

Grant Engineering, the leading designer and manufacturer of energy efficient boilers in Ireland and the UK, has donated four state of the art products to Athlone Institute of Technology. The new equipment will be used for the training and education of apprentices, technicians and engineering students. The four boilers Euroflame 50/90, Vortex Condensing Boiler 15/26, Multipass Boiler and Vortex Condensing Combi 36, are an important addition to the teaching facilities and resources in Athlone. More than 200 apprentice plumbers attend AIT annually, in addition to the growing number of engineering students studying mechanical engineering and renewable energy at the institute. It is also anticipated that the boilers will be a boost to the institute"s application to the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC) to deliver their certified training programmes. The boilers were officially presented to the Department of Engineering Trades at a ceremony in Athlone last week. Representatives of the Birr-based company met with AIT President, engineering staff and students at the event. Stephen Grant, MD of Grant Engineering, said that his company was honoured to be associated with the current training facility at Athlone Institute of Technology. 'We hope that going forward it will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship between both organisations, and most especially for the tutors and trainees who pass through the college,' he added. Building and maintaining strong relationships between AIT and companies such as Grant Engineering is critical to the ongoing development of the Midlands region, said Austin Hanley, Head of the Engineering School. 'This ensures that our students benefit doubly from excellent teaching and study facilities on campus, and also gain direct experience of the requirements of industry,' he said. Kieran Heavin, Head of Department of Engineering Trades, paid tribute to the generosity of Grant Engineering and the contribution the company has made to the Midlands. 'Stephen Grant is responsible for some of the most significant developments in the energy and home heating market over the past three decades. His extensive list of patents and innovations are testimony to a man of great vision and ingenuity,' he said. 'We are honoured to partner with him and we look forward enormously to a very fruitful relationship in the years ahead.' Grant Engineering has been the recipient of numerous industry and business awards. Mr Grant was the winner of the industry category of the Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008, while Grant Engineering won the energy service/supply company category of the Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) awards in November 2008.