Griffon Marine

As a business entity, the company was established under the name Griffon Hovercraft in 1976; for the onset, it operated as a specialised manufacturer of hovercraft for commercial, military and search and rescue purposes. The company's founder, Dr E. W. H. Gifford, had been one of the early pioneers in the field, working alongside British inventor Sir Christopher Cockerell and having been involved with the first commercial hovercraft operations during the 1960s. Likewise, many of Griffon's engineering staff had participated in the development of various hovercraft at the competing manufacturing interest British Hovercraft Corporation, and drew upon their knowledge of the industry in the development of the company's own product range. Griffon Hoverwork's first diesel-powered hovercraft, which was marketed as the 1000TD, was launched in 1983.

Dr Gifford remained in charge of Griffon Hovercraft for many years; John Gifford, son of the founder, was the company's managing director at the time of its merger with Hoverwork Ltd in March 2009. Hoverwork Ltd was a long-established intermediary between hovercraft operators and manufacturers, having helped to launch chartered hovercraft services across the world and having predated Griffon Hoverwork by almost a decade. The merger also involved the integration of Hovercraft Consultants Ltd, a formerly independent specialist in the design, manufacture and operation of hovercraft since 1982; prior to its acquisition, the company had been a supplier to Griffon Hoverwork.

Following the completion of the merger, other changes have been made at the company while under Bland Group's ownership; changes in Griffon Hoverwork's operating practices include an investment in modern lean manufacturing techniques and a new emphasis on after-sales customer interaction; the latter involves offering operators various products and services to improve the sustainability of both air cushion and conventional marine vessels. During the development of the 12000TD hovercraft in the 2010s, Griffon Hoverwork drew on passenger-orientated analysis supplied by operator Hovertravel, a sister company also owned by Bland Group; the passenger experience was a major focus point for the new craft. The company has also made efforts to increase its distributor network; in September 2015, Griffon Hoverwork signed a distributor agreement with South African defence firm Paramount Group.

Griffon Hoverwork produces a range of hovercraft that vary from a 380kg payload up to 75 tonne payloads. Their hovercraft are typically built with aluminium hulls, while parts of the cabins are constructed from glass-reinforced plastic with a bespoke design specialised to the role each given craft shall be used for. Griffon Hoverwork has designed each vehicle to facilitate a wide variety of fit-out configurations to suit various military, paramilitary, industrial, commercial, logistical and commuting purposes. Hovercraft provide a high level of versatility over challenging environments impassible to most other vehicles, such as marshland, tidal estuaries, shallow water, ice, and rapids.

The company was the first hovercraft manufacturer to power their craft with marine diesel engines which, they have claimed, provides a greater level of durability while operating within salt water conditions. Over time, Griffon Hoverwork has incorporated various advances into its product range. The 995ED hovercraft features an adhesive-bonded aluminium hull to decrease craft weight and thereby increase its viable payload; it is the first commercially available hovercraft in the world to be controlled through azimuthing propeller ducts instead of traditional rudders. The company's more recent hovercraft, such as the 995ED and the larger 12000TD, have adopted an electric transmission to deliver power from the diesel engines to the propulsion, manoeuvring thrusters, and lift systems.

Griffon hovercraft have been predominantly used for civilian transport, military, and life guard operations. They are commonly regarded as commercial craft for heavy duty applications, although considerations have also been made towards their use as leisure craft; passenger-orientated models typically feature noise-minimisation measures, increased external visibility, and accessibility accommodations. Furthermore, the company's product range is designed to meet exacting engineering standards; larger vessels are typically classified to Lloyd's Register standards or other customer-specified standards; they also meet compliance with various environmental, safety and reliability standards.

Specialised boats have been offered, capable of achieving speeds of up to 70 knots. The company also performs experimental design work. They designed and produced an experimental trimaran ferry boat for operation on the River Thames in London, hovering crop-sprayers, hovering cricket-pitch covers for Lord's Cricket Ground, and a hovering reed-cutter for a company in Austria.