10TH ANNIVERSARY
A decade of change I am in the unusual position of having been in on the ground floor of Cranes and Lifting - first as a feature within Contractor magazine in 2004 and then when it grew legs and became a separately bound publication in 2007, writes Greg Keane.
I
left the magazine in 2012 and only returned mid-way through last year so, although I cover the bookends, I am unqualified to comment on much of that 10 years. As a result, I’ll cover the “then and now”.
Big changes THE first cover showed Potain tower cranes from D&G on the Perth skyline. At the time, D&G was a breath of fresh air in the tower crane industry, which experienced significant cost pressures from builders and as a result had a high average fleet age. In the isolation of the Perth market, operating a modern fleet seemed to be working for D&G. History shows that D&G went into receivership soon after expanding to the East Coast with the acquisition of Verticon. It’s a shame: the people behind D&G were real gentlemen and great hosts on their projects when I visited Perth. The D&G story is similar to a number of others as far as names that have disappeared from the crane landscape since 2007. D&G tower crane being erected, 2007.
In “At Your Service” in March 2007, profiles were done on a number of high profile crane companies. Structural Cranes was a force in the Newcastle market at the time but has since disappeared. Mackay-based company Walter Wright also disappeared, taking with it National Crane Hire, which it bought towards the end. Former manager Albert Ramsamy recalls the Walter Wright business that he was associated with for a long time as a profitable one with a good name and strong growth prior to its going public and absorbing other businesses. He has been out of the crane industry since that time but is active with indigenous business group Gulmari Group Services (he is of Torres Strait Islander descent) in providing civil and training opportunities in NSW and QLD. Herules Crane Hire was a WA company whose growth was reported on in 2007: sadly, its distinctive green cranes are just a memory. In 2007, Freo Machinery was controlled locally by the Canci family. Now, as Freo Group, it is a much larger business and controlled
by Marmon Crane Services Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway Company. This was one of a number of transactions that boosted the permanent presence of overseas companies in the Australian market, bringing new capabilities particularly at the top end. Eagle Cranes and Rigging (later ECR Group) initially established a joint venture with ALE before being acquired by it. Initially Universal Cranes and Sarens worked together to provide the market with larger crawler cranes (Universal already had an established market with smaller crawler cranes doing precast panel work). Sarens ultimately established an independent presence and moved SPMTs to Australia after completing work on the Goro nickel project in New Caledonia. LCR Lindores was reported on in 2007. With the withdrawal of the Lindores brothers from ownership, it became LCR Group. While tower cranes were a strength of the original company, the LCR Group withdrew from this market but strengthened its presence in other areas.
Gone… Walter Wright.
Sarens SPMT on New Caledonia.
Gone… Structural Cranes.
February/March 2018
29