ANCR legends of lifting special featureANCR legends of lifting special feature AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION REVIEW68 69

World-best tower and mobile cranes for hire, buy new or second-hand, are what give Clark Cranes and its sister company, Associated Mobile Cranes, the edge in lifting, says Owner and Founder, Michael Clark.

Clark Cranes has the dealership for Italian-made Raimondi tower cranes for the construction industry for wet or dry hire. The range he offers from his Melbourne base includes cranes that can lift as little as 4 tonne with a reach of 39m, up to a 14 tonne machine that raises 2.7 tonnes at 76m. As well, he stocks $200,000 of spare parts for Raimondi cranes which gives their clients peace of mind.

“The Raimondi cranes are very well built and easy to erect and dismantle plus they are electric, so very quiet and there’s no emissions. The latest model of a luffing crane has a 60m jib and takes just a day to erect. That’s half the time of a comparable crane,” said Michael.

“We even have cranes that can go inside the lift shaft to build a building to take away any of those penetrations through slabs or outside of the building. It’s a small crane with a big capacity.”

The relationship with Associated Mobile Cranes? It’s the company his father set up in 1990 and for which Michael worked until he branched out on his own a decade ago. The two businesses work closely together to offer the construction industry a one-stop shop for cranes including training and operator hire.

Clark Cranes sell new and second hand cranes so offer the whole package from erection, dismantling, spare parts to certification and commissioning reports. Other products for sale or hire include plant equipment, tipping bins, kibble buckets, onsite skips, man cages, plaster cages, first aid cages, and brick cages.

The company employs 25 people, operates across Australia and conducts most of its business in Melbourne and Brisbane. “You have the full support of the company talking directly with the owner. Any dramas you have can be sorted over the phone or the help of our two support vehicles on the road everyday catering to our clients’ needs,” Michael said.

For more information contact Clark Cranes Pty Ltd, 336 Settlement Road, Thomastown VIC 3074, phone 03 9464 7444, email michael@clarkcranes.com.au, website www.clarkcranes.com.au

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legends of lifting | clark craneslegends of lifting | special feature

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When heights have to be scaled to complete a task, particularly an out-of-the-ordinary job, more often than not a call goes out to the specialists at Ace tower Hire and services. Whether it is telecommunications tower maintenance, bridge work, erecting advertising billboards, replacing lights at sporting facilities or church spire inspection, Ace Tower Hire can provide the right equipment and skilled operators for the lift.

Now part of the ‘Yes, it’s Ace’ Group, Ace Tower Hire is based in Melbourne but services clients around Australia. Director, Mark Calvi, said that the company provides a full range of services utilising its modern fleet-mounted aerial work platforms from cherry pickers through to travel towers with a range from 8m to 101m. Fully trained for working at heights, Ace Tower Hire operators are provided to assist in working the bucket for clients.

“We are often called in when a client has a particular problem to solve,” Mark said. “Designing a solution and an action plan to resolve the issue provides plenty of challenges but makes each job all the more interesting for our team.”

Mark pointed to the work that Ace Tower Hire has done on the West Gate Bridge as a prime example of the company’s capabilities. West Gate Bridge is a steel box girder cable-stayed bridge spanning the Yarra and is one of the busiest road corridors in Australia carrying 200,000 vehicles a day.

Bridge preservation activities and preventative maintenance are critical. Ace Tower Hire conducts general bridge inspections and has played a major part in the bridge strengthening program and the upgraded anti-suicide fencing project.

“Naturally we have to carry out all our work with a minimum of inconvenience to the traffic flow so we work at night with a tight time frame, which poses extra problems,” Mark added. “There is also the weather to consider, as wind and rain can increase the difficulty of the exercise. However with our fleet of truck-mounted elevated work platforms and specialised bridge units plus

our experience, it makes us the number one choice to deliver working at heights solutions for major bridge projects Australia-wide.”

A challenge of a very different nature was the contract to change all the glass light globes over the clay courts at the Melbourne Tennis Centre. Imported from Italy, the globes had to be handled carefully and there was the added challenge of bringing the right equipment onto the court area with limited doorway access.

“We worked out a way to solve the problem and were able to complete the job as per the contract,” Mark said. “We apply the same analytical approach to all our jobs whether it is servicing wind farm towers, tree pruning for electricity suppliers or lifting large panes of glass for glaziers on construction projects.”

The Ace Group operates a compliant integrated quality management system that meets the ISO9001: 2009 and ISO14001: 1996 standard. All employees are inducted into the system and its implementation. Factors bearing on the QMS are quality assurance, environmental issues, industrial relations, safety management and operating procedures.

Mark said that the quality management system was critical to the company’s success as it continued to grow and expand its services. “We employ nearly 40 people all of whom are committed to improving our various core business processes that will ultimately lead us to advance our overall performance and relationships with our clients, many of whom are Australia’s leading construction companies, power utilities and telecommunications providers.”

“We are determined to maintain our leadership position in the high lift market, so we continually source new equipment for the ever-higher construction and maintenance tasks Ace Tower Hire is asked to perform,” Mark said.

For more information contact Ace Tower Hire, 185-191 Liverpool Road, Kilsyth VIC 3137, phone 1800 13 13 66, fax 03 9761 8049, email mark.c@yesitsace.com.au, website www.acetower.com.au

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legends of lifting | ace tower hire

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Continually refreshing their fleet of cranes and support vehicles to better fit with their clients and customers’ needs is a strength of Botany Cranes & Forklifts. This 60-year-strong company is a true ‘Legend of Lifting’ that’s time and time again helped the Sydney metropolitan construction sector with equipment hire to ensure their projects are completed safely and on time.

“It’s easy to find worksites that are in dire need of a quality crane in Sydney and even easier to find satisfied foremen and construction site organisers that have come to us for crane hire and completed their projects far ahead of schedule,” said Managing Director, Damian Griffiths.

“That’s because our Botany Cranes work vehicles are certified, safe and among the most well-tested in all of New South Wales. There are few things more dependable than one of our trucks working in tandem with our reliable, well-trained operators and dogmen.”

Botany Cranes’ rental process involves an experienced staff member having an in depth site visit to get a grip on you job’s requirements. This approach ensures they give you the best vehicle for your needs. Leave it to Botany Cranes to operate and dog the cranes and take care of the workplace health and safety documents for that equipment.

Damian has been at the helm of this family run company since February 2016, having worked up the ranks over previous years

refining his skills as a marine and motor mechanic. He has more than 12 years experience in the crane and access industry.

Botany Cranes has 15 mobile cranes ranging from small (3 tonne) mini crawler cranes, city cranes, franna cranes, truck cranes and a fleet of all terrain cranes ranging from 35-130 tonne. There’s also a low loader and semi trailers. Two full-time mechanics ensure every crane and vehicle in their fleet is at the ready for any worksite in New South Wales. Five years is the average age of their fleet.

For the past 15 years, Botany Cranes has been the exclusive mobile crane supplier to Garde Services throughout Sydney and the Central Coast. Also on Botany Cranes’ client deck are Ausgrid, Caltex, Botany Industrial Park, navy bases as well as industrial sites and various freight forwarders. They even hire cranes to sensitive freight companies installing telecommunication equipment, MRI machines, CT scanners and other sensitive medical equipment around Sydney and beyond. Botany Cranes were called to help upgrade Kogarah and Bankstown Railway stations. They also provide to building, air conditioning and roofing companies as well as the marine industry.

Botany Cranes’ customers include the movie industry and flagship events. Their cranes have done the hard yards for Wolverine, Unbroken, Mad Max Fury Road and Hacksaw Ridge as well as for the Extreme Sailing Event on Sydney Harbour each year.

The company gets an even bigger boost through its affiliations with Botany Access, Brisbane Access and Newcastle Access. Botany Access actually has Sydney’s largest privately owned access equipment for hire. These include a wide range of scissor lifts, elevated work platforms, scaffolding, cherry pickers, forklifts and telescopic handles to make ease of any access and material handling needs onsite.

For more information contact Botany Cranes & Forklift Services Pty Ltd, 15 Hale Street, Botany NSW 2019, phone 02 9666 6366, email bookings@botanycranes.com.au, website www.botanycranes.com.au

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‘saving you time,’ while doing it right is a catchcry of All About lifting & safety. It has a mobile testbed truck ready to conduct onsite mechanical load testing and repairs of lifting, rigging, height safety and industrial workshop equipment whenever their clients need it, saving on downtime by bringing equipment back into service on the spot without delay.

General Manager, Scott Pennings says his company is accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA). While All About Lifting & Safety is a three year old company, Scott and his staff, draws on its two decades within the industry, plus is in partnership with the Barry Evans Lifting World Group, which has branches across New South Wales and Victoria. “We’re a company of eight people and we’re fully tooled up for every type of lifting challenge,” Scott said. “Plus, we can call on nearly 200 years of experience from the Barry Evans Lifting World Group, which employs about 30 people.”

All About Lifting & Safety also has an online register system which sends Scott, his staff and his customers prompts via email, when they need to recertify their equipment. He said the average person in the construction industry might not know about the compliance requirements for lifting equipment, which considers how much the equipment is used, not just by a periodical timetable. Height safety equipment should not only be inspected prior to use, but recertified every six months by a competent person who works in the industry according to Australian Standards. Soft slings need to be inspected against specific criteria every three months and swift lifts tested annually. You have to have a paper trail to keep compliant, which our online register system makes easy to do.

All About Lifting & Safety is working in diverse industry sectors including utilities, government, bridges, railways, civil works, residential developments and more, on long and short-term contracts. The company is working on the Commonwealth Games Village to open in 2018, carrying out inspections and supplying new lifting and height safety equipment. They’ve even undertaken work in Nauru doing the annual lifting and re-certifications on the island and in Papua New Guinea on drill rigs.

For more information contact All About Lifting & Safety Pty Ltd, (QLD) Unit 1, 12 Duntroon Street, Brendale QLD 4500, (NSW) Unit 15, 12 Tierney Place, Tweed Heads South NSW 2486, phone 07 3889 7774, email admin@allaboutlifting.com.au, website www.allaboutlifting.com.au

legends of lifting | all about lifting & safety

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Advance Cranes is one of sydney’s leading providers of all types of lifting services and has one simple objective – to become the first choice for lifting needs by providing the best quality equipment and personalised service from highly qualified employees.

The company employs over 80 trained and licenced dogmen, crane operators and riggers that are specially trained to operate tower cranes, as well as internal structural and mechanical engineers and qualified electrical engineers. Advance Cranes offers a full range of lifting services for small to large-scale jobs.

Safety is a priority at Advance Cranes. Director, Jay El-Mir said that no effort is spared to ensure all equipment is regularly serviced and inspected on a daily basis, and that all employees are comprehensively trained to meet industry regulatory standards. “We also strive to have the latest in modern crane technology in our fleet which incorporate the highest safety standards available.”

Riggers from Advance Cranes specialise in crane base installation, Tower Crane installation, commissioning, dismantling and servicing. Structural engineers are also made available for the design of structures that support loads in a safe and efficient manner.

Advance Cranes can provide an extensive range of lifting equipment depending on client needs. “We have topless cranes, luffing cranes and hammer head cranes for hire, backed by our internal technical expertise. One of the services we are known for is meeting the requirements of our clients at short notice and if required, we can erect cranes at night to minimise disruption on building sites.”

Advance Cranes has its cranes at a number of high-rise projects around Sydney at the moment, with one highlight being the 24-storey Paper Mill apartments in Liverpool. “We have a 16 tonne and a 5 tonne crane supporting that development which is one of many which are revitalising Western Sydney as a great place to live and work,” Jay said. “It is a great example of the excellent lifting service which Advance Cranes is proud to undertake for any client.”

For more information contact Advance Cranes Pty Ltd, phone 1800 TOWERCRANE, email info@advancecranes.com.au, website www.advancecranes.com.au

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legends of lifting | advance cranes

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When it comes to crane sales and service, pace Cranes is one of the best in the business. Pace Cranes, the trading name of P.A. Construction Equipment Pty Ltd, is Australian owned and operated and has serviced the needs of the building and construction industry since 1987.

Pace Cranes is the authorised distributor for Maeda mini crawler cranes in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, as well as Sennebogen crawler cranes, Valla pick and carry cranes and Shuttlelift rubber-tyred gantry cranes.

The innovative Maeda mini crawler range is extremely popular and can be found on most building sites in Australia. Pace Cranes has been associated with Maeda for over 24 years and has sold over 1,000 units in that time.

Managing Director of Pace Cranes, Anthony Heeks, said that the versatility and flexibility of the Maeda range make them an indispensible tool.

“From panelling and cladding, through the full spectrum of glass handling to restoration projects, specialist lifting applications or in restricted areas on domestic and construction sites such as erecting noise barriers on highways, their compact dimensions and ability to manoeuvre mean that in many lift situations they replace the need for much larger cranes.”

Anthony added that the 2.8 tonne and under walk-behind models can fit into man and material lifts with their narrow footprint. “That is just one of the reasons for their popularity on high-rise sites. Another major reason is that the Maeda series can be used on suspended slabs as they are lightweight but have stability with their outriggers extended,” he said. “They are ideal for lifting steel structures and curtain walls.”

A new model, the MC815C, with an 8 tonne capacity is due for release at the end of 2016. Pace Cranes supports all its sales with a service department of highly qualified technical personnel with experience and knowledge in repairing most makes of cranes.

For more information contact Pace Cranes, 5-7 Lorraine Street, Peakhurst NSW 2210, phone 02 9533 5411, email sales@pacecranes.com.au, website www.pacecranes.com.au

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legends of lifting | pace cranes

After 40 years in the crane business, gleason Cranes regularly has second-generation clients, says Founder, Chris logan.

“From some of our clients and their businesses, we’re now up to selling them an 11th or 12th crane. It’s all word of mouth in this industry because it’s so small, everyone knows everyone else by reputation,” said Chris.

Gleason Cranes is a trailblazer having been the first Australian company to import new and used cranes approved for operation in Australia. “We were the first company to master that and do it correctly. We’re still doing it today,” said Chris. Gleason’s is also the biggest buyer and seller of used cranes in Australia, and also acts as a broker and sells spare parts.

Gleason Cranes is an Australian distributor for Zoomlion, XCMG, Ormig, R&B Mighty Crane and Galizia. As well they offer a comprehensive range of tower cranes, all terrain cranes, truck cranes, crawler cranes, rough terrain cranes, mini crawler cranes and pick and carry cranes etc.

The company is a major seller of Chinese cranes across Australia. “We’ve been specialising in that for seven years. We put our name behind it. A lot of people treat Chinese products as being low quality, but today they are very, very reliable machines and you know that because you don’t get calls on the warranty,” Chris said.

“They are very simple cranes, not overly engineered and not overly computerised so they’re fairly easy to fix. They give you all the protections of German and Japanese cranes, too.”

An example of a Chinese crane manufacturer being a big global player, Zoomlion has 13 factories in China and employs over 50,000 people.

Gleason Cranes also completes repairs and major inspections to Australian standards and offers a dry hire and crane finder service.

For more information contact Gleason Cranes Sales Pty Ltd, 24 Canterbury Road, Braeside VIC 3175, phone (sales) 1300 686 626, email sales@gleason.com.au, website www.gleason.com.au

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legends of lifting | gleason cranes

Sold by GleasonXCMG XGT560, 25T Capacity

New to Tasmania

Biggest and best

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A leading provider of tower cranes and related services, strictly Cranes pty ltd (strictly Cranes), has established a strong reputation in the burgeoning construction industry by centering its offering around superior client relationship management paired with the latest in heavy lifting technologies. Based in Regents Park in Sydney with a regional office in Brisbane, Strictly Cranes draws on more than two decades of experience boasting a solid team of highly-skilled and dedicated lifting specialists.

With a fully European-sourced fleet, including Italian manufactured Raimondi topless and luffing crane models, Strictly Cranes also acts as the exclusive agent for the Italian companies Boscaro and Electroelsa.

“We provide the very best in European technology to the local market. Our fleet of Raimondi cranes, globally recognised for research-based design, hoisting innovation and leading technology, ensures that our clients can choose from versatile machines that deliver enhanced performance – Raimondi products achieve the optimum balance between safety, efficiency, quality and durability,” explained Ramey Alkhoshaibi, Commercial Manager, Strictly Cranes.

Offering both sales and rental alternatives, the company also facilitates jobsite successes by providing fully trained, certified and licensed staff to address both erection and operational needs of a wide variety of both residential and commercial construction projects. “We back up all of our cranes with first class technical and service resources. Our sales technicians execute site inspections to recommend the best-fit type of crane, and we then provide all required documentation to satisfy Worksafe Australia licensing requirements,” he continued.

“We also extend our services to include client reminders on license renewal, regulatory changes, and servicing schedules. After sales service is a strong focus for us,” continued Ramey, highlighting the importance of providing a smooth client experience with unsurpassed personal jobsite attention and competitive pricing strategies.

For more information contact Strictly Cranes Pty Ltd, Suite 6, Level 2, 398 Chapel Road, Bankstown NSW 2200, phone 02 9649 3737, fax 02 9649 2727, email info@strictlycranes.com.au, website www.strictlycranes.com.au

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legends of lifting | strictly craneslegends of lifting | dynamic rigging hire

Dynamic Rigging Gear is the Melbourne go to equipment hire company when it comes to lifting and rigging gear catering to tier 1 commercial builders, tower crane providers, mobile crane companies and the civil contracting sectors.

With a range of more than 1,000 pieces of equipment Dynamic Rigging Hire provides all the gear between the hook of a crane to the load. In commercial construction one key speciality is rigging gear for precast panel lifts with a large range of lifting clutches, sheave blocks, spreader beams and chain slings that can cater for the largest of panels and multi point lifts.

Dynamic Rigging Hire can provide gear nationally and currently have equipment on sites in all states including the Skytrain project in New South Wales and the Itchys project in Darwin.

The range of equipment is issued pre-inspected, tagged with test certificates so the equipment is sent to site and ready to be put to work, as you need it with no ownership/certification hassles. Service is the key to the success of Dynamic Rigging Hire. We understand the unpredictable nature of construction and provide a quick response to all enquiries and site deliveries.

RIGGING GEAR DRY HIRE EXPERTS

• spreader beams

• crane work boxes

• materials cages

• chain sets to 32mm

• sheave blocks 8 to 50t

• lifting clutches in all brands

151 Dohertys Road,

Laverton VIC 3026

(03) 8360 8910 | 0457 777 725

sales@dynamicrigging.com.au

Above: Gleason Cranes XCMG XGT560, 25T CapacityBelow: Dynamic Rigging Hire