Latest news with #crane
The Australian
a day ago
- Business
- The Australian
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's Freo Group crane company in strife; Perth Bears fan Joe Hockey in enemy territory
The Australian Business Network More troubles at Warren Buffett's Australian outpost, as crane major Freo Group loses more senior executives and closes a key regional branch after contract losses. The last year has seen a fair bit of turmoil at Freo, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway's giant Marmon industrial and construction group, which bills itself as Australia's biggest crane hire and logistics company. Perhaps not for that much longer, the way things are going. Freo Group has been run by Canadian Marmon executive Tim Macleod since February, after the quickfire departures of former chief executives Sven Glade and Steve Rogers in only two years. It also lost chief financial officer Joseph Jeevaraj in February, and since then has shed its general manager of strategy, health and safety boss, and national recruitment manager. The latest to depart, Margin Call hears, is commercial manager Thomas van Jaarsfeld, who quit only a few months after taking a promotion into the role and moving to Western Australia from the east coast. A senior contracts manager has also left the business, and we're told at least one other executive is out on indefinite leave amid the turmoil. That's on top of a broader restructuring round that involved a suite of voluntary redundancies. Freo has also rolled over its board after the unfortunate passing of long-term director Emmanouel Katsikandarakis in March. For three months, the company and its immediate parent Marmon Construction Services Australia had only a single director, US-based Tim Benjamin, ahead of the appointment of Marmon's Canada-based executive Jens Lanker and new Freo Group CFO Adam Botica at the end of June. It's all getting a bit tetchy inside the tent at Freo Group, Margin Call is told, with some departing staff forced to wrangle over repayment of expenses and even struggling to reclaim personal effects from their offices. On top of that Freo is in the midst of shuttering its Kalgoorlie branch after losing a major contract on the mining city's Golden Mile. Tough times in the construction industry, perhaps, amid the collapse of a number of major building companies and civil contractors across the country over the last year. Except that key competitors such as ASX-listed Boom Logistics seem to be doing OK, judging by a May upgrade to its full-year profit guidance. And smaller local competitors are revelling in Freo Group's troubles, snapping up senior staff from the crane major and happily poaching contracts said to be worth more than $50m in recent times. Could it, perhaps, be a rare misstep in strategy from the Sage of Omaha's company? Industry sources suggest that might be the case, with Freo Group following the lead of its US parent in hiking prices and trying to focus on extending work with major clients – the biggest of which is BHP – and ditching short-term crane hire to smaller clients. Except that's where you can make a bit of cash from equipment idled from bigger contracts. And the price hikes are largely to blame for contract losses. It's all a bit grim for Freo Group's remaining staff, amid persistent rumours the company is being prepared for sale. They might need to get on with it, though, while there's something left to sell. Rare run west Say what you will about former treasurer Joe Hockey, arguably the North Sydney Bears rugby club's most notable fan, but he's not afraid to enter the enemy's den. It's hard to move in Perth's tight-knit business, political and media circles without tripping over a conflicting interest or two. So it was with some amusement that Margin Call noted that Hockey will be one of the headline speakers at a 'resources showcase' run by Perth's only daily newspaper. The West Australian – owned by Kerry Stokes' Seven West media, which has the broadcast rights to the AFL – has been no supporter of rugby league's latest attempt to establish a beachhead in the AFL state via the Perth Bears. The paper greeted WA Premier Roger Cook's announcement of state government support for a new NRL club in Perth with a 'bad news bears' headline, and plenty of critical coverage – not helped by the fact that former West editor Anthony De Ceglie was announced as the club's inaugural chief executive. A sold-out State of Origin rugby match in Perth was greeted by the paper with only minimal coverage, and tensions are still riding high. Hockey was recently announced as a member of the Perth Bears' founding board. And yet the former federal treasurer joins BHP and Rio Tinto iron ore bosses Tim Day and Simon Trott as one of the headline speakers at the resources event run by the newspaper in August. He'll be on stage at a lunchtime event with Caterpillar's global technology vice president Corey Wurtzbacher. Curiously enough, Stokes' Seven Group Holdings' core business segment involves selling Caterpillar mining equipment. Hockey is there in his role as the founder of advisory firm Bondi Partners, and the former Australian ambassador to the United States – no argument that his views will be of interest to the crowd. But still a slightly odd choice, given the state's main trading relationship is with China. Hockey's short term as federal treasurer doesn't rate a mention on The West's promotional material. Hardly a surprise, mind you, given his fractious relationship with the state when in the job largely consisted of refusing to stack the GST distribution system in WA's favour. A bit of influence from former West Australian premier Mark McGowan, long a favourite of the WA paper and now on the Bondi Partners roster, might have helped things along. And perhaps his presence will also enable a bit of outreach on behalf of the Perth Bears at the same time? Particularly if he heads west bearing a promise of a generous donation from the NRL to the Seven-backed Telethon fundraising event when it comes around in October – traditionally the best way back into Stokes' good books in Perth. Nick Evans Margin Call Columnist and Resource Writer Nick Evans has covered the Australian resources sector since the early days of the mining boom in the late 2000s. He joined The Australian's business team from The West Australian newspaper's Canberra bureau, where he covered the defence industry, foreign affairs and national security for two years. Prior to that Nick was The West's chief mining reporter through the height of the boom and the slowdown that followed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Yes, cranes are supposed to spin in the wind like that
Thursday was a dark and stormy night in Ottawa, and if you looked up you may have noticed a tall construction crane spinning in the wind. At least three videos posted on social media showed a crane's boom or jib — the horizontal part — swinging dizzily as the storm closed in, unsettling some observers. But it turns out that's perfectly normal — and required. André Brisson, founder and president of Objective Engineering and an expert in construction equipment including mobile and tower cranes, gave us the lowdown. His answers have been edited for length and clarity. Why do unattended cranes sometimes spin in the wind? It can be quite disconcerting to see the tower cranes whip around in the wind, but that is actually part of the design of the crane — and for safety. When the the tower crane operator is not at the controls, they actually disconnect the tower crane from the rotation system, which are basically big gears tying things together. They allow that to freewheel so that the wind can't push the crane around, and that's what they call "weathervaning" or "free-slewing." If we didn't do that, the wind can actually rip out the the motor gears and collapse the crane because its pressure can exceed the crane's structural limitations, especially in the gusty, warm summer storms we've been getting. Can the wind really cause a crane to collapse? If the crane is rigidly tied at the top of the tower and the wind is pushing the boom around, we're actually going to twist the tower. So if that tower twists too far, it can collapse. The boom, on the other hand, is the same idea. Just like when you use a wrench, the longer the arm, the less force you need to tighten or to break a screw. That extra load amplifies on the rotation system, which we can twist the tower, or the boom could be pushed so much that that boom collapses. If we have any part of the tower crane collapsing, it's a catastrophic failure. So when should we be concerned about a spinning crane? If the construction site is active, and nine times out of 10 a tower crane is there to lift material, and if you're seeing a trolley go back and forth on the boom and it's lifting up materials, that's the natural course of the day. If you're starting to see other parts of the crane moving around when the construction site is closed or no one's up there, yeah, possibly [that's cause] to be concerned. [But] if we're seeing it freewheel and it's moving and it stops, or even it goes around like a [spinning] top, depending on the wind, that's normal. Is anyone checking to make sure these cranes are safe? Normally tower cranes are on a project site for two to three years, and on some projects it could be up to eight or nine years, depending on the size of the project. But keep in mind that these tower cranes are inspected frequently — daily, weekly, monthly, and annually — and that includes a structural inspection. So the crane might be on site for nine years, but it's being looked at and repaired and maintained to make sure the project can go forward and that the equipment is safe to use.
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Yes, cranes are supposed to spin in the wind like that
Thursday was a dark and stormy night in Ottawa, and if you looked up you may have noticed a tall construction crane spinning in the wind. At least three videos posted on social media showed a crane's boom or jib — the horizontal part — swinging dizzily as the storm closed in, unsettling some observers. But it turns out that's perfectly normal — and required. André Brisson, founder and president of Objective Engineering and an expert in construction equipment including mobile and tower cranes, gave us the lowdown. His answers have been edited for length and clarity. Why do unattended cranes sometimes spin in the wind? It can be quite disconcerting to see the tower cranes whip around in the wind, but that is actually part of the design of the crane — and for safety. When the the tower crane operator is not at the controls, they actually disconnect the tower crane from the rotation system, which are basically big gears tying things together. They allow that to freewheel so that the wind can't push the crane around, and that's what they call "weathervaning" or "free-slewing." If we didn't do that, the wind can actually rip out the the motor gears and collapse the crane because its pressure can exceed the crane's structural limitations, especially in the gusty, warm summer storms we've been getting. Can the wind really cause a crane to collapse? If the crane is rigidly tied at the top of the tower and the wind is pushing the boom around, we're actually going to twist the tower. So if that tower twists too far, it can collapse. The boom, on the other hand, is the same idea. Just like when you use a wrench, the longer the arm, the less force you need to tighten or to break a screw. That extra load amplifies on the rotation system, which we can twist the tower, or the boom could be pushed so much that that boom collapses. If we have any part of the tower crane collapsing, it's a catastrophic failure. So when should we be concerned about a spinning crane? If the construction site is active, and nine times out of 10 a tower crane is there to lift material, and if you're seeing a trolley go back and forth on the boom and it's lifting up materials, that's the natural course of the day. If you're starting to see other parts of the crane moving around when the construction site is closed or no one's up there, yeah, possibly [that's cause] to be concerned. [But] if we're seeing it freewheel and it's moving and it stops, or even it goes around like a [spinning] top, depending on the wind, that's normal. Is anyone checking to make sure these cranes are safe? Normally tower cranes are on a project site for two to three years, and on some projects it could be up to eight or nine years, depending on the size of the project. But keep in mind that these tower cranes are inspected frequently — daily, weekly, monthly, and annually — and that includes a structural inspection. So the crane might be on site for nine years, but it's being looked at and repaired and maintained to make sure the project can go forward and that the equipment is safe to use.
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Dorset County Hospital construction crane in place above market town
A 82ft (25m) tall crane will dominate the skyline of a historic market town for more than a crane, which has a 230ft (70m) span will be used in the construction of the next phase of Dorset County Hospital in was lifted into place this week by another crane, with a small team of people bolting each section into place, where it is expected to stay for the next 15 of lifting up to 16 tonnes, it will be used for loading deliveries and lifting heavy materials. The hospital expansion project will see a new emergency department and critical care unit built, as part of a £100m project funded through the government's New Hospital Programme."Increasing demand is putting extra pressure on our emergency department, which treats twice as many people as it was built for," the hospital previously said in a added: "Demand is expected to rise, so investment is vital to make sure we can meet our patients' needs."The two new units are being built on the former site of Damers School and will link to the existing building will feature a helicopter landing pad on its roof and a new ambulance facility alongside the building. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kalmar and AGL collaborate on STS crane repair and refurbishment project in Abidjan
STS crane repair and refurbishment project in Abidjan STS crane repair and refurbishment project in Abidjan KALMAR CORPORATION, TRADE PRESS RELEASE, 30 JUNE 2025 AT 10 AM (EEST) Kalmar and AGL collaborate on STS crane repair and refurbishment project in Abidjan Kalmar and Africa Global Logistics (AGL) have cooperated on a project to refurbish two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at AGL's container terminal in the Port of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The project was delivered as part of Kalmar's Modernisation Services offering. The order was booked in Kalmar's Q4 2024 order intake, and the work was completed during Q1 2025. AGL, part of MSC, employs over 20,000 people across 50 countries and is a major player in the port logistics sector in Africa. The company operates 17 container terminals, seven RoRo/ConRo terminals and one inland port terminal and invests in port infrastructure to serve shipowners, import and export customers and the countries in which it operates. AGL's equipment fleet includes Kalmar reachstackers and forklifts. Kalmar has successfully completed several similar repair and refurbishment projects for AGL's crane fleet, including on units operating at the company's terminals in Congo and Benin. The project scope for the cranes in Abidjan included replacement of the cranes' forestay and pivot point bearings, trolley rails, short rails and trolley and guide wheels. Kehinde Salami, Deputy Technical Director, HQ Technical Department, AGL: 'We have collaborated with Kalmar on several crane repair and refurbishment projects in the past, all of which have been completed on time and to the highest standards of quality. It was therefore a natural step to work with them again on the project at Abidjan. The work done by Kalmar will help to keep our STS cranes operating safely and reliably.' Peter Bos, Project Manager, Kalmar: 'We are proud that AGL chose to rely on our deep crane repair and refurbishment expertise for this latest project in Abidjan. In addition to the repair and refurbishment work, we also delivered a comprehensive maintenance training programme for the team of port technicians at Abidjan that will help them ensure the cranes remain in optimal condition far into the future.' Further information for the press: Thomas Malmborg, President, Services, Jenni Laukkonen, Director, Marketing and Communications, Kalmar Services, tel. +358 40 8322 331, Kalmar (Nasdaq Helsinki: KALMAR) is moving goods in critical supply chains around the world, with the vision to be the forerunner in sustainable material handling equipment and services. The company offers a wide range of industry shaping heavy material handling equipment and services to ports and terminals, distribution centres, manufacturing and heavy logistics. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Kalmar operates globally in over 120 countries and employs approximately 5,200 people. In 2024, the company's sales totalled approximately EUR 1.7 billion. Attachments STS crane repair and refurbishment project in Abidjan STS crane repair and refurbishment project in Abidjan
