Job news, views and updates.
Read about relevant industry sector news updates and find out about some of our latest jobs.
Job news, views and updates.
Read about relevant industry sector news updates and find out about some of our latest jobs.
As part of the first stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project, NZ Cranes has successfully completed the lifting of five gantries above the SH1 Southern Motorway.
Click through to watch a video of the last gantry being installed.
NZ Cranes was proud to sponsor the 2023 CCNZ Auckland Hynds Construction Awards. Congratulations to our customer Groundfix who won the Project Category A award for their impressive work on the Stanley Point Road Slip Repair.
It was a great night celebrating the people, projects, innovations, and technologies that make up Auckland's impressive civil construction industry.
NZ Cranes is excited to announce that we have won the 2023 Crane Training Company of the Year award. This is the second year in a row we have won this award which recognises our continued commitment to Learning.
This award recognizes the excellence we hold in providing outstanding training to our employees. Over the past 15 years, we have logged over 11,000 hours of external training and invested over $1.25 million in training wages and external training providers.
Since winning the award in 2022, another 7 operational staff out of the 18 enrolled have completed their New Zealand Certificate in Cranes Level 3. This was completed whilst also beginning the rollout of the CICA CrewSafe operator competency assessment system to complement our operator's formal qualifications.
The SH10 Kāeo Bridge upgrade project includes a new two-lane bridge and roundabout at the intersection of SH10 and Whangaroa Road that will improve safety and traffic flow. NZ Cranes mobilised its Liebherr LTM1450 in luffing fly jib configuration to lift and place the bridge beams that span over the Kāeo River.
NZ Cranes was proud to have two out of the three finalists in the 2022 Crane Trainee of the Year Award. We are also pleased to announce that our own Catherine Dudson took out the award on the night.
This award recognizes the hard work and dedication of Crane Trainees within their roles in the industry. The nominees need to have an array of teamwork skills, commitment to the job and trade and potential for the industry.
Employees at NZ Cranes consistently go above and beyond in their roles. They demonstrate their talent and interest for the crane industry by stepping out of their comfort zones and always lending a helping hand. It is great to see our employee’s diligence recognized by these nominations and this award.
NZ Cranes is excited to announce that we have won the 2022 Crane Training Company of the Year award. This award recognizes the excellence we hold in providing outstanding training to our employees. Over the past 15 years, we have logged over 11,000 hours of external training and invested over $1.25 million in training wages and external training providers.
In the last 12 months we have enrolled 18 of our operational staff into the New Zealand Certificate in Cranes Level 3, of which 8 have completed. Over the last five years we have also supported a wide range of crane training including;
Alongside this, we have also supported our operators in completing external training including;
At NZ Cranes we are all about safety. For over 20 years, we have committed to 100% of our staff holding a First Aid Training certificate. This ensures that our employees are well trained and equipped to deal with any accidents in the workplace.
Winning 2022 Crane Training company of the year allows us to build momentum for our staff and our business’ future.
NZ Cranes is a proud corporate sponsor of Westpac Helicopter for over 30 years. Westpac Helicopter does amazing work attending to accidents and emergencies across New Zealand. At NZ Cranes we are all about safety, hence why we are so passionate about this sponsorship. We truly believe in the support that our sponsorship offers in helping to resolve where emergencies and accidents have happened in our local region. We are excited to continue this sponsorship and play our part in helping ensure the safety of New Zealanders.
NZ Cranes is proud to announce that we lifted the new AC40 and ‘Chase Zero’ into the water in Auckland harbour for its initial launch. Christened by Emirates Team New Zealand designer Elise Beavis at the team’s new base on Wynyard Point, the AC40 was launched and towed out to Auckland’s upper harbour by ‘Chase Zero’ the teams hydrogen powered foiling chase boat.
The AC40 will be used to pave the way for women and youth into the America’s cup. The commissioning continued into the afternoon with the rig being stepped to check the rigging and sails. The forecast in the coming days was favourable to take the AC40 for its first maiden sail to continue ticking the boxes for the overall commissioning process.
Read more about the maiden sail of the AC40 here
The team has been going through their files and found these pictures from a couple of years ago. This is our Liebherr LTM 1450 when it was back in Europe making its way out to New Zealand. The long journey begins...
NZ Cranes are honoured to announce we have been awarded SiteWise Gold in recognition of our high quality health and safety systems, with an assessment score of 100%.
Introduced in 2021, SiteWise Gold status is awarded to registered contractors who score 90% or above in their annual SiteWise assessment.
The SiteWise assessment covers all areas of a contractor’s health and safety systems, including:
This achievement continues NZ Cranes’ success, marking our third year with a 100% score, and demonstrates our commitment to leading the industry in workplace safety.
For more information about our health and safety policy, visit our Safety page.
Part of Auckland’s City Centre master plan is to create a green center. To bring this vision to life, NZ Crane Hire took part in a nine-hour crane operation during the night to move the first two of seven mature Pohutukawa trees back to Quay Street.
Watch the video of the tree move here
Read more about the background to the project here
NZ Cranes is proud to have supplied our cranes, equipment and expertise to enable the Northern Express Group and the Government to achieve a major milestone in the Pūhoi to Warkworth project.
This is the first stage of the Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Wellsford project, which will create a four-lane dual carriageway bypassing Warkworth on the western side. The first stage extends the Northern Motorway (SH1) 18.5km from the Johnstones Hill Tunnels to just north of Warkworth.
Though originally slated for completion at the end of 2021, the COVID -19 Alert Level 4 lockdown in April 2020 combined with strict health and safety protocols under Alert Level 3 have pushed completion back to May 2022. Through these challenging times, NZ Cranes has continued to contribute to the project providing equipment, safety and expertise.
On Tuesday 30 March, the project team lifted the last of the bridge’s precast concrete beams using NZ Cranes. Project Director Robert Jones extended his thanks to the NZ Cranes team:
“I want to thank the NZ Cranes team for their contribution to this milestone and also the way your team has worked with us through some challenging times and complex lifts.
Cranes and Lifting is one of the 9 Critical Risks we focus on as an activity that has a high potential for injury. My H&S and Temporary Works teams give me regular positive feedback on the performance of your organisation, particularly on the rigour and planning that is undertaken before every lift.
This has helped my team upskill in their own understanding of lifting operations, which fits well with our project value of “Teach & Learn”. Everyone, particularly our site engineers and foremen, leave the project with greater knowledge and competence as a result of working here.
Please pass on my thanks and congratulations to your team for a job well done. I look forward to completing the project with the continued contribution from NZ Cranes and your team.”
We are proud to be part of the Ara Tūhono project and look forward to future opportunities to support the Northern Express Group and the Government.
New Zealand Crane Hire was proud to be the major sponsor of Pedal4Prostate held on 8th November at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
Over 200 cyclists took part in this fun and exciting 4-hour endurance cycling event. This event was held as part of Blue September and raised funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. These funds help the Foundation to raise public awareness of this disease; provide peer support for men and their families, who are living with prostate cancer every day, advocate on their behalf, and fund NZ-based research to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes.
Click through to see the 30 metre-long pedestrian bridge being lifted into place over Hosbon Street.
This covered walkway is suspended 11m above road level and will link the SkyCity convention center's new 303-bed Horizon Hotel with the casino (on the opposite side of the road).
It's not that long ago that a fully roadable 100-tonne crane was a big crane. Now the Liebherr LTM1450 450-tonne All Terrain is able to run around Auckland and keep up with its now 'little brothers'.
Image: Unloading the bridge beams in Otahuhu, the Liebherr 1450 with the 4100.
Tamaki Drive has long been the central thoroughfare for many Aucklanders. As part of the improvements to Auckland's roads and cycleways, a new pedestrian bridge was lifted and placed on the northern (sea) side of the existing Point Resolution Estuary Bridge.
Read the full Herald article
Lifting the two 60-tonne beams onto the new pedestrian bridge extension was the job for our biggest 450-tonne crane. With each beam weighing around the same as four double-decker buses this lift took a lot of planning. However, as AT Project Director, David Nelson said 'good planning and good weather meant the job was completed much quicker than anticipated'.
Another successful lift for our 450.
See the LTM1090 lift a house section into position at Waiheke.
Impressive sites as the GMK4100 was used to undertake blade maintenance work on the Te Uku wind farm located in Raglan.
The largest hydraulic mobile crane in New Zealand – with a boom reaching 136m – brings a new level of safety and lifting capability to the local industry.
NZ Crane Hire, Auckland’s longest running mobile crane operator, took delivery of the giant Liebherr LTM1450-8.1, with a maximum load capacity of 450 tonne, from Germany this month January.
The main boom of the crane extends to 85m and with the addition of the “luffing fly” extension it reaches 136m – almost as high as the 35-level ANZ Centre on Albert St in Auckland.
“It’s not just big and tall,” says NZ Crane Hire Managing Director Deane Manley, “it is a feat of engineering. It has the latest technology systems and for a large machine it is hugely versatile and quick to set up making it more efficient, reliable, and safer.”
The new crane is part of NZ Crane’s move to partner exclusively with German company Liebherr, the world’s leading manufacturer of lifting equipment, to supply its entire mobile crane fleet.
Manley says NZ Crane has delivered market-leading service and safety standards to its customers for more than 50 years and the partnership with Liebherr will enable the company to provide an even higher level of service and performance.
“NZ Crane is moving into a major stage of growth with a substantial and ongoing investment in new machinery happening this year and in subsequent years. The transition to a full fleet of Liebherr cranes will help improve, and ultimately achieve a new benchmark, for safety standards in the New Zealand crane industry,” he says.
It is expected the NZ Crane fleet will be exclusively Liebherr in around three years as the existing fleet is changed out depending on NZ Crane requirements and Liebherr availability.
“The new crane reinforces our focus on moving forward with a younger, more modern fleet which will increase reliability and help us meet demand in New Zealand for bigger, more versatile cranes across a wide range of sectors.”
The new eight-axle, 20m long Liebherr crane has already been used to lift a 145 tonne transformer in Auckland, and upcoming work includes floating a 100 tonne superyacht and lifting bridge beams into place at the $710 million Puhoi to Warkworth motorway extension.
The new model is considerably lighter than older 450 tonne capacity cranes because of modifications such as having one engine rather than two.
“The reduced weight plays a major part in the cranes versatility because it improves access to sites and even though it has eight axles, the all-wheel steering means it handles better going around a corner than many truck and trailer units.”
New technology and clever enhancements, such as the outriggers (or stabilisers) being a permanent part of the crane rather than detachable and the counterweights being able to swivel, means the crane can fit into restrictive spaces while still having capacity to do extremely heavy lifts.
Liebherr has also made changes to improve safety during the set-up of the crane when workers are operating at height by installing ladders and other safety features in key areas on the crane and boom.
The partnership with Liebherr also has far-reaching benefits for NZ Crane Hire including enabling more effective staff training processes as all Liebherr cranes, no matter what size, have standard operating systems.
NZ Crane Hire, New Zealand’s leading mobile crane company, is on board as an official Team New Zealand supplier and is responsible for lifting the team’s race boat in and out of the water at its Viaduct Harbour base.
The new 75-foot AC75 foiling monohull, named Te Aihe, was lifted into the water for the first time on September 6 with NZ Crane Hire’s Demag AC 250 all-terrain mobile crane.
NZ Crane Hire’s Managing Director, Deane Manley, says the company has done thousands of large-scale lifts in its 60-year history but there was added pressure with many eyes watching the launch.
“This boat is precious cargo and carries the hopes of a nation so it is a little different. But essentially cranes are based on simple geometry, so it comes down to careful planning and a high level of skill from our crane drivers to get the job done well.
“The team and I are also looking forward to playing a small part in helping the team defend the Cup in 2021,” he says.
Mr Manley says the company will have a crane based permanently at the New Zealand syndicate in the lead up to and during the Cup in 2021.
“It’s going to be a regular job on a tight and busy site so the crane we have down there on an on-going basis will be set up for Team New Zealand’s specific requirements,” he says.
Grant Dalton, CEO Team New Zealand, says the build up to the America’s Cup would not be possible without NZ Crane Hire.
“The boat weighs 6.5 tonnes and there are some very interesting winds around the Viaduct so getting the boat in and out of the water as safely and efficiently as possible on a regular basis is key. That’s where NZ Crane’s expertise come in.”
The 36th America’s Cup is returning to Auckland’s waterfront in 2021 after Emirates Team New Zealand won the Cup in Bermuda in 2017.
The racing period will take place from March 6th – March 21st. It will be a best-of-13, first-to-seven-points series.
Click on the link below to see drone footage of the launch.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2N1xzBobPV/?igshid=1gdcz6k1r7hc6
We have signed on as the major sponsor of Pedal4Prostate, a charity cycling event that raises funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Given our industry is a male-dominated one this sponsorship is a chance to support a good cause and to help encourage blokes to talk more openly about prostate cancer and the importance of regular testing. Prostate cancer is the number one cancer affecting Kiwi men, with the Ministry of Health estimating more than 600 die from the disease each year.
Pedal4Prostate, on Sunday October 13, is a fun four-hour endurance push bike cycling race at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
Last year, 196 cyclists raised over $137,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, so if you’re keen to enter a team check out the website pedal4prostate.org.nz
The BR23 Sheet Piling Team was awarded the Safety Team award for works conducted at BR23 and the sheet piling installation. They received this award as critical risks were well managed, all hazards were communicated daily at the prestart with positive involvement of all parties. Throughout the delivery phase the team maintained a focus on the critical risks associated with the task. The team planned well, executed and delivered a very safe outcome ahead of the planned completion date.
Watch this video to see a former Royal New Zealand Air Force Bristol Freighter Aircraft NZ5911 being lifted and moved from Ardmore Airport to the Ports of Auckland for shipment to the Aerospace Bristol Aircraft Museum England.
October 2017
NZ Crane helped the team from Rapido boat builders launch one of its new trimarans in Auckland recently.
While conditions were not ideal, using a 170 tonne Grove All-Terrain Crane the nine tonne Rapido 60 was lifted and moved at a low height across the wharf to keep it out of the wind before lowering it into the water.
The Rapido 60 is designed and constructed as a powerful ocean cruising trimaran but with a luxurious and spacious living area.
Watch the video of this launch by clicking here
What will become the country's highest crane has gone up on the central Auckland site where New Zealand's tallest tower block is being built.
The German Liebherr 357 Luffing Crane was erected as part of the construction of the 39-level Commercial Bay tower on the corner of Albert St and Custom St which is scheduled for completion in 2019.
The initial height of the crane is 97m to the tip of the jib however, it will climb to a final height of 225m by the end of the project.
Fletcher Construction constructed the super crane using a number of mobile cranes including NZ Crane Hire's 450 Grove GMK7450, which is New Zealand's largest hydraulic crane. With a maximum load capacity of 450-tonne, the mobile crane has a telescopic boom of 60m with a further 79m of lattice jib extension giving it the capability to lift up to 7.2 tonne at a height of 130-metre height (or place 2.4 tonne at over 100 metres radius).
Deane Manley, Managing Director of NZ Crane Hire, which is the longest running crane company in New Zealand, says it has done many large-scale jobs in its 60 years and while helping to build a crane of this size may seem a big challenge, the fundamentals of all of its jobs remain similar.
"Although cranes are still based on simple geometry and we are forever creating leveraged points of balance, which we've been doing ever since the Egyptians, a job like this highlights the need for careful planning, a high level of skill from the crane drivers and team work to get the job done."
Mr Manley explained that the final stage of the crane build, where the boom was constructed, required two mobile cranes with the larger 450 Grove crane doing the majority of the high lifting and a smaller crane "helping out".
"The 450 is perfect for this job because it has the capability to lift heavy weights to an extremely high level but because it's highly mobile it's able to work in a reasonably confined central city space."
At the heart of Commercial Bay will sit a stunning new 39 level office tower that will transform Auckland's skyline. It will be anchored by PwC and be known as the PwC Tower. At the base of the tower sits a three level retail precinct with global flagship brands, diverse food and beverage and the highest concentration of quality retailers in one central, easily accessible location. Commercial Bay's world-class retail environment is due to open in late 2018 with the landmark office tower due for completion in 2019.
Commercial Bay is a project that's indicative of the huge growth Auckland is currently undergoing says Manley and there are many more years of construction work and development to come.
"We have played a major part in this growth and will continue to do so. To meet demand we are constantly investing in our fleet with new cranes and new technology to ensure we're providing the best machinery for our team to be able to get job's like this done safely and efficiently."
NZ Crane Hire is used to lifting rather larger objects than the Wendy house they delivered to Maungawhau Primary School in Mt Eden recently.
The company has lent a hand to a fundraising project led by Harcourts Mt Eden that will see the Wendy house transformed into a work of art and then auctioned off to raise money for Te Puea Memorial Marae.
NZ Crane Hire unloaded the Wendy house in the schoolyard where a team of the school's best artists were waiting to paint a specially designed mural on it. The fundraising project is designed to create community support for the Mangere Bridge marae, which has been providing emergency accommodation and assistance to homeless families in need.
NZ Crane Hire managing director Deane Manley said the marae was doing such valuable work that when the company was approached to help transport the Wendy house, they jumped at the chance.
"It's a great and worthy project. I'm sure the kids will do a great job of the art work and we hope the auction goes well and the money raised will help the marae carry on the great work they are doing in the community," he said.
Miranda Wiseman, 11, of Room 24, is one of the young artists involved and is very excited to have her work featured on the house. "The bottom layer is all about native bush and the green landscape of New Zealand. There are flowers as well, and dots and patterns that will reach up to the top of the house. We wanted to do something that both girls and boys would like. It's so cool," she said.
On Monday, March 7th this year the beloved Auckland ferry sank overnight at its berth in Wynyard Quarter. The Kestrel was built and launched in 1905 and is hailed by many as one of Auckland's most significant maritime icons.
Salvage experts contracted NZ Crane Hire to help lift the Kestrel, concerned that the 170 tonne hull which was being held down by the engine and stuck in mud at the bottom of the harbour, could mean that any crane capable of lifting it would be too heavy for the wharf. There was added concern that the hull would break up as it was lifted.
It took all day on April 14 to salvage but the historic ferry and it was finally lifted back, intact onto an Auckland slipway just after 1am by three New Zealand Crane Hire cranes. The crew included 12 salvage experts, including NZ Crane Hire engineers and crane operators, who at the end of a long day were relieved to see the vessel back above water.
Images taken from www.instragram.com/p.BEKaSRihQ-9 and stuff.co.nz
New Zealand Crane Hire were instrumental in putting together what will become a new iconic landmark for Auckland's Waterview, The new Hendon Footbridge features a 110 tonne, 100 metre long arch that provides a unique and beautiful look. The arch went up over the weekend of the 5th and 6th of December 2015 and will join the communities of Owairaka and New Windsor.
The footbridge should open in early 2017 along with the rest of the Waterview Connection project. For more information check out the official media release below.
What's expected to become a landmark feature of the NZ Transport Agency's Waterview Connection project has taken shape across Auckland's Owairaka and New Windsor skyline.
The architecturally designed Hendon Footbridge which spans SH20 (Southwestern Motorway) at the southern approach to the Waterview tunnels had its 110 tonne arch successfully installed during the weekend (5 and 6 December).
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"It's a stunning addition to the landscape and is another striking example of engineering and design excellence coming together as they have all the way through the Waterview project," says Brett Gliddon, the Transport Agency's Highway Manager.
The 300 metre long footbridge will provide pedestrian and cycling access between the two communities of Owairaka and New Windsor as well as connecting to the southern shared path and new sports fields at Valonia Street and Barrymore Road.
"As well as looking spectacular the real beauty of this bridge is the way it will help connect two communities. It's a pleasure to be able to incorporate community facilities into large infrastructure projects like the Waterview Connection."
The arch installation was carried out over two stages, with its western (New Windsor) and eastern (Owairaka) sections established before the central section was connected into place.
Two cranes, weighing 300 tonnes and 220 tonnes, were needed to install the final central section of the arch.
Work on the Hendon Footbridge began in January 2014 before it stopped in August 2014 for tunnel construction as the spoil conveyor was obstructing its alignment.
The final two large structural elements of the Hendon Footbridge construction will take place over the next six months and include completion of the bridge deck before the supporting steel cables are installed.
The footbridge is planned to open in early 2017 along with the rest of the Waterview Connection project - the Waterview tunnels and the Great North Road Interchange.
The Waterview Connection completes Auckland's Western Ring Route, a 48km alternative route to SH1. It will link Manukau, Auckland, Waitakere and the North Shore, improving network resilience, travel time reliability and bus shoulder lanes as well as upgrading cycleway and pedestrian facilities.
The Waterview Connection project is being delivered by the Well-Connected Alliance which includes the Transport Agency, Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Beca Infrastructure, Tonkin & Taylor and Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation. Sub-alliance partners are Auckland-based Wilson Tunnelling and Spanish tunnel controls specialists SICE.
NZ Crane Hire celebrated its 16th birthday with friends and family this past December 4th at the Bird Cage. The party also showcased our new crane the Liebherr LTC 1045-3.5, a super mobile crane "that goes where no other crane has gone before..."
With such a futuristic crane we had no choice but to invite the one and only Captain Kirk and his crew from the star ship Enterprise where guests had a great time taking photos at the photo booth and enjoying a drink in the afternoon sun.
Our new crane made an impressive display of mobility by deploying very in a tight spaces under the local motorway bridge. The crane is so compact and mobile that at the end of the night it simply parked in the local car park.
We would like to thank everyone that came to the party and helped us make a truly memorable event out of it,
Don't forget to look at some the night's highlights in the photos below.
On the 1st October 2014 NZ Cranes, together with several founding staff, recognised 15 years in business together. With a heritage harking back to Central Cranes Ltd which was formed in 1957, NZ Cranes is proud to be the longest surviving crane business in New Zealand.
On that same day, founding shareholder and director, Deane Manley, returned the business to 100% private ownership with the acquisition of the private equity partners who had invested in the growth of NZ Cranes over the past nine years.
Deane and his highly experienced team are excited and energised by this new chapter in the history of NZ Cranes and look forward to continuing as the safety leader in the specialised lifting field.
