5 minute read
Mass Hire’s concept to completion
MASS HIRE’S CONCEPT TO COMPLETION WITH MAEDAS
Sam Maranzano has been in the crane and lifting industry for 10 years and started Mass Hire with one crane in 2016. He talks about his approach to the business and why he chooses to run Maeda telescopic crawler cranes in his fleet.
Mass Hire works with customers from the concept of their projects right through to the completion.
“I WAS THE VICTORIAN MANAGER FOR
a crane hire business before deciding I wanted to give my own business a go,” said Maranzano on setting up Mass Hire a couple of years ago.
“My strength has always been in the lifting sector. I wanted a business that could deliver an ‘all in one’ service and I could see there was an opportunity for this type of service in the Melbourne construction market.
“The fundamental purpose of the business has been to work with customers from the concept of their projects right through to completion. From the inception of Mass Hire, our role has been to help customers plan and engineer their projects whilst implementing the highest standards of health and safety processes ensuring they have the right tool for the task at hand.”
From the beginning, Mass Hire has set out to be involved with customers’ projects from the conceptual stage right through to delivering the end product, he explained.
“We started the business with a Maeda 285,” said Maranzano.
“I remember on the day I bought it, I sat back and had a reflective moment where I asked myself: ‘Now I’ve got the crane what do I do next?’ But, from day one, Mass Hire has focused on business philosophies including a strong work ethic, as well as developing and maintaining strong business relationships by providing customers with a service which is second to none.
“We have stuck to these principles, and this has helped us develop the
Mass Hire’s Sam Maranzano is hands on with his Maedas.
business to where it is today,” he said.
Mass Hire operates in the limited access aspect of the Melbourne construction sector with its range of mini crawler cranes.
“We work with builders who understand they are going to need multiple lifts during the construction process,” said Maranzano.
“We provide a plan as to how these lifts will be conducted safely and efficiently. Our role is to alleviate the challenges the builder or the subcontractor will be facing during the construction process.
“During a project we might have a commercial glazing subcontracting business approach us saying: ‘We need to move this piece of glass from A and install it in position B, there are height restrictions, and we are in a space restricted area with very tight tolerances.’ We will work with them to design the best possible solution in terms completing the lifts safely but also in a commercially viable manner.
“Our fleet of Maeda mini telescopic crawlers is our core business, and we operate these in the limited access element of Melbourne’s construction sector. But we specialise in lifting and we have the capabilities to organise lifts from 3 tonnes to 200t,” he said.
Maranzano explains how the business has progressed and how the fleet has evolved.
“Mass Hire has progressed significantly since its inception. Like any new business it took some time to build momentum, to get our name out there and for customers to better understand what we were trying to achieve, and the difference we can make to theirs,” he said.
“But we stuck to our core business principles and, when we had completed a few projects, customers understood the service we were providing.
“Repeat business started to come our way along with recommendations and referrals from customers for other
Mass Hire services include commercial glass handling capabilities.
businesses to work with us,” said Maranzano.
“As I said, we started the business with the Maeda 285 and we now operate a range of Maedas and we also have a whole range of glass lifting equipment and we have formed a joint venture with another supplier.
“Over the last couple of years, Covid has challenged everyone, and our business has been no different. I realised that we needed to diversify a little and we needed to align ourselves with as many strong business relationships as possible. Now we provide a larger capacity of lifting services,” he said.
Mass Hire has a number of Maedas in the fleet including five 285s, two 305s and a 785 and the business operates the only auxiliary winch on a 285 in Melbourne.
Maranzano highlighted the strength of his relationship with Pace Cranes, the national distributor for Maeda mini telescopic crawler cranes.
“I’ve been working with Anthony Heeks and Michael Cawston for the best part of 10 years,” he explained.
“Our relationship started when I was working for other businesses and now with Mass Hire.
“For me, purchasing equipment is a straightforward and seamless process. Also, working with Pace Cranes means you will always get high-value support through the asset’s life.
“Anthony and Michael are proficient operators and they understand the importance of service and support. From Mass Hire’s point of view, we want to see our assets utilised to their maximum potential and we need the support of the crane OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and crane distributors for this to happen.
“Pace Cranes have always been great with the availability of parts and their knowledge of the Maeda product, and we have a technical specialist here in Melbourne who helps us service and maintain our fleet,” said Maranzano.
Mass Hire operates in a competitive environment and Maranzano discusses the experience he has within his business which helps to provide a competitive edge.
“As the owner of the business, I like to think our expertise comes from the fundamentals of challenging ourselves and sticking to our core
values and then filtering through the team.
“We are focused on the customer experience, which begins with the phone call and moves through the planning and delivery of the project. The relationship is constantly evolving, to the point that we want to ensure how our customers are and how we can help on future projects,” he said.
