IN FOCUS / LIEBHERR
The Liebherr LR1500 features a maximum load capacity of 500t, hoist height of 164m with a radius of 144m.
LIEBHERR 500T CRAWLER TO MARINE CONSTRUCTION SPECIALIST Marine contracting requires a specialised crane fleet. Brady Marine & Civil discuss the reasons behind the purchase of new 500t crawler crane.
BRADY MARINE & CIVIL SPECIALISE IN the construction of wharves, jetties, offshore pipelines, bridges over water and other marine based complex structures. The company owns a fleet of specialised plant and equipment and recently added a Liebherr LR1500, 500t capacity crawler crane. Paul Brady is the company’s owner and executive director. Brady has been in construction for 35 years and for the last 25, he has been purely focussed on marine work. “Of the last 30 years, half of it has been spent working in my own business and the other half working for multinational companies managing major projects with most of that being in marine works. When I turned 40, I was given the opportunity to start a business and create my own future with a business partner. 36 / CAL November 2019
“I’ve been in business now the last 15 years. I think my major project beginnings engrained in me a ‘big picture’ outlook so I haven’t been scared by big projects and large-scale marine works. “It took a while to get our feet on the ground and gain traction but it’s a good niche. There’s plenty of competition but all of the players in our area have their own strengths and weaknesses,” he said. Brady explains the various focusses for the business. “Marine works includes anything over water, and we divide it into four areas. Wharves and jetties are our core work. Bridge construction over water uses much the same equipment as wharf and jetty works, so we have applied ourselves to that also in the right circumstances. The third area is marine infrastructure including ferry terminals, pedestrian and bikeways over water, navigation beacons, re-builds of wharves, those sorts of projects. The final area is near-shore sub-sea pipelines including sewage outfalls, cooling water outfalls and desal intakes. Those areas generally use similar principles and similar sets of equipment and we just apply it to slightly different situations,” said Brady.
Brady is a civil engineer and his business has a very strong engineering focus. They have an inhouse engineering design team and, according to Brady, that’s not the norm for the market these days. “We believe it’s important for all the planning that goes into marine works with associated temporary works and engineering associated with barge work. Marine works also lend themselves to alternative designs, as the methodology tends to drive the most efficient design. Historically, successful marine contractors have had inhouse engineering departments and that’s something that has died off. It’s an area in which we want to differentiate ourselves,” he said. “We currently have a payroll of 80 with half our staff white collar and the other half, blue collar. There’s 15 or so in the office, including the engineering team, accounts and some senior managers and the remainder are out on various sites. We’re currently running five sites, including one in Sydney, one on the Gold Coast and two in Brisbane, so we’re often travelling for projects. “Generally speaking, most of the work we undertake includes activities categorised as high risk, so we maintain a work force that is highly skilled. Most www.cranesandlifting.com.au
