In 2019, Borger Crane Hire ventured North and opened a yard on the Sunshine Coast. Since then, the Queensland operation has expanded dramatically – leading to the opening of yards in Brisbane and more recently in Carrara on the Gold Coast.
Borger’s Business Development manager for Queensland Shannon Gaddes says the new Gold Coast facility is central to the business’s future plans.
“When we first moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2019 we always had intentions to expand,” he said.
“We opened the Brisbane yard in 2020 and we were getting a high level of enquiries for us to travel to the Gold Coast for projects – and one of these was the Tweed Heads Hospital for Lend Lease.”
“We also have a number of clients that we work for in Sydney that are also managing major infrastructure projects in Queensland,” he added.
“These include John Holland, CPB, Acciona, Seymour Whyte, Fulton Hogan and Georgiou, to name a few. We are now in a position to offer them the expert service they have come to expect from Borger Crane Hire and a fleet of cranes which are capable of completing the complex lifts on these major infrastructure projects.” Shannon said.
Borger’s Gold Coast supervisor Luke Moroney says the Carrara yard is now working for Borger Crane Hire, thanks in no small part to the team involved.
“With a service workshop and boiler maker facilities, we have service capabilities and a hard stand room for the cranes. But we are experiencing considerable growth and our team of 25 is going to grow over the six months and we are currently identifying land on the Gold Coast on which we plan to build a purpose-built facility which will accommodate this growth,” he said.
Currently Borger’s operates a range of cranes from the yard and these include:
• 3t mini crawler
• 16 t telescopic crawler
• Two 25t capacity Franna
• 40t Franna AT40
• 20t City Crane
• 60t all terrain
• 120t all terrain
• 150 t all terrain
• 2 x 110t capacity crawlers
“We have a broad range of cranes which suit the local market and of course, we can always bring in cranes from the Brisbane yard if need be,” Shannon said.
“That’s the beauty of Borger Crane Hire, if we don’t the crane in the yard for a specific project, we can call on other areas of our operation and bring the crane in,” said Shannon.
“Our crews are very experienced and have been in the industry for a number of years. All are local Gold Coast residents so there is a real sense of community and family in the yard.”
The culture within Borger Crane Hire is a key reason for the success of the business.
“All the depots in the business are extremely busy, but we haven’t lost sight of the importance of each individual and the contributions they make,” Luke Moroney said.
“We encourage a sense of family within the business, and this began right at the beginning with Jon and Barbara.
Borger Business Development Manager Luke Gallagher said Borger Crane Hire had come from humble beginnings, adding that founders Jon and Barbara Borger have ensured that humility continues today.
Gallagher says the crane industry is highly demanding, with many extra hours required to get the job done safely and efficiently.
Strong family values are a driving force throughout the business, and this encourages teams to go above and beyond for the organisation and our clients.
“Shawn and Nathan have continued their parents’ approach to the business, and they wouldn’t ask the staff to do something they would not do themselves,” Luke Gallagher said.
“This leads to a very motivated team which backs itself 100 per cent.”
“We are now investing in business processes and procedures which will be common across all of our operations.
“These processes will make the organisation more transparent and enable the various operations to better-manage the projects for our clients, no matter where they are situated,” Luke Galllagher added.
With these changes afoot, Luke Gallagher says the future looks bright for Borger Crane Hire.
“Over the last five years, the Borger family has invested heavily in its fleet, its personnel and its facilities,” he said.
“This investment has enabled the business to provide state of the art cranes to our clients for the major projects they have been awarded in Sydney, Newcastle, throughout New South Wales and Queensland.
“We have opened new facilities in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and now the Gold Coast and we recently moved into a brand-new facility in Glendenning, Western Sydney.
“We now operate a fleet of 150 cranes and employ 500 personnel. Our fleet includes some of the largest all terrain and crawler cranes on the Eastern Seaboard and we are well positioned for the future,” he said.
That said, the excitement about the opportunities in Queensland was palpable, he said.
“We are particularly excited about the prospects for the Queensland operation. We’ve opened three depots in three years despite a very difficult period during COVID-19.
Back in the mid 1990’s Sydney was awarded the 2000 Olympic games. With the amount of construction required to host the Games, Jon Borger said the business was never the same again.
“Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic Games and over the next eight years there will be an enormous amount of construction required in South East Queensland in preparation for the Games,” Luke Gallagher said.
“The Queensland operations of Borger Crane Hire are well positioned to service this expected boom in construction.
“We will continue to invest in the latest technology ensuring our clients receive the highest levels of service and we will continue to invest in our people and facilities to ensure we attract and retain the best personnel available in the crane sector,” he said.