Leading Victorian rigging equipment supplier continues to plan for a sustainable future with a significant investment in new products and a battery electric crane to manage the lifting and shifting of product around the Truganina facility. Dynamic Rigging’s Ross Johnson explains more.
Dynamic Rigging is based out of Truganina, in Melbourne’s outer west, and is a leading name in lifting and rigging equipment rental.
“We provide premium lifting equipment and rigging solutions for the crane sector. Anything that goes between the hook of a crane and the load the crane is lifting is our space, we provide all sorts of specialised rigging equipment and send it around the country to projects our mobile crane customers are working on,” Ross says.
Dynamic Rigging started in 2010. Ross was the first employee and a self-confessed ‘Jack of all Trades’. Ross knew early on that he loved this type of work and has now grown his staff to seven in 2024.
In 2022, Dynamic Rigging was acquired by a privately owned Swedish company – Axel Johnson International.
Its Truganina facility is an 1,800 square metre factory that provides plenty of storage space and room to load trucks inside the factory with a clean modern environment for staff.
As Dynamic Rigging continues to invest in equipment and lifting solutions Ross recognises the industry is tasked with managing much heavier lifts and the rigging equipment he is offering needs to reflect this.
Emblematic to that of a duck on water, Ross has been moving quickly throughout his entire time at Dynamic Rigging, especially of late, as he initiated the acquisition of a fleet of offset lifting beams from GTC Engineering in late 2023.
The lifting beams added to their wide range of lifting equipment have proved to be a very successful move into a new product range.
Like many things, the offset beams have purpose across many applications but are generally used to position a load beyond the crane hook position, so for example, a small offset beam might be used in conjunction with a glass handler to install glazing, whereas, a larger offset beam might be installing 12t pre-cast panels with a tower crane.
Another shrewd feature introduced by the team at Dynamic Rigging is its new online system.
“We’re on track to provide all the certification and safety documentation for the bulk of our equipment by QR code, something like a crane work box, for example,will have the manufacturer’s certification, Vic Workcover design registration, certificate of inspection and NDT report all accessible via the QR code to anyone with no special login required,” he says.
In a first for the business, Dynamic Rigging has made the acquisition of a 13-tonne electric Valla V130RX crane, a state-of-the-art battery electric crane Dynamic Rigging hopes will make monotonous mechanical beeping and oil droplets a thing of the past.
A positive impact on the environment and a more sustainable future for the business was one of the attractions for Ross with the new battery electric powered Valla, he said.
“I simply couldn’t have a crane with a big noisy diesel engine either sitting idle, or generating exhaust emissions all day when it is operating dropping oil all over my factory floor,” said Ross
“The Valla is a great product and electric cranes really tick the boxes in terms of a healthier work environment and increasing sustainability in our business. They are so much cleaner in comparison to a diesel engine machine,” he said.
Despite there being no current plans to head further into the crane market, General Manager of Dynamic Rigging, Ross Johnson believes the purchase from Pace Cranes will improve efficiency and operations within his factory.
“Historically, we’ve just used forklifts and attachments on forklifts to sort of turn them into something that is not quite
a crane,” he says. “Some time ago, even under our former ownership, we identified that we simply had to be smarter in the way we handled our equipment in the facility,” says Ross.
“The Valla is quite unique for us. With its 13t lifting capacity it’ll help us in our normal operations and it will pick up a five tonne block, position it anywhere that driver wants it on his truck, no problem at all.”
The Valla V130RX crane will undertake plenty of lifting work.
Image: Dynamic Rigging
“It will be used to lift big pieces of equipment like sections of pipe and larger spreader beams as well. It’s not going to drop oil all over the floor and it’s reasonably compact in size. It’s not much bigger than our larger five-tonne forklift,” said Ross.
“I had plenty of guys in the crane industry saying, just go and buy a second- hand crane and there are plenty that could sell a crane, but I’ve got a factory environment I need to consider,” he says.
Another exciting feature of the new crane is the way the battery is charged, with solar power. In 2025 the roof of Dynamic Lifting’s factory will be fitted with a system of solar panels which provide the energy to charge the crane’s battery.
Ross says it was a positive factor when considering the purchase of the battery powered crane.
“In the grand scheme of things, we could see the opportunity charging a battery electric crane indirectly through the solar energy we capture from the solar panel system on the roof. Like all environmentally focused businesses, we are focused on reducing our emissions and our carbon footprint wherever possible, and so the Valla fits nicely into this strategy,” he says.
The new crane is also very user friendly. “The operator can control the crane completely remotely. With the remote controls, he can walk at 90 degrees to the crane, to behind the trailer where he has a clear view of where he wants to place the load and he can bring the crane in and place it exactly where it needs to go,” Ross says.
Ross says the control system looks as easy as playing a console game, “It looks like a PlayStation controller and provides the operator will full control without needing to be at the crane.”
The crane left the factory in Italy earlier this year to come to Australia via Singapore. In Sydney the crane will be put through a gamut of pre-delivery checks, conducted by Pace Cranes.
It will then get loaded onto a truck and the final destination will be Dynamic Rigging in Melbourne, where Ross and his team will be eagerly waiting for their new crane.
The brand-new crane is expected to be in the trusted hands of Ross and his team at Dynamic Rigging by August this year.
Despite the initial plans to not offer it up for hire and operate it solely at Dynamic Rigging, Ross says in due time, the right dry hire offer may turn his head.