During his long and illustrious career, Anthony Grosser has achieved some considerable milestones. His significant contribution to the crane industry was recently acknowledged with his reappointment to The Crane Industry Council of Australia (CICA) National Board of Directors. Anthony’s latest venture, MCT Equipment and the Magni range, is providing him and his team with the opportunity to change the way the industry approaches lifting.
“Throughout my career I’ve always been looking at different ways of approaching lifting, and with the Magni range, I believe we have the right product to change the industry’s approach, and we are proving it can be done,” said Anthony.
“When it comes to the Magni range, telehandler is not a word I like to use. That’s because the conventional image of a telehandler is one with the door hanging off, a bit of hay hanging off the forks, and a jerrycan strapped to the back. I jest, but today, these are serious pieces of lifting equipment.
“We’ve concentrated on positioning the Magni product, especially the Magni RTH 8 Series, eight tonne model, as a lifting option to smaller capacity all-terrains. Magni is really pushing the boundaries,” he said.
When customers initially experience the flexibility of the Magni product, they generally go on to add more machines to their fleets, said Anthony.
“We’ve got plenty of examples of customers that have listened to the features and benefits of the Magni range, bought one for their fleet and quickly added more because they can see the flexibility and benefits.
“Customers such as Rigsafe are operating five machines, Calroc Contractors four machines, FSC Group two, along with the Tier 1 contractors also growing their fleets. They understand that these machines are cranes, but you can also put a 1000 kilo, four-man basket on it, you can use forks, put grabs on, all sorts of weird and wonderful things,” he said.
Magni’s RTH 8 Series
With the Magni RTH 8 Series able to handle loads of up to 2.5t at 22m radius and 46m of height, the units have full load systems as well as variable outriggers, matching the specifications that usually come with a crane.
“The Load Moment Indicator (LMI) system is probably one of the best I’ve seen. The LMI system allows you to discover different configurations on the machine, providing operators plenty of real-time data allowing them to safely execute lifts. These machines offer so much versatility and scope, they are definitely the next generation of lifting equipment,” said Anthony.
Among the newest arrivals in MCT’s Magni line-up is the 8 Series RTH, each with an eight-tonne lifting capacity, and with lifting heights of 27m, 35m, 39m and 46m.
The smallest unit in that line-up, the Magni RTH 8.27, is built to be both compact and multifunctional, equipped with telescopic scissor stabiliser’s, a large contact surface with three steering modes. Weighing 22 tonnes with a 40km/h travel speed, the Magni can rotate a full 360 degrees and has a maximum reach of 23m.
All units in the Magni series can be equipped with various accessories such as forks, winches and working platforms. Anthony said reliability and functionality have found their embodiments in these multipurpose machines.
“We are starting to get some market share now and crane hirers are realising the brand-new Magni RTH 8 Series is a good crane. Magni is the next generation of small mobile cranes in my opinion,” he said.
“The LMI systems are next level. Magni has a partnership with Liebherr on the slewing rings and slewing gear and the models feature Tier 1 components. It is a case of getting people to understand this. When you talk about an eight-tonne machine, customers question its lifting capabilities. But when you get out a radius of 10 metres and beyond, its lifting charts are comparable with a 50t all-terrain or city crane and it is considerably cheaper,” said Anthony.
In October 2024, MCT Equipment was nominated for the Innovation of the Year Award for Western Australian Work Health and Safety Excellence Awards. The nominated project involved upgrading a Magni 16.10 to mine specifications, Anthony explains more.
“Earlier in my career I spent four years working underground mines in Kalgoorlie so I’m very aware of the risks that go with this work. This project was a win for us. Currently the machines in use have questionable compliance as OEM approval is required and many machines have varied modifications to try and achieve this which, from our standpoint, brings a lot of OH&S risks
“I looked at the Magni 16.10 and said to the team ‘all the systems are correct, but it’s just not tough enough to handle the underground environment’. We redesigned the exoskeleton of the machine, and invited a number of large mining companies to tell us what they did and didn’t like. We then incorporated a number of the ideas that came from these conversations, and we redesigned the exoskeleton and ‘beefed up’ the overall structure.
“Magni then flew some engineers and technicians over to view the upgrades and they were very impressed. The machine has been toughened up and fitted with a side shift basket. It is operating in an area with limited space, but with our side shift, we actually get full coverage of the underground portal,” said Anthony.
The approach of MCT Equipment’s team for this project was based on a fundamental outlook: ‘Local innovation: Global Expertise’ said Anthony.
“We utilised the global expertise of Magni and their products, and we’ve reengineered and fitted out elements of the product locally to toughen it up. We have the full backing of Magni on this project who are fully supportive of the development,” he said.
The team at MCT Equipment continues to grow, as does the range of equipment represented by the business. The workshop is busy with servicing and rebuild work said Anthony.
“The workshop is booked for months in advance with servicing, rebuilds and used crane work. But as the Magni range increases in popularity, we are seeing more staff move across to support the product.
“In theory, we have 20-plus staff ready to support the Magni and other products in our line-up, which include the JMG range of electric pick and carry cranes and the Cimolai range of mobile gantry cranes.
“Although the JMG product is relatively new to the industry, we are gaining significant traction with the range. We’ve sold a number of units and we will have announcements to make in due course. We are also working on a number of tenders with the Cimolai product, and we’ll also be in a position to make announcements on these shortly,” he said.
But it is the Magni range that Anthony and his team are having the most success with.
“A recent report confirmed that Western Australia, through MCT Equipment, accounted for 50 per cent of the rotational sales for 2024 in Australia. This success comes back to knowing cranes. The team at MCT understands radiuses, charts and lifts, whereas we talk lifting to the guys. That’s where we are having success, we are breaking into the market with the crane operators,” he said.
“With Magni there is no compromise, it’s the best or nothing. So, our safety systems across the board are spot on. Like I said recently to some customers, ‘it’s the 21st century, mate, if you don’t want to be compliant, and be leading with safety, that’s your call’. We’ve got machines with up to 4,000 hours in the field, and they are going well. Magni is changing that perception by saying it’s okay and it doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating,” said Anthony.
The Magni range also feature state-of-the-art 360-degree camera systems, as well as telematic capabilities.
“The 360-degree camera systems add a high level of reassurance for the operator as they have full view of the site where they are working. We also have industry-leading telematics which is very cool. We can dial into any machine, see its operating history, how hard it’s been working and when its next service is due,” said Anthony.
Magni is an innovator when it comes to engine emissions and compliance, he said.
“We actually got some Rotationals on twin power and we had a 6.39 on a drilling job on full electric, which involves a power pack at the back which plugs into three-phase. But given the size of the engines, we’re talking four-cylinder Volvo and Deutz engines and their emissions are next to nothing.
“The Magni range is fitted with the latest engines which feature the latest technology to minimise emissions. These are hydrostatic drives, the torque is controlled through hydraulics, not engine speed, so, we don’t need a huge amount of engine drive to drive the machine. It’s all done through hydraulic power,” said Anthony.