Melrose Cranes & Rigging recently celebrated 25 years in business. Gregg Melrose, the 66 year old Managing Director of Melrose Cranes & Rigging takes us back to where it all began and highlights some major milestones along his 25 years of developing the business.
Gregg was a green 18 year old when he started in his Uncle Ronnie’s heavy transport business, Royan Truck and Trailer Repairs, which rebuilt trucks, trailers and other heavy equipment.
“Uncle Ronnie gave me a start on a gas axe at his truck wrecking yard when I left school and over the next 12 years he and his many varied tradesmen taught me everything. I ended up running his East Coast divisions in Sydney, Melbourne and Dubbo and I managed about 150 people.
“At 30 years of age, I left the business to expand my career and I was lucky enough to get a start with Kerry Adair at Glenrelle Cranes who ran seven or eight cranes based in Blacktown. I worked there as his logistics coordinator, and although cranes were new to me, the basics were very similar to trucks and trailers and I picked it up quickly. In that yard he also had subcontractors including Benny Cruse and Santo Rapisarda.
“Kerry later wanted to semi retire, so he employed a manager who for some reason resented me. For the first and only time in my entire career I was sacked. It was a blessing in disguise in many ways,” said Gregg.
The late Brian Callaghan owned Mobile Concrete Pumping at Wetherill Park and in 1988 Gregg went for an interview to operate one of their mobile concrete pumps. During the interview he was offered the alternate role of Logistics Coordinator, which he quickly accepted.
“After about six months, Brian said, “You know all about cranes, don’t you?” And of course, I said yes, even though I’d only worked for Kerry for a couple of years. He said, “We pump these big concrete tilt panels for people and I’m sick of watching Brambles and Wilson put them up with their 130t cranes. I’m going to buy an AC615 Demag.” I said, “How’s that involve me?” and he replied, “You’re going to manage it.” Next thing we were on a plane to Zweibrücken in Germany to have a look at a 200 tonner, which he ordered immediately.
“On the way back, we stopped off in Japan and he bought a Kato 50 tonner just for good measure. Brian had around 40 concrete pumps and he also built concrete pumping systems. That was my first real experience with bigger equipment,” said Gregg. Mobile Crane Company Pty Ltd was born.
The first 200t and the 50t went into service in 1989 and Brian was so happy with how things were going, he ordered another Demag AC615, which arrived in 1990. These twins were the two biggest roadable cranes in Australia at that point in time, and Brambles and Wilson Cranes were not pleased. It was a great experience until Brian once again had a ‘light bulb moment’,” he said.
Unbeknown to Gregg, Brian had already agreed with Laurie Wilson, of Wilson Cranes, to sell him the three cranes and also employ Gregg and the crane crews. Wilson Cranes and Gillespies Crane Services were the largest independent operators and family businesses at the time and both were competing with Brambles in the Sydney market.
“Brian was a great mentor to me, and the most important thing he taught me was to always have ‘a bench’, that is, a Plan B. Whilst I was disappointed at Brian’s decision I offered to stay as his Logistics Manager, but he said ‘No, I’m going to change direction and employ a smart CAD engineer to design and build bigger concrete pumps of all types in opposition to the Germans,’ which he successfully did,” said Gregg.
Gregg and the crane crews moved to Wilson Cranes in 1991, which was a very reputable crane business. Over many years Laurie had also fostered many dedicated subcontractors that only worked for him. Many of these people went on to open successful crane businesses, including Gordon Henderson, Kerry Adair, Jon Borger, Larry Fuller and Ari Debner.
“Working for Laurie was a great experience and I learned a lot. I was there until 1998 when he decided to retire and sell his business to Brambles. At the time Brambles was a large, listed company and everybody transferred except me. I had made it clear I didn’t want to work for them.
“This is where Brian’s advice to always have a bench was critical. Laurie had an outside subcontractor called Davis Cranes, which was owned by Alan Caspers, who is also unfortunately no longer with us. He was based in Pendle Hill and any ‘overflow’ work that Laurie had, went to Alan.
“Alan operated a small fleet which went up to a 50t Kato and his company was a reputable second tier operator. Effectively Alan was my client. I was a project manager for Wilsons, and I managed Alan and his larger crane requirements. I spent a lot of time in his office, which was a converted triple garage on the back of his property. Alan was another mentor who taught me about life and how to manage people,” said Gregg.
At the time Alan was looking to improve his golf handicap at Leonay Golf Club and wanted to spend less time running the business.
“I said to Alan, “I can’t afford to buy you upfront but I’m willing to offer you a deal. I’ll buy you for an agreed amount in the year 2000. In the meantime, I’ll manage your company, I get paid as the manager and I’ll try to develop the company into something better. As your credit rating is very high and I don’t have one, you’re going to have to co-sign loans etc. and I will become responsible for them in 2000.”
“We agreed on the proposal, he didn’t want any paper, there were a few notes written on the back of a scribble book which were photocopied, and we each took a copy. I formed Melrose Industries Pty Ltd with my wife Debbie as our family company. Melrose Industries owns half of Melrose Cranes & Rigging and my brother Tony owns the other half,” said Gregg.
It was an eventful and stressful two years for Gregg. He was focused on developing the company, getting a credit rating and trying to gain credibility in the market. The business initially stayed as Davis Cranes, which made sense as it been around for 30 years. Melrose Industries then bought a 50 per cent stake in a new 50t Kato with Mark Muir and formed Melmar Pty Ltd, Gregg’s first dedicated subcontractor.
“Mark was a mate from Parramatta Rugby, a client from Wilsons, and most importantly, I trusted him. I was determined to get more business and I had a potential client list that was massive, so I attacked it.
“But I knew I wouldn’t be successful unless I had access to more and larger machines. I made calls to people I knew including Stan Beard, who was a major local steel erector at that time. He had a new 30t Kato which was doing nothing, so he put it in the fleet. Benny Cruse, who was a very reputable crane driver, brought a 50 tonner and a 30 tonner to the fleet,” said Gregg.
Although this boosted the fleet Gregg was not in a position to take on all of the larger capacity work he wanted, and the business was missing out.
“I said to Alan we needed to get a bigger crane and I also pointed out that we didn’t have any Frannas. A new AC205 80t Demag and an AT18t Franna were ordered. I had to sell my holiday home in Mollymook and put up half the family home as my contribution, with Alan signing off on the other half.
“The Commonwealth Bank was very good to us, and we worked with Bruce Coggins who I had played footy with at Parramatta Rugby. He was a good mate, but I didn’t realise he was also Alan’s banker. This was a massive advantage as Bruce and I trusted each other,” said Gregg.
With the 200t capacity Demags at its disposal, Brambles continued as the number one crane company in the Sydney market, but Gregg wasn’t about to concede anything.
Fred Wheeler (who recently passed away) owned Wheeler Cranes and he also designed and built factories and lifted tilt panels. He had two 200t capacity Liebherrs. Gregg had helped Fred when he was busy, and Fred reciprocated.
Gregg approached Fred saying he needed a 200t crane in the fleet and Fred advised he’d just ordered a 300 tonne Liebherr.
“He said ‘I’ll put a 200 tonner in your fleet, but I want a percentage of every dollar, and all cranes are to be branded as Wheelers. Again, this was all done on a handshake agreement,” said Gregg.
“Alan didn’t care; ‘just stick to our deal and I’m happy. If you want to put Wheeler stickers on these cranes, that’s fine.’” So, I’m still Melrose Industries, everyone’s still there. All the subbies are still there, but in 1999 they all became Wheelers Hydraulic Cranes,” he said.
Wheelers Hydraulic Cranes lasted for about a year until Fred was approached by a South Australian power station which needed a 300t and 200t Liebherr for a two year project.
“Fred delivered the news that he was moving on and I didn’t quite know what I was going to do. I was approaching the time to pay Alan out, and effectively I would have been reduced to a minnow in the market. I pondered how I was going to survive and service my expanding client base. The year 2000 arrived and Alan put his hand out, which was fair enough, but I didn’t quite have all of the money.
“I rang my brother Tony and told him the whole story and why I needed his help. I reminded him that our old man had always said you can’t break a promise and after listening to me he said, ‘Yeah, all right’”, said Gregg.
“Tony had a very successful accountancy business. I’m his big brother and he looked after me and put in 50 per cent. Alan was paid out and Melrose Cranes & Rigging Pty Ltd was officially born, in the Olympic year. We are celebrating 25 years because I started on June 28th 1998, the day after my 41st birthday,” he said.
There was not enough space for the expanding fleet in the Pendle Hill yard, so the rebranded Melrose Cranes & Rigging company leased 2,500 metres at 16 Foundry Road, Seven Hills. In the background he had been talking to the Lindores brothers (LCR). They were a tower crane company from Queensland with a 200t Liebherr and 30t Kato for their own use. They needed increased utilisation so Gregg made a ‘Hire to Buy’ agreement where he managed the 200t crane for two years, paid them money for every dollar it earned and bought it for an agreed amount at the end of the two years.
“They offered me their 30t Kato and all of the counterweight trailers as well. In return we agreed to give them first preference to put up their tower cranes. That was the arrangement and once again, there was never a piece of paper between me and the Lindore brothers,” said Gregg.
The 200t Liebherr became our new ‘pinnacle’ machine. I was managing a lot of cranes. We were getting busier and we took on more subcontractors. Mark Muir bought my 50 per cent share of the 50 tonner and became solely responsible for that crane. (Mark only retired mid-August.) He was my most loyal subby, and a good friend.
“Noel Fairweather, who’s still with me to this day, came in a little bit later and various subbies followed. We ended up outgrowing that yard and bought next door, number 18 Foundry Road. Not long after that, we leased a big yard, 5,000+ square metres, out at Mulgrave,” said Gregg.
“Over the years you could say we experienced progressive growth, and many subcontractors helped me grow the company with the volume and capacity of cranes. We weren’t Brambles and we weren’t Gillespies but we developed Melrose Cranes & Rigging into probably the number three position at the time. It was very different in those days, we didn’t have the WHS conformity, ticketing, registrations, NHVAS compliances and CAD drawings etc etc that we have to do these days”, said Gregg.
Melrose Cranes & Rigging is a true family business. Gregg reflects, “My wife Debbie was with me from the start running all administration, and only retired after 21 years of unwavering service. Simply put, we wouldn’t exist as we do today without her contribution.
“Our son Ryan joined us straight out of school in early 2003 after passing up the opportunity to go to university. He started sweeping floors before learning to dog and later drive cranes. After 20 years he is now following in my footsteps and I value not only his contribution to our growth, but his entire skillset every single day,” said Gregg proudly. Gregg and Tony’s youngest brother Mick started in 2008 after a successful international career as a construction manager, heading up multi-million-dollar construction projects around the world. “Mick’s experience and insight into how the ‘other side’ works has proven invaluable when tendering tier one projects locally,” said Gregg.
Others may not share the Melrose name but have become family through their years of loyal service. Deb Rudd joined the company in 2007 and quickly earned the monicker ‘Lefty’, as the left arm of Gregg. “I don’t function properly without her, it’s as simple as that; she’s invaluable,” said Gregg.
Shaun Russell was running a small engineering shop in Brookvale when Gregg convinced him to change career paths in 2008.
He started under the tutelage of the master allocator, the late, great Steve Smith. “Shaun is instrumental not only in the success of our day-to-day operations, but he continues to foster and maintain very important relationships with some of our most valued clients”, said Gregg.
One of Melrose Cranes’ most versatile employees is Ennio la Cioppa, or Ernie, as he is known. “Ernie started with us as a crane operator way back in 2002 and has proven to be one of the most reliable and capable drivers I’ve ever employed. A couple years ago he made the choice to hang up his hard hat and is now proving himself as a successful project manager out in the field”, said Gregg.
“There are many valued crew members who have been around for a long time, like Jason O’Brien and Frank Richens, who both have over 20 years of service. There’s also Marco D’Intino and Rick Foster, who have both given over 15 years of service to the company, not to mention Rick’s dad Steve, who’s not only been here since 2007, but has been affiliated with me for 35 years.” Gregg hired Steve to drive the first MCC 200 tonner in 1989.
“The loyalty of these people has been instrumental in the ongoing growth and success of our company. In fact, almost 50 per cent of my employees have been with the company for over five years and my hope is that they too become long serving members of the Melrose team.
“Over time, we kept growing and we had yards everywhere. We had two in Foundry Road and one at Mulgrave. Then we had another 2,500 metres in Station Road before we bit the bullet five years ago and moved into a 20,000 square metre facility at Seven Hills. It’s been great having everyone in the same space,” said Gregg.
As far as the fleet is concerned, there have been some significant milestones as the business has developed says Gregg.
“In smaller cranes, the first ‘milestone crane’ was the 50 tonner I bought with Mark in 1998. It was brand new and cost $550,000. It has to be number one because it’s the first crane I ever bought. Then there was my new AT18 Franna, which only finished its service as our yard crane earlier this year, on its third engine. It was here the full 25 years and I actually sold it to one of my crane drivers to use on his farm. But pound for pound, the Demag AC205 was the best smaller crane I ever owned, it was so reliable,” he said. “It did 25,000 hours and the pumps were never off it. I got a photo of it last month, still working on an Indian dock!”
Tony and Gregg were planning the next purchase as they always did and Tony asked, ‘What do we buy next?’
“The best local big crane that worked down as well as up in tonnage class, was Gillespie’s 160t Liebherr. I was envious of that crane because I knew his operator and a couple of his managers, and they were impressed. It has 60 metres of boom on a five axle carrier. It had to have a dolly, but it was a great crane.
“I said to Tony that’s what we’re targeting next, and I bought one out of Houston, Texas. It was 2002 and I bought a 2000 model crane with only 175 hours on the clock. It was basically brand new. That was a great crane and we had that for a very long time. It is still running around Germany. The Grove 450t was the next great highlight,” said Gregg.
In 2006, Tony and Gregg were again planning, and Tony asked what’s next?
“I told him about the Grove GMK7450 that had been in production since 2001 and that they were proven performers. I went on to explain the technical side of the Grove and told him no one’s got anything like it, up or down the East Coast.
“At the time John Gillespie still had his eight axle Liebherr 400 tonner, which had set the benchmark for many years.
“Tony said we need to be the biggest and we ordered the 450 and it arrived in 2007. I don’t mean to be flippant about these purchases. We’ve bought a lot of good cranes since then, but nothing compared to the 450. It’s still going to work every day. Finally, purchasing the fully factory refurbished 2017 Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 in 2019 was the biggest step ever for the business. It is a fully spec’d crane with 84m of main boom,” said Gregg.
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Companies come and go in the crane industry. Gregg provides insights into how his approach to business has stood the strength of time.
“I mentioned earlier the importance of ‘the bench’; my ‘Plan B’. But the biggest thing is your commitment to put everything on the line. You’ve got to bet on the fact that work is going to come in a market where you don’t have assurances and millions of dollars have to be outlaid with no guaranteed workload.
“You’ve got to back yourself and the people around you, to put it into the market and make the income day by day, month by month, year by year. It’s the same for every mobile crane owner, they’ve got to back themselves and their employees to get it done.
“Another major advantage in our success is that Tony is a very successful accountant. He lets me run with what we’re buying, when we’re buying it, the models and makes, but with the financial side of the company, he’s very particular about budgets, forecasts and cashflow etc etc.
“The first 25 years of Melrose Cranes & Rigging has seen us meet the demands of our customers by investing in the very latest technology our industry has to offer. If the first 25 years are any gauge, I’m excited for my entire team as there is so much more to achieve over the next 25,” said Gregg.
