I am honoured to take up the mantle as the newly elected Chairman for the Victoria and Tasmanian branch of the Crane Industry Council of Australia (CICA). This role represents a significant step forward in my journey with CICA, and I am both excited and humbled by the trust members have placed in me. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the steering committee for electing me as Chairman, and I am equally grateful to John Humphries for stepping up as Vice Chair. Your support and collaboration will undoubtedly drive us towards greater achievements.
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I must also acknowledge Brent Young, the outgoing Victorian Chair, whose exceptional leadership has made my transition into this role remarkably smooth. Brent’s dedication and hard work have set a high standard, and I am committed to building upon the solid foundation he has laid.
Over my years as Vice Chair, I have had the pleasure of working alongside many dedicated professionals within the Victorian Steering Committee. Now, it feels like the right time to step up and take on the responsibilities of the Chairman role, and I am eager to contribute further to our shared goals.
Recent developments in Victoria
Victoria has seen some notable activities recently. We had a fantastic turnout at our regional meeting in Yarrawonga last month. The powerline safety presentation at Doncaster was fantastic, and a highlight of our collective effort to enhance safety standards across the industry.
We’ve had ongoing meetings with the Department of Transport in Victoria, resulting in improved road access for mobile cranes of up to nine axles. I would like to extend my gratitude to Damien Hense and Alice Edwards for their dedicated efforts in maintaining a positive working relationship with the Department. Their contributions have been instrumental in ensuring that we have the necessary access to perform our jobs effectively.
Industry in Victoria
Coming into the back half of the year we’re looking at a period of flux. There’s been a noticeable downturn in the volume of projects available, and I’ve seen a lot of resumes and calls looking for work. This slowdown could be attributed to several factors, including the completion of some major projects and the large number of cranes within the state. The added pressure of rising interest rates is not helping the situation.
Despite these challenges, there are promising developments on the horizon. Victoria is witnessing a significant push towards the renewable energy sector, with a surge in wind farm projects. This shift has introduced very large cranes from overseas into our market, and I have also noticed that several local companies have made bold investments in large lattice boom and hydraulic boom cranes, in both crawler and mobile configurations. I take my hat off to the locals taking the plunge and making those investments – it’s a bold business.
A quiet winner of industry right now seems to be mini crawlers. When I first started in this industry, there were only a handful of mini crawlers in the state, and options were limited. The landscape today is very different, driven by the need to address manual handling issues and reduce downtime due to workplace injuries. Employers are increasingly recognising the benefits of mini crawlers in minimising both the financial and operational burdens associated with manual handling. The demand for smaller, more versatile cranes capable of accessing tighter spaces and handling smaller builds is on the rise.
Danny Toohey, Komp Cranes and CICA Victoria Chair.
Upcoming events
I’m looking forward to a few upcoming events on our calendar.
- The next CICC meeting on August 16 at the CICA main office
- Our next VIC/TAS branch meeting on September 12
- CICA National Conference in Adelaide from October 17-19I hope to see as many members and guests as possible at these events. As always, I will be making every effort to be there myself. If you have questions or need more information, please contact me or any of the CICA staff.
Danny Toohey
Chairman, VIC/TAS Branch
CICA BOARD
Ben Pieyre – President Marcus Ferrari – Vice President Danny Adair – Director
Danny Black – Director Andrew Esquilant – Director David Solomon – Director Karli Sutherland– Director
CICA OFFICE
Brandon Hitch
Chief Executive Officer 03 8320 0444
0428 228 048 ceo@cica.com.au
Paul Arztenhofer
Membership Engagement/Business Development Specialist
04 9093 9274
paul@cica.com.au
Alice Edwards
Road Technical Engineer 03 8320 0440 alice@cica.com.au
Patrick Cran
CraneSafe and CrewSafe Technical Advisor
0488 004 274 pat@cranesafe.com.au
Damien Hense
CICA Road Policy Advisor 03 8320 0460
0488 007 575 damien@cica.com.au
Julie Turner
CICA Executive Assistant/ Board Secretariat
03 8320 0411 julie@cica.com.au
Kate Galloway
Traineeship & Industry Engagement Coordinator
0491 047 118
Kate@cica.com.au
Shane Coupe
CraneSafe & CrewSafe Administrative Assistant Officer shane@cica.com.au
0491 047 134
Madeleine Flynn
Senior Marketing Communications Officer
madeleine@cica.com.au
Justina Blackman
Member Events and Engagement 0403 717 626 justina@cica.com.au
Ashleigh Gould
Office Operations Coordinator, ashleigh@cica.com.au
03 8320 0466
Unit 10, 18–22 Lexia Place, Mulgrave Vic 3170
Phone: 03 9501 0078
Fax: 03 9501 0083
Email: admin@cica.com.au Website: www.cica.com.au