In an industry where precision, power, and performance are non-negotiable, staying ahead of the curve means more than just keeping up with technology – it means making the right investments at the right time.
At the forefront of this strategic evolution is Ruairi Mawn, Business Leader at Select Plant Australia. With a sharp eye on customer needs and a deep understanding of asset performance, Ruairi and his team are redefining how plant and equipment decisions are made – ensuring every dollar spent drives value, efficiency, and future readiness.
A subsidiary of a privately owned, global construction company, Select Plant Australia boasts a tier one pedigree.
“Although we provide solutions to several industries, the construction sector is our heritage. Select Plant Australia has been in operation in Australia for almost 18 years, so we are well and truly established. Over that time, we have evolved into a solutions provider to numerous clients across many industry sectors,” said Ruairi.
“We continue to invest in a wide and diverse fleet of plant and equipment. The fleet includes cranes and lifting assets, but it also spans across material handling equipment, traffic management, offices on construction sites, fleet and heavy vehicles. With a diverse portfolio of fleet and equipment we can provide our customers with ‘turnkey’ solutions.”
Select Plant has four operation pillars: cranes and lifting, construction site office solutions, plant hire and logistics services. Each pillar has a different way of approaching the market, said Ruairi.
“In some cases, we’ll provide our services through our supply chain partners but we also work directly with customers providing solutions for the challenges we know they face delivering major construction projects.
“Our heritage sets us apart in the industry because we truly understand the challenges that our customers face, particularly the major projects and very complex projects that get delivered in today’s world,” he said.
Select operates from a national footprint with a strong presence in Western Australia, New South Wales and a new facility in Victoria.
“In New South Wales, we operate two main and a couple of satellite facilities and it’s the same in WA with two main facilities in Malaga and Bassendean and a number of satellite. We’ve just moved into our new Sunshine West depot here in Melbourne which is a major step forward for us and it talks to the investment in our people and asset base. As out team grows, so does our commitment to providing a workplace that meets the high standards for health, safety and wellbeing.
“This new facility in Melbourne is almost triple the size of our previous premises and it confirms our intent to grow and invest in our facilities and our people. The reality is, we deploy plant, people and solutions nationally from as far north as Darwin down through Queensland to regional New South Wales and everywhere in between.”
Industries are evolving and sustainability is now a key topic across many sectors. Ruairi confirms Select’s commitment to a sustainable future.
He sees it as a real point of difference and is a subject Select is very passionate about.
“I was in Europe recently and attended bauma which is the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery and equipment. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are examining what the future of electric plant will look like. But without people investing in the technology and providing feedback, the OEMs don’t know what the next iteration of innovation looks like and that’s where we are leading the way.
“We’ve invested heavily, whether it be the electric cranes, or the electric telehandler fleet, the batteries we’ve invested in or the off-grid solar accommodation, we really are trying to push the boundaries of what’s possible and solve problems facing clients by deploying these assets.”
Ruairi said the investment in two Liebherr Unplugged 250t Electric Crawler Cranes is a classic example.
“The challenge we face with the early adoption of new technology is that people are not familiar with this equipment and change is not comfortable for them,” he said. “By leading from the front, we’re working with customers to come up with solutions on how to better use this greener and more sustainable equipment. We now use a portable battery to recharge LR1250.1 Unplugged 250t crawler cranes, so it doesn’t need to operate close to a power source, you take the power to it. Our approach is to understand the challenges our customers face, invest in the technology and then work on the solutions around deployment of the asset.
“We invested in the first two electric cranes to come into Australia, which was a pretty bold move when you think that the technology hadn’t been deployed here before. One has been deployed on a project in WA and the second is currently operating on a site in New South Wales. The purchases confirm Select’s ambition to be different and challenge the industry and to really lead that way. We continue to do this across our general asset fleet.
“We recently added ten electric telehandlers into the fleet and a number large industrial battery units. We’re invested in hybrid solutions and we are seeing these being deployed. Investing early in technology can mean a higher price point but what’s been unanimous when we’ve deployed these assets is that people love using them,” he said.
The Select crane fleet includes a mix of brands. Liebherr features prominently across the tele crawlers and lattice boom crawlers. There are several Tadano rough terrains and recently a number of Sany lattice boom and tele crawlers were added.
“It’s interesting to note that two years ago, Liebherr was the only manufacturer offering an electric-powered large crawler but that’s changed with other OEMs examining the future of electric and hybrid technologies. We will continue to watch these developments and be ready to invest when the right opportunity presents,” said Ruairi.
Select is also recognised as a leading provider of turnkey construction solutions.
“Our project teams come together and plan the construction works, the site set up and site accommodation,” Ruairi said. “We also manage the logistics of the site which includes a technology-led solution.
“We are the Australian distributor for Datascope, a technology solution that streamlines logistics on construction sites. Datascope enables construction teams to manage everything from access control and plant and equipment tracking to material movement, delivery management, and on-site coordination. The strength of our business lies in our ability to draw on specialist expertise to support our customers in successfully delivering their projects.
“With a strong construction heritage, we understand the challenges that other Tier Ones and major contractors face and we have the ability to flex and provide the solutions to meet their needs.”