In a move worthy of attention for the Newcastle and Hunter Valley regions of New South Wales, Two Way Cranes has made a significant expansion into the region. With Branch Manager Blake Furner seizing the opportunity, the new business has immediately gained considerable momentum.
Blake Furner has worked in the Newcastle crane sector for 20-plus years. He started as a boilermaker, gained his crane tickets, went straight into driving cranes and operated for 15 years before beginning his career in management eight years ago. Blake takes up the story.
“I’ve had the luxury of working with some good clients and good companies and because I’ve featured in articles before, most will know my history. About two years ago I was watching the news with my wife, and it was a story about extending the Warragamba Dam near Sydney. There was a Two Way all terrain on the dam and I remember saying “Wow, Two Way Cranes seem to be popping up everywhere.”
“A month or so later, I attended the CICA Regional meeting in Newcastle and introduced myself to Frank Zammit and his wife Nichole. I was immediately impressed with both, how humble they are regarding the success with the business.
“From the conversation, I learned that Nichole was the Owner and Director of Two Way Cranes and she is a proud indigenous woman. The conversation left me impressed with both Frank and Nichole and their business and when this opportunity presented, myself and my team were quick to come on board. We only started in May with the branch progressing rapidly,” said Blake.
Nichole is also an advocate for the Supply Nation community, regularly attending events in support of other fellow verified Indigenous businesses. She is also very proactive in providing pathways within the business for indigenous and non-indigenous youngsters. A great example of this is Riarna Anderson, Nichole’s cousin. Riarna had been working in the office but showed genuine interest in getting her Dogging ticket, she recently received her HR licence and now she is working and learning on the cranes and couldn’t be happier.
“I left my previous employer because I could see this was going to be a really good opportunity and then my team of 20 crane operators and office staff followed. It’s been the same with the businesses I’ve worked for over the last 10 years, we’re a good and solid team and we stick together.
“The Two Way Cranes brand has certainly helped and the local Newcastle market has responded to the business positively. In a short period of time, we’ve achieved what has probably taken double or triple the amount of time to achieve previously, and that growth was deemed impossible back then,” he said.
“This is now my third company in a decade and Two Way Cranes is where I call home and I’m here to stay. I didn’t leave the previous companies because I wanted to leave, it wasn’t the company or the people, in large corporations you don’t always see eye to eye with management,” said Blake.
Clients have been quick to come on board, some of which have worked with Blake and his team for 20 plus years.
“Obviously, I gave clients the courtesy of letting them know I was moving on, because I didn’t want to walk out leaving them high and dry, but I didn’t actively pitch for their business either. Recently, we’ve lost a few crane hire companies in the region so there’s quite a demand for crane services. This led to a number of clients moving across straight away, and our crane crews and office staff following. More clients have come on board in a short amount of time compared to any company I’ve ever worked for, which is brilliant,” said Blake.
Frank and Blake spent some time deciding on the location for Two Way Cranes’ new yard, with Frank keen to see the yard in Newcastle.
“I discussed with Frank the fact that we’ve lost two or three crane companies in the Hunter Valley and two recently in Newcastle and we decided the best place for the yard would be Kurri Kurri. It is central, with the Hunter Valley 25 minutes up the road and Newcastle 20 minutes down the road.
“We’ve picked up some significant works already with the local power stations and major engineering services companies like UGL. We haven’t really ventured too hard into the mines as yet, but the mines are very keen to get us onboard.
“By mid-August we’ll have a 250t housed here permanently. We’ve currently got 2 x 150t, 2 x 100t, 1 x 90t, 2 x 60t , 2 x 40t Frannas, 25t and 20t Frannas as well as a 20t City crane.
“But we have been several cranes short for the work we are generating and that’s an indicator of what’s ahead. Frank has 12 more new cranes coming in the next two months, this will certainly help us to continue our rapid growth. One thing I can say is we have never let a client down with supply and we are not about to start, when we have too much work in Newcastle our Sydney depot backfills and we also do the same when they are busy.
“John Holland have won a lot of work locally and there are other big players up here that Two Way Cranes works for in Sydney and with their relationships and my relationships, we’re certainly going to be busy. I can see us doubling in the next six months.
“Crane crews are the biggest struggle for most companies but we’re not having a problem attracting good people. I’ve had calls from a number of people with 10 years to 15 years plus experience and they are good names, so we have exciting times ahead,” said Blake.
He goes on to discuss the lift planning and engineering capabilities of Two Way Cranes and how this works on some of the larger, more complex projects.
“We obviously have access to our drafting and engineering teams in Sydney, but my team and I have been doing this for a long time, so we manage our own lift designs as well, we manage 60 per cent in-house with Sydney managing the large-scale projects which need a lot of preparation and time,” Blake said.
A positive work culture, a focus on safety and customer service have long been associated with Two Way Cranes and it is no different for the Kurri Kurri operation. Blake also confirms he and Frank have high expectations for the business.
“We couldn’t ask for a better crew. I’ve known all of them for quite some time, some for over 15 years and they suit the Two Way Cranes culture really well. They are dedicated, they are meticulous with their planning, with safety always front of mind, and they are respectful of our clients when they get to site.
“They are the reason for our success. We started from nothing, and they were never guaranteed work, but they took a gamble which they’ve done before, this is the third time we’ve done this. I’ve got a lot of respect for my team, and I think the feeling is mutual, they wouldn’t follow if that wasn’t the case. We’re delivering an excellent service and that’s full credit to my team,” said Blake.
“Frank and I agree, we are always going to be in general hire, We can see a lot of works out there in the infrastructure space, with some seriously big projects, where there’s a lack of supply. We are also in the process of securing some major contracted work in the Hunter also.
“For now, we are not going to focus on one particular area. We’re going to focus on all areas and deliver excellence. Two Way Cranes is delivering excellence in Sydney and that’s what I’ve been delivering for the past 15 years.
“We’re delivering maintenance projects to the power stations, and we have some work in the mines, our 450t crane will be commencing in Newcastle soon, we’ll work them back and forth between Newcastle and the Hunter Valley where we’ve got some large builds coming on. It’s small but solid steps for now,” said Blake.
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