Sefton’s Men from Marr’s cranes in world record lift in Turkey
A Sefton family company, Marr Contracting, has broken a spectacular world record.
The Express
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Sefton’s Marr Contracting has set a world record by lifting a fully assembled 330-tonne capacity tower crane — billed as the world’s largest — to help in the construction of a historic span suspension bridge in Turkey.
The family-owned firm built the largest capacity tower crane in the world, the M2480D, which has a lifting capacity of 330-tonnes — same weight as 33 Sydney buses.
Managing director Simon Marr, who joined the company as a teenager, said working alongside Turkish teams 100 years after WWI was an one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“This is an exciting project for us, not just in engineering terms but emotionally and culturally as well,” Mr Marr said.
“The M2480D is the only crane in the world that can lift the large components that will make up the two 318m-high bridge towers.
“During construction, the cranes will make the world’s highest and heaviest lift.
“Gallipoli holds a unique place in the heart and psyche of both the Australian and Turkish people.
“We’re particularly proud of the cranage solution we came up with to assist in the construction of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge.
“Setting up our world’s largest tower cranes over water in a high wind and earthquake zone was no small feat.”
The third-generation family-run firm, popularly known as The Men from Marr’s, are rated among the world’s biggest crane builders and also have an office in Britain.
They have been pioneers in Australia, working on some of the country’s biggest projects, including the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Olympics and the Chevron-operated Gorgon LNG Project.
They also helped with the clean up of the Granville train disaster in 1977.
For their huge Turkish project, two M2480D Heavy Lift Luffer cranes were shipped from Sydney in pieces to Gallipoli and then assembled onshore on purpose-built foundations.
The company said it is the first time a crane of this size has been lifted fully-assembled, to work on the world’s longest span suspension bridge, 1915 Canakkale Bridge.
The bridge, which has a main span of 2,023m and will be completed by 2022, was named in remembrance of the battle that took place between Turkish and Allied forces in 1915.
“Dad retired in 2000 but still takes an active interest in the business,” Mr Marr said.
“The lessons he taught us in constantly striving to innovate, think differently and do things better every time, are very much ingrained in our culture.”
Currently, Men from Marr’s are working on the many big projects including the Sydney Metro, The Crown Casino (Sydney), Multiplex ICDB (in Sydney and Dubai), Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant (UK) and ALEC One Za’abeel (Dubai).
QUICK FACTS
■ 1926: Gordon Robert Marr was just 16 when he built his first crane, a 4-tonne capacity “backender” affectionately known as No. 1
■ 1970: His son Gordon Ernest Marr took over and now his sons, Gordon John and Simon are running the business
■ Gordon John Marr is Special Projects Manager and was instrumental in the development of many of the firm’s fleet of general construction and heavy lift luffing cranes
■ 2000: Simon Marr, who joined in 1988, takes over as managing director
■ 2018: Gordon John’s son, Gordon Andrew, began as apprentice rigger, making him the fourth generation member
■ More than 50 staff employed at Sefton and more than 100 overall
■ They own the world’s smallest crane, the Marr 40R (M40R), to the largest capacity tower the Marr 2480D Heavy Lift Luffing (HLL) crane
■ Ranked as the 13th largest fleet in the world by International Cranes and Specialised Transport’s 2019 Tower Crane Index.