For 40 years, Franna has helped define Australia’s pick-and-carry crane sector, evolving alongside the people who built and supported it.
Through the stories of eight long-serving employees, Cranes and Lifting explores how decades of experience, customer relationships and continuous improvement have shaped one of Australia’s most recognisable crane brands.
Craig Hain grew up in the crane industry, he was the youngest crane operator to obtain his open crane ticket, before being lured away from the operator seat to Franna through his family’s connection with the business before forging his own career.
Stephen Marsh never intended to build a career at Franna. In early 1988, his wife, Maryanne, had been flown from Longreach to Brisbane for emergency medical care while expecting their first child. Stephen needed work close to the hospital so they could spend mornings and evenings together. Franna happened to be nearby. What started as a practical decision has turned into a career spanning almost four decades. Across the business, stories like Stephen’s are remarkably familiar.
Danny Black joined straight out of university, expecting to build a career as a mechanical engineer. Mark Ellis joined the production line in 1992. He had little interest in assembling machinery at the time, but the opportunity would eventually turn into a 34-year career. Mark Tanner arrived as a graduate engineer. Warren Ross, Alex Peters and Lee McKenna, all started their journey as apprentices. Collectively, they have spent well beyond two centuries with the company. Their careers help tell the story of Franna’s growth.
The first Franna
For Danny Black, General Manager of Franna, the journey started almost by accident. “I actually started here two days after my last university exam,” Danny said. “I was studying mechanical engineering and, like most graduates, I probably dreamed of one day working in an elite engineering team like Formula One. I knew nothing about cranes, but quickly realised Frannas are a mechanical engineer’s candy store. There are so many different engineering disciplines wrapped into one machine.”
That fascination never disappeared. Joining Franna in November 1989, Danny entered a business that was still family-owned and manufacturing a product unlike anything else in Australia. “I was fortunate enough to get in front of such passionate customers very early,” he said. “They’re the people who have really made our product what it is today. Listening to their challenges and suggestions helped shape how we designed and improved the cranes.” He said, “We’ve got a lot of long-term employees who are just as passionate about the product and want to see our customers succeed. When something goes wrong, our approach is to fix the problem first and work out why later.”
Across engineering, service, training and sales, that customer-first mindset comes through clearly. Franna’s longest-serving employees describe the business less as a manufacturer than as a team. Stephen has watched that team evolve for 38 years. When he started on the production floor in 1988, the business was considerably smaller. Teams built complete crane assemblies themselves, collected components from the stores and often worked across multiple areas of production. Cross-training wasn’t unusual. It was simply how the business operated.
“I’d never seen a Franna before,” Stephen said. “I was fascinated by how versatile the cranes were. One of my strongest memories is being trained across all the subassemblies and eventually being able to assemble a complete crane on my own.”
That curiosity soon extended beyond the production line. As new models were developed, Stephen became involved in research and development, prototype work and testing before moving through a variety of roles supporting production and service.
Franna Celebrates Selling its 1000th Crane.
Like Stephen, many have worn multiple hats. Craig Hain’s career is perhaps the best example, he was Franna’s longest tenure employee, starting in 1987. His connection with Franna stretches back further than his own employment. His father, Brian Hain, and business partner Lou Parolin purchased the Franna concept from its original inventor Dave Francis in 1986, making the family closely connected to the brand’s growth during its formative years.
Craig’s own career has taken him through almost every corner of the lifting business. He started as a diesel fitter in service, before moving into crane demonstrations, domestic sales, export markets, dealer support, crawler crane commissioning, heavylift cranes sales manager and sales leadership across several Terex product lines. Each role added another layer to his understanding of both the product and the industry. Looking back, however, Craig measures success differently. Now retired, he reflects, “I think it’s the great team of people within the business who all came together to ensure the best outcome for the customers and our products. I’ve been very fortunate to work with those people.”
Mark Ellis, who retired earlier this year from his role as National Parts Manager after almost 34 years with Franna, followed a similarly varied path. He started on the production line in 1992 before moving through stores, spare parts, purchasing, branch operations and aftermarket management. For Mark Ellis, taking those opportunities rather than following a fixed career path became one of the biggest lessons of his time at Franna. “I always said to people, if you’re asked to do something, don’t just look at it for the money,” he said. “Look at it as an opportunity and the ability to learn something, because you never know where it might take you.”
The connection between employees and customers appears throughout Franna’s history. It’s something Danny believes has become part of the company’s culture. “I started in what was a family business,” Danny said. “We became part of Terex ten years later, but I think that family culture has stayed.”
Warren Ross Congratulated for Completing 30 Years at Franna
OWNING PROBLEMS, WORKING TOGETHER
The philosophy of tackling problems head-on and working as a team continues to influence how the business supports customers long after a crane leaves the production line. Few people understand that better than National Service Manager Mark Tanner. Like Danny, Mark Tanner joined Franna as a graduate mechanical engineer more than three decades ago. One of his first projects was working on the MAC Series, including the MAC25, a crane that remains one of the pivotal products in its line-up. Since then, his career has followed the product through every stage of its development.
Today, he oversees national workshops, warranty, product support and training while supporting machines built decades apart. “We support cranes from the late 1980s right through to the latest machines leaving the factory today,” he said. During that time, Mark Tanner has watched Franna evolve from relatively simple mechanical machines into sophisticated cranes with advanced safety systems, complex drivetrains, onboard electronics and digital customer support.
Safety has changed significantly. “The Dynamic Load Moment Indicator was a big step forward,” Mark Tanner said. “It gave operators much better visibility of what the crane was doing and where its limits were. With the AT40, introducing hydropneumatic suspension was another major step in improving how the machine performed on the road.”
The introduction of features such as the Dynamic Load Moment Indicator and Safety Radar have fundamentally changed how operators interacted with the crane. At the same time, advances in suspension, powertrains and onboard electronics have transformed the driving experience while helping Franna meet increasingly demanding regulatory and customer requirements.
Mark Tanner remembers when technical advice largely meant a phone call or face to-face visit. Today, customers rely on digital systems, online portals and remote support, while the business backs those tools with national service teams and after hours assistance. One initiative stands out in his memory. “Introducing 24/7 product support was probably one of the biggest improvements. It meant customers could reach us almost any time they needed help. For them, keeping a crane working is critical. Being available when something goes wrong makes a real difference.”
THE LEARNING NEVER STOPS
For Technical Trainer Warren Ross, the product has been both a classroom and a career. He joined Franna as an apprentice in 1995, spending his first two years building cranes on the production line before moving into the service department. It was an introduction that allowed him to understand every component before working on machines in the field. “It was a good way to learn everything about them inside and out,” Warren said.
Over the next three decades, he worked across field service, product support and remote mining operations before taking on his current role as technical trainer. Today, he spends much of his time travelling between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, developing training programs for service technicians, production staff, apprentices and customers throughout Australia and overseas.
It is a role that reflects how much the product has changed. When Warren started, Franna’s range was relatively straightforward. Over time, higher-capacity models, advanced electronics and increasingly sophisticated software transformed the cranes into far more complex machines. “I’ve got to keep learning as well. I work closely with engineering and product support because nobody knows everything. There’s always something new.” That willingness to keep learning is something Warren believes has helped Franna retain people for decades. “We’ve got quite a few employees around the 30-year mark who all started as apprentices. It’s good for Franna because people really get to know the product rather than moving from job to job.” Every new technician Warren trains inherits decades of practical experience, ensuring the lessons learned over thousands of service calls continue to be passed on.
Mark Ellis saw the same cycle during his career, watching people move from stores and apprenticeships into increasingly senior positions. “That’s the lesson I still give people today: take the opportunity and learn from it,” he said. “We’ve had apprentices stay for 25 or 30 years and people come through stores into parts and other roles. “You don’t know where that first opportunity might take you.” That same progression has shaped the career of Alex Peters, Service Manager WA. Like Lee McKenna, Alex joined Franna in 1999 as an apprentice. Unlike many apprentices, however, he admits he had no idea what a Franna crane actually was. “I remember getting the phone call saying I’d got the apprenticeship. I was excited, but I didn’t even know what a Franna was. Then once someone pointed one out, I started seeing them everywhere,” Alex said. His career at Franna has taken him from production to field service, product support, the Middle East and eventually Western Australia, where he now leads Franna’s service operations.
FEEDBACK FROM THE FIELD
Looking back, Alex believes one factor has made the biggest difference: having direct access to the people designing and building the cranes. “If we identify something that can be improved, we can speak directly with engineering and management. Our opinions are listened to. After being here for so long, your experience is respected.” That direct link between the field and the factory remains one of Franna’s greatest strengths.
Danny sees that connection as one of the reasons Franna has continued evolving while remaining true to its original purpose. “It starts with the product,” he said. “The original concept was innovative because it moved away from a tractor crane and became a purpose designed and built, highway capable pick-and-carry crane. But it hasn’t stopped there. We have to keep listening to customers and understanding what challenges they’re facing.”
Lee McKenna, who looks after field service and product support in northern Queensland, has spent nearly three decades receiving direct feedback from customers. Lee supports customers spread across some of Australia’s most demanding operating environments. His workshop might be a mine site one day and a sugar mill the next. He’s travelled throughout the country, worked on machines in remote locations and watched electronics become just as important as mechanical expertise. Despite the advances in electronics and software, Lee believes the company’s greatest strength is the same: keeping customers working.
