Marr Contractıng opens in UK

A 330 tonne capacity Marr Contracting M2480D Favco was erected on 72 metres of free-standing tower with 102 metre radius boom and fly combination at the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station construction site. (The yellow crane in the foreground is the even bigger Sarens SGC 250 super heavy lifter known as Big Carl

Australian heavy duty tower crane and specialist lifting company Marr Contracting has opened an office in the UK.

The company has already been operating outside its home country for more than ten years but Marr Contracting International, in London, will help improve contact with clients in the UK, Europe and Middle East.

Simon Marr, Marr Contracting managing director

Simon Marr, Marr Contracting managing director, commented, “Post-Brexit and within the context of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, there’s huge opportunity for businesses from the UK and Australia to work together. Furthermore, the UK’s stable, regulated and developed construction culture means it’s a predictable and stable place to do business.

“We already have solid relationships established with the UK construction industry and believe there is potential to further grow our presence here,” Marr continued.

Marr Contracting International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of its Australian parent company Marr Contracting.

Tom Batley is heading the operation as its newly appointed managing director. Batley is a British citizen with more than 35 years’ industry experience in engineering construction across the power, large-scale infrastructure, nuclear, marine and off-shore sectors, Marr said. Before joining Marr in 2016 Batley spent 25 years as a senior manager and consultant with contractors and EPC management organisations in the UK, Europe, Asia and North America.

Batley said, “There’s a strong pipeline of major infrastructure projects in the UK over the next 20 years – including bridge construction, railway stations, heavy infrastructure, marine, nuclear power, green energy and the growing data centre market – which is our ‘bread and butter’.”

Demand is increasing for design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) construction, Batley said “which we’ve been successfully supporting clients in Australia and internationally with through our unique fleet of heavy lift tower cranes, so we believe we’ve got a lot to offer the marketplace.”

Offices in London and Sydney allows Marr to offer round-the-clock support with fast provision of technical solutions for its clients overnight, Batley said.