Franna crane is a very versatile pick & carry crane which makes it a very popular machine to have in your fleet.

In 1980 Dave Francis, an Australian engineer decided to design and develop a pick and carry crane prototype using truck components. Dave Francis named is company ‘Franna’ a term compromised ‘Francis’ and ‘Anna’ Anna being the daughters name.

In 1983  Lou Parolin and  Brian Haintook took over the company and proceeded to manufacture pick & carry cranes based on Francis’ original design.

Because of their high travel speed, maneuverability and versatility these cranes started to get popular with crane hire companies around Australia. The first ones that were produced were very basic and the steering was very touchy on the road. In my experience of operating these cranes in the early 80’s and specially driving them on the roads to job sites, it was easier to steer them using one hand on the steering wheel. In later years with newer models coming onto the market this was addressed by having to turn the steering wheel more times before it started to articulate and turn.These cranes have become so popular that all pick and carry cranes have come to be known as Franna cranes regardless of whether the Franna Company was, in fact the manufacture.

In 1999 Terex, a US based heavy equipment manufacturing company, acquired Franna in Australia. These cranes are now known as Terex Franna.

Franna cranes play a very big part in the crane and lifting industry in Australia. Crane hire companies all over Australia would more than likely have one or more in their fleet depending on their size, The Franna AT20 would probably be the most popular lifting size among Australian crane companies because of its compact size and maneuverability. Very fast travel speeds make this a crane of choice for long distance taxi work and are well known to do quite a few different jobs per day. They are used in various shutdowns around Australia and with the introduction of the Franna Mac25 these cranes are often the first to arrive and last to leave. Fitted out with mine specs these cranes are very popular on many mine sites around Australia.

The jobs these cranes can do are vast, such as machinery installation, petro-chemical, mining, taxi crane, shutdowns and so the list goes on. These cranes put in the hands of the right operator can carry out so many lifts which makes it one of the most popular cranes used in crane fleets.