Marr Contracting awarded heavy lifting contract

Marr Contracting has been awarded the contract to deliver specialised heavy lifting crane services on the construction of HS2 Old Oak Common Station superstructure.

The contract was awarded by the Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA Joint Venture (BBVSJV) after a rigorous and competitive tender process. Leveraging Marr’s expertise as global tower crane specialists will add value to BBVSJV’s world-class strengths in the design, management and delivery of complex infrastructure projects.

Marr’s innovative approach to delivering cranage solutions for major infrastructure projects in Australia and across the globe has enabled the successful delivery of numerous Sydney Metro stations and Brisbane’s Cross River Rail Station. Marr has also previously worked with Balfour Beatty on the Hinkley Point C Project in the UK.

Employing Marr’s unique heavy lift luffing cranes supports BBVSJV’s preferred Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) methodology for the project.

Collaborating with BBVSJV’s engineering and construction team, Marr developed a three-crane solution − including two 330-tonne capacity M2480D heavy lift luffing cranes, supported by a 96-tonne capacity M860DX – that declutters the site and takes complexity out of cranage and construction on the project.

Providing greater reach and lift capacity, Marr’s solution is unlocking the potential for fewer but larger and heavier pre-assembled modules. With a reduced need for temporary works, working at heights and steel truss ‘splicing’; Marr’s solution will help to drive productivity and improve safety on the project.

“Drawing on Marr’s experience in successfully delivering similar projects in Australia, we have demonstrated that there is an alternative approach to projects of this scale that is safer and more efficient. We are excited to introduce our technology, which has only recently become readily available in the UK, to this project” said Steve Ryder, General Manager – International, Marr Contracting.

“Key to the successes we have achieved for end-clients like Sydney Metro and Cross River Rail in Australia has been the willingness of project teams to engage us early in the planning stages. Similarly, BBVSJV’s innovative thinking about how cranage solutions can be procured and delivered is a potentially game-changing approach for this important infrastructure project,” said Marr’s Managing Director, Simon Marr.

Marr’s cranes are expected to be onsite from early 2025.