The site is in Kensington, strategically located a few miles northwest of the central business district. Industry veteran Ian Jongen (pictured, right) has joined the company in the role of state manager, Victoria, and will head-up the new operation.
Ashley Thacker (pictured left) general manager at Ranger, said: “We have been steadily raising our profile in the Melbourne area but we could only place a footprint in the city once we had a figurehead of the right pedigree to execute our growth strategy. Ian is a lifting gear expert and brings 30 years of relevant experience; we are keen to leverage that knowledge and contact base to become a go-to source for Melbourne’s development projects.”
The Kensington facility will be stocked with A$250,000-worth of products and house a 350t-capacity press, testbed and mobile test truck.
Expansion into Melbourne chimes in with Ranger’s development closer to home, where it is planning to move to a new warehouse three times the size of its existing location. It is also constantly evolving a fleet of distinctive vehicles and mobile testing trucks that remain the heartbeat of the business.
“We make no secret of our ambitions to become the country’s biggest force within the lifting marketplace” said Thacker. “However, we understand that to achieve that we must expand steadily and astutely, and only when personnel and market conditions allow us to implement growth plans. With Ian’s stature combining with the booming construction market, we are confident this significant step is the right one. Existing and prospective customers should expect us to expand further in the short- to mid-term future.”