Midland Lifting is a family run business and has been involved in the crane hire industry since the 1970s, offering a reliable and professional service to its clients. Building Ireland learned more from Lisa Shanley, who joined the company in the months after its official establishment four years ago.
Family businesses often turn out to be the best ones and since setting up shop in April 2013, Midland Lifting Ltd has been a close-knit, professionally run outfit, which has seen a huge pick up in business since last summer.
Founded by Terry Hunter and his wife Kathleen, the company is based in Mohill, Co Leitrim, with another office in Athlone, and sees husband and wife, Pauric and Lisa Shanley, as its current directors.
It is also a sister company of International Crawler Crane Hire (ICCH), which has more than 40 years’ experience in supplying a wide range of crawler cranes to construction, marine and petrochemical sectors.
Midland Lifting Ltd employs anywhere between six and 10 staff year round, with Lisa Shanley also part of the team after jumping on board the business in August 2013 and not having looked back since.
“My dad was always huge into the crane hire industry and he would have worked together with his father in the same business throughout the 1970s,” Lisa outlined.
“(Before I joined this company) my background was always in retail, I worked for Boots. When you work in a place like that you never really get to see who you are working for and you are not really involved in decision making.
“I left because I saw an opportunity here when the business started up and I’ve never looked back. I have to say, family business; it’s great.”
So, is business itself as “great”?
“Business is good,” Lisa said. “You can see that there has been a huge pick up since summer 2016.
“We get a lot of repeat business here and some big name customers as well. The likes of JJ Rhatigan & Co, John Sisk & Sons, Flood Precast and Sammon Group would be loyal clients for us.”
The list of clientele stretches on and includes companies such as Inland & Coastal Marina Systems, Deane Roofing & Cladding, Veolia Water Ireland, KGM Engineering & Technology and SRS (Steel & Roofing Systems).
The above businesses have had their trust gained by the expertise of Midland Lifting Ltd and ICCH Ltd down through the years. Lisa will tell you when asked why they choose Midland Lifting Ltd first ahead of other competitors.
“I’d like to think that they know our history and our reputation,” she enthused. “We have a relationship built with them and I think it’s nice that there’s a personal touch there between us and the customer.”
Add to the personal touch the fact that Midland Lifting Ltd offers its clientele some top quality cranes, with its mobile crane fleet ranging from 30 tonne to 130 tonne, and it’s not hard to grasp why it has been such a success in the space of four short years.
Lisa explained that the company started with just a single crane back in 2013 and has since grown to adding more than one a year in order to try and meet clients’ demands.
“We have five cranes here at the moment and we only started with one,” she said. “Expansion is our goal going forward. Our core base is the Midlands but we intend to expand further afield into all areas of Ireland. Crane hire can be extremely sporadic, someone could ring you tonight looking for a crane in the morning but this type of challenge is something we thrive on.”
Sporadic or not, it’s a line of work that Lisa clearly continues to enjoy and so long as the list of customers continues to grow, all at Midland Lifting Ltd will be satisfied.
“It came to the point before Christmas 2016 when our order books were full and we could not supply to the demand. It was at that point, we decided to expand the fleet,” she stated.
“Our hopes for the year ahead are for the phone here to be constantly ringing. We want everyone from a Multinational company to small independent business to be contacting us.
“We have a large client base as it is but we want to keep growing it. The way we see it, we are very much a one-stop shop for crane hire. We hire cranes, lifting equipment and personnel, concrete skips, man baskets and block grabs.
“Contract lifting and inspection and testing of heavy plant and machinery are also other services we provide.”
Midland Lifting Ltd employ a dedicated team of trained appointed persons, lift supervisors, crane operators and banks men to plan and assist in all types of lifting operations, whether a small or complex lift.
The company’s crane operators and personnel are dedicated and trained to the highest standard to ensure that clients programs run smoothly and complete on time.
Midland Lifting Ltd are grateful to all their clients, as well as nearby business which have aided their rise over the past four years.
“There are a lot of local businesses here that we’re very grateful to. It’s important to remember where you started and that is something we won’t forget,” Lisa concluded.
Midland Lifting Ltd
Lurga, Mohill
Co Leitrim
Mohill Office: +353 (0) 7196 31888
Athlone Office: +353 (0) 9064 73800
Mobile: +353 (0) 85 8500601
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, May 2017, Vol 3 No 4
