For crane owners, every investment is high-stakes. The decision to purchase a new machine can tie up entire businesses with prohibitive repayment schedules. Recognising this, Liebherr has partnered with Quadrent to provide financing solutions tailored to the unique needs of the crane industry. The partnership combines financial expertise with local understanding, offering operators more flexibility and confidence as projects grow larger and more complex.
In Europe, Liebherr traditionally worked with long-standing partners such as Société Générale Equipment Finance and Siemens Finance. Hans Joerg Nothacker (Hansi), General Manager, Mobile and Crawler Cranes for Liebherr Australia and New Zealand said, “In Europe we always relied on known partners in the finance industry. The idea was to blend our engineering expertise with their financial know-how so customers could get the right structure to invest in a Liebherr machine”.
The challenge came when Liebherr tried to replicate this in Australia. Taxation hurdles and the dominance of finance brokers meant European models didn’t fit. “In Australia, customers have very close relationships with finance brokers, which is something you don’t see in Europe, and we first needed to understand,” Hansi said.
That gap resulted in a lack of locally relevant financing – until now.
Quadrent brings a unique advantage: it is the regional partner of BPCE (who recently purchased Société Générale Equipment Finance) in both Australia and New Zealand, one of Europe’s largest banking groups, and is officially recognised as Liebherr Authorised Finance. This alignment gives customers access to financing structures already proven in Europe, adapted specifically for the Australian market.
Peter McIntyre, General Manager, Industrial Equipment at Quadrent says their role goes beyond being just another financier.
“Financiers and banks generally don’t understand the asset very well. They treat all yellow goods as the same and assume they only last five to seven years. That’s completely irrelevant in the crane industry, where machines are often in service for 20 years or more,” he said.
By leveraging factory support from Liebherr, Quadrent can structure deals that match the actual lifecycle of a crane – whether through longer terms, residual values, or balloons that ease cash flow.
“With factory support, we can structure transactions that are more appropriate to the life cycle of a crane. Customers can have lower repayments during the term and then the ability to hand back, refinance, or purchase outright at the end,” Peter said.
This flexibility is crucial for smaller operators – the ‘mom and dad’ businesses – who may be putting their entire livelihood on the line. For Liebherr, recommending a partner it trusts is part of its responsibility.
“When customers invest in a Liebherr machine, they often put their whole house on the line. So, we had better make sure any finance partner represents the same values we do,” Hansi said.
Choosing the right crane for your project is only one part of the equation. Financing it in the most effective way to grow your business is critical.
Australia is entering a period of unprecedented infrastructure and energy investment. From wind farms to stadium builds and potential offshore projects, the cranes needed are only getting larger.
“All those large projects require large machines, because everything is getting heavier and more modular. And as the machines get larger, so do the investments,” says Hansi.
The challenge for operators is bridging the financial gap between their day-to-day business and project-driven purchases. A crane like the Liebherr LG 1800-1.0 or LR 11000 might be essential for winning major contracts but represents an enormous financial risk if projects are delayed or cancelled.
Here, Quadrent’s tailored structures provide confidence. “Our objective is to help customers get into larger, project-driven cranes without jeopardising their daily operations. Sharing the risk between the end-user, Liebherr as manufacturer, and Quadrent as financier in a fair way makes that possible,” Hansi said.
Another key benefit is how the partnership safeguards resale values. Unlike banks that may liquidate repossessed equipment through auctions – driving prices down for everyone – Quadrent works with Liebherr to ensure cranes are refurbished and re-marketed properly.
“Anything that comes back gets refurbished and resold through Liebherr. That keeps values higher for the benefit of all owners. There’s nothing worse than a crane being sold cheaply at auction, which drags down the value of every machine in the market,” Peter said.
This full-lifecycle approach not only protects operators’ balance sheets but also underpins the long-term strength of the Liebherr brand.
While much of the focus is on financing mega-projects, the partnership is equally relevant for smaller businesses climbing the growth ladder. A typical journey might begin with a Franna, then step up to a 40- or 50-tonne Liebherr, and grow from there.
For many operators, Quadrent acts as both financier and broker, working with local banks where it makes sense while still bringing the added advantage of factory-backed support.
Wind energy is a clear example of where these solutions matter. As Peter said, operators bidding for wind farm projects often face significant upfront costs, from mobilisation expenses to long lead times before payments begin.
“When we understand the cash flows generated by a crane on a wind farm project, we can structure finance specifically around that. It means operators can take on these contracts with confidence, knowing their repayments align with the project’s revenue stream.”
In practice, this can mean the difference between buying one crane slowly or acquiring two machines at once to cover multiple contracts – enabling faster growth and better economics.
For Liebherr and Quadrent, the partnership is about more than just transactions. It is about building long-term relationships and giving operators the tools to succeed.
“I’m confident that with Quadrent, we have a partner who shares our values and will stand by customers in difficult times,” Hansi said.
In an industry where machines can define a company’s future, access to the right finance is as critical as access to the right equipment. Liebherr and Quadrent’s collaboration brings together decades of European experience and local market expertise, giving crane owners more options, greater flexibility, and enhanced value that extends far beyond the signing of a contract.