The History of the Franna Crane: How a Brisbane Invention Became an Australian Icon

On Australian job sites, “Franna” is more than a brand. It is what people call a pick and carry crane, whoever built it. Few machines have become shorthand for a whole category, and the story of how this one did starts in Brisbane in the late 1970s.

The dates below are taken from Terex’s own published Franna history.

A Franna is an articulated pick and carry crane. It lifts a load and drives with it, without setting down outriggers, steering through a pivot in the middle of the machine. It travels on public roads between jobs and can start lifting soon after it arrives on site. That combination of mobility and quick set-up is why Frannas are so common on Australian construction, civil and maintenance work.

Franna model names follow their rated capacity, so an AT-20 is a 20 tonne crane and an AT-40 is a 40 tonne crane.

In 1978, Dave Francis developed the first Franna pick and carry crane using truck components. The idea was simple: a crane that could pick up a load and carry it across a site without the set-up time of a conventional mobile crane.

In 1986 the business was sold to Lou Parolin and Brian Hain, who went on to form Franna Cranes Pty Ltd. Two years later, in 1988, Franna opened a new facility on Lavarack Avenue at Eagle Farm in Brisbane.

Franna sent its first machine overseas to the United Kingdom in 1993. In 1996 it launched the AT-14, MAC-14 and AT-18, building out a range of models for different capacities and site conditions.

In 1999 Franna was acquired by Terex Corporation, and the cranes have carried the Terex Franna name since. Used Franna cranes built before and after the acquisition are still common across the Australian market.

In 2000 production moved to a new facility on Curtin Avenue, Eagle Farm, keeping Franna manufacturing in Brisbane. The 2,000th Franna crane was produced in 2006, and in 2008 the AT-20 Series III was released with joystick control. By 2009 production had reached its 3,000th crane.

In 2013 Franna produced its 4,000th crane and released the AT-22. In 2016 the AT-40 prototype was displayed at the CICA conference in Cairns, taking the articulated pick and carry concept up to 40 tonnes.

In 2021 Franna produced its 1,500th MAC-25 pick and carry crane, and in 2025 the first Franna machine was sold into Canada, more than four decades after the first crane was built from truck parts in Brisbane.

Because so many Frannas have been built and sold in Australia, there is a deep market for used units across the range, from older AT models to the current MAC-25 and AT-40. When buying a used Franna, check hours, service history, the articulation joint and steering, boom and wear pads, tyres, and the load moment indicator and safety systems.

All Cranes buys, sells and consigns used Franna cranes, and our dry hire fleet includes the Franna AT20, AT22, MAC25-4 and AT40. Call us on (07) 3180 2870 to talk about buying, selling or hiring a Franna.