Record CICA turnout in Brisbane as Maeda’s upgraded spider cranes meet the Australian market
Maeda’s two newest spider cranes made their Australian first appearance at the CICA National Conference in Brisbane, shown by distributor P.A. Construction Equipment alongside two further models on a compact stand.
An industry-only event
The 2025 CICA National Conference ran for three days in Brisbane, from 15 to 17 October. Unlike a general construction show, the event is built around the membership of the Crane Industry Council of Australia, so attendance from trading companies and the wider public is restricted. That gives exhibitors a room made up almost entirely of crane owners, hirers and operators.
Attendance passed 600 over the course of the event, which Maeda reported as a record for the conference.
Four machines in a small footprint
Maeda’s Australian distributor, P.A. Construction Equipment Pty Ltd, took the stand. Within the limited space available it displayed four machines: the MC285C-3, the MC305C-5, the MC405C-5 and the MK3053CB.
The MC305C-5 and MC405C-5 were making their Australian debut. Both are upgraded versions of established Maeda spider cranes, launched at bauma 2025 in Munich in April of the same year with a package that includes a multiple outrigger setting mode, proportional radio remote control, a programmable moment limiter with a diagnostic display, slew restriction for working range setting, a front camera and LED work light, and connection to Maeda’s M Link telematics system. Maeda reported that the two new models drew significant attention from visitors.
The MK3053CB is the battery variant of the MK3053C knuckle boom crane, a model class that has been gaining ground in Australia for glazing and internal installation work where exhaust emissions are unacceptable. The MC285C-3 rounded out the stand as the established mid-range machine in the spider crane line, the size most rental fleets buy first.
Fitting four cranes into a small exhibition footprint is easier with this class of equipment than with almost any other: spider cranes fold to a transport width that lets them be tracked into a hall through normal service doors, which is much the same reason they earn their living on site.
Next stop Hunter Valley
Maeda described the conference as a useful forum for exchanging technical information and building contacts within the Australian crane sector, and said images from the event appear in the official CICA conference gallery.
The next CICA National Conference is scheduled for 28 to 30 October 2026 in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, where Maeda has confirmed it will exhibit again.
Source: Maeda — Photos: Maeda
CICA 2025 at a glance
- Event: CICA National Conference 2025
- Venue: Brisbane, Australia
- Dates: 15–17 October 2025
- Attendance: more than 600 (record)
- Maeda machines shown: MC285C-3, MC305C-5, MC405C-5, MK3053CB
- Australian debut: MC305C-5, MC405C-5
- Stand held by: P.A. Construction Equipment Pty Ltd
- Next edition: 28–30 October 2026, Hunter Valley