A national crane company has set up shop in Orange and has immediately created work.
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Freo Group branch manager Shane McLaughlin said they now had 10 full-time employees.
The company expects to create about 20 jobs in Orange and more across the Central West.
A further 70 casual workers have been hired by the company for work as part of a regional mine shutdown starting on Thursday.
"We've got a crane contract in the area and from there we will build on that," he said.
Mr McLaughlin said the workers had come from Orange, Mudgee, Dubbo and as far afield as Brisbane for work at the mine shutdown which covered work both above and below ground.
"It's the first underground shutdown we've done," he said.
He said the company specialised in mobile cranes for heavy industry rather than the tower cranes currently on site at developments across Orange including the new Department of Primary Industries offices, the Myer re-development in Summer Street and the private hospital complex at Bloomfield.
This is a really important long-term move for Freo Group.
- Grant Newham, Freo Group NSW manager
The company's NSW manager Grant Newham, said Orange was the 24th depot to be opened across Australia with other NSW sites including Wollongong and Newcastle.
"This is a really important long-term move for Freo Group," he said.
"The Central West is a region that harbours significant opportunities, particularly in the area of sustainable, long-term maintenance contracts which is at the heart of what we do."
Mr Newham said they had a fleet of eight new cranes in Orange ranging from 22 tonnes to 250 tonnes with larger cranes available at other depots.
"We believe we've got something different to offer companies in and around Orange," he said.
He said the Orange office would also act as a "springboard" to areas including Parkes with its strong involvement in mining.
Group CEO Tony Canci said they employed about 230 people across NSW.
"Our target in Orange, as in any new market, is have a fully local workforce where our employees are part of the communities in which they live and work," he said.
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