THE INTERVIEW
was done by them physically teaching me. So being part of the Overhead Alliance in MHI is so important to me because that's a big part of what we do, helping to educate the end users and not only on the products that are available to them but on safety and allowing them to make the best decision according to what they need.
Personal life
Krauth married his childhood sweetheart Holly and they have two daughters: Aliyah (left) aged 25 and Gracie (right)15, training to be a pilot and actress respectively. In his spare time, Krauth follows in his father’s footsteps as a waterfowl hunter and enjoys playing golf.
OCH: What makes your company unique? DK: We have a great history of serving the material handling world and literally doing our part to build the world as we know it today. But what's unique about TC/A is that we've been able to successfully pivot from a 100-year-old single product patented track company to a full stack solutions provider. For example, we have dropped four new product lines in the last five years and all of them are seeing success. (SPANMASTER Workstation Cranes, JASO Crane kits, Top Running Cranes, and Box Girder Fabrication) I was lucky enough to stumble upon a company that not only shares my values, but was also at a similar pivotal point and looking for a big change.
OCH: What is your view on the future of the overhead cranes business? DK: The material handling world is moving into ‘doing more with less’, so we're seeing much more long span cranes, large capacity cranes. Where we would see two or three 10-ton cranes, with 30-foot spans, we’re now seeing 100-foot span cranes from 30 to 70 tons, which was great timing for us because we've been moving into that product line. The other big change is automation. As I mentioned before patent track was our core product line
for 100 years but that has regressed over the years, and it has been a shrinking market as people move to more structural beams based on the application. Not everyone shares my enthusiasm, but personally I see that industry returning as we move into more automation. When it comes to an automated system that will run designated travel paths close to 24 hours a day, there is no better product available than patented track... So, I definitely see a trend in that direction where we see what is essentially one of the oldest products designed for material handling coming back into “the fold”. The speed at which new technology is
adapted for automation doesn’t surprise. We're at a point of exponential growth when it comes to technology. Even in my lifetime, I have seen more advancements in technology than my parents and grandparents’ generation combined and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what happens next when it comes to overhead lifting, even carbon fiber cranes (doubtful) for example. I It's very interesting and one of the reasons why I love being in this industry because it is at the forefront of change. Sustainability will also play a huge part in that in the future. It's definitely not an industry that's going to go away, it’s something that will always be utilised and is the backbone of industrial manufacturing.
TC/A offers a full line of SPANMASTER ergonomic workstation cranes.
34 Fall 2024 |
ochmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63
