STATE FOCUS | WISCONSIN
Despite the challenges facing Wisconsin’s crane and hoist industry, it is an essential sector with a big role in ensuring the future of local steel, paper, manufacturing and constriction industries, as well as the states broader infrastructure development.
The clear message is that the state is preparing
for growth in core industries, and for further economic growth beyond those. With state money allocated for harbour maintenance and construction projects in Green Bay, La Crosse, La Pointe, Manitowoc and Marinette, there is clearly a belief that improving waterborne freight capability will have statewide benefits.
A dynamic time for crane and hoist companies Though there are challenging factors to consider, Wisconsin’s crane and hoist industry is a dynamic and important sector, with a strong role to play in manufacturing, service and innovation. The industry comprises companies specialising in the design, manufacture, sales, service and installation of overhead cranes, hoists and related lifting equipment. These businesses are vital for the future of the local steel, paper, manufacturing and construction industries, and for the state’s broader programme of infrastructure development. Indeed, Wisconsin is home to both established industry leaders and newer companies innovating in the crane and hoist arena, with many concentrated around Milwaukee, Oak Creek,
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Green Bay and Franklin. For example, Overhead Material Handling (OMH) is one of the key suppliers of overhead material handling solutions in Oak Creek and Green Bay. Waukesha Crane is known for the manufacture and distribution of customised overhead crane systems. At long-established company Simmers Crane & Design Services, there is a focus on engineering and product solutions for the crane industry in Franklin. MG Cranes is one of the newer players in the industry, having been founded in 2008 and quickly became one of the leading crane manufacturers in the state. There are also key niche players like Fox Cities Crane & Fab., which was founded in the early 1990s, and remains a family-owned, full-service overhead bridge crane and speciality machine manufacturer serving the Fox Valley area. “For us, each project is big in its own way,” says Klug, the company’s president. “Imagine the monumental shift in capability for a Mom-and- Pop small business on the day their first crane is commissioned. That’s their biggest project, and so it becomes ours by extension. “Certainly, we engage with many large-scale concerns, privately owned or publicly traded, with both national and international scale reach, and
we’re always humbled to be selected for service to those organisations. Several projects for this client set are underway as we speak. It’s been amazing to see what our small company has been a part of over the years.”
What Klug is describing is a vibrant industry in
which large companies and smaller niche players have opportunities to succeed. When asked about the factors he believes will shape the industry in Wisconsin over the next few years, he is positive in the way one would expect from the notoriously friendly, happy and optimistic residents of the state. “Corporate confidence, market stability - or instability – innovation and entrepreneurial spirit,” he says. “If the US is incentivised to keep manufacturing here at home and businesses agree, it will undoubtedly incite more demand in domestic material handling as a sector. It’s hand and glove.” For operators in this industry, the future holds
great uncertainty, and there will no doubt be volatile times before it becomes clear whether the current administration’s trade and economic policies bear fruit, but in the meantime it is certain that the businesses of Wisconsin will try to make the best of the hand they have been dealt.
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