INTERVIEW | JEFF BRAZWELL
Spanco’s history stretches back to 1979, when it was founded by Richard Uhlig in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
This foresight led him to move first into selling machinery for the paper industry, then into a job at R&M Materials Handling, part of the Konecranes Group, selling crane components and hoists. Once again, his affinity with foreign languages and cultures was crucial in enabling him to grow the company’s business. The other major ingredients were sheer hard work and determination. When he started at R&M, the company had no sales in Latin America, but in a short few years Brazwell was able to develop a large distribution network throughout the region.
“Back then, I was just one man with a briefcase
full of brochures. This was before cell phones and GPS were available to the average business
36 Spring 2026 |
ochmagazine.com
traveller. I used to find potential distributors in the Yellow Pages, call them from the hotel phone to set an appointment, then find my way to their office in a rental car using a paper map.” While he had no specific vision for where he
wanted to end up, he found that a strong appetite for hard work was enough to open many doors. “I had no clear plan but I found that opportunities were opening up as I went along,” he explains. “I like tangible products and I knew I did not want to sell services or work in retail, but other than that I was fine in almost any industry with a real product I can touch, see and understand.” In 2014, that drive – coupled with a keen eye for the next big opportunity – led him to Spanco.
“I really saw the potential in this company. Now, many years later, and as a co-owner, I can still see even more potential and I am determined to make it a reality.”
The Spanco story Before Brazwell joined the company, Spanco had already charted a long trajectory of growth that had begun in 1949 when George Uhlig, the father of founder Richard Uhlig, invented the first truly safe cable lever ratchet hoist. Today, Lug-All manual hoists are still used worldwide. Fast forward 30 years to 1979, and
Richard Uhlig forms Spanco in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, which initially manufactures a small line of Spanco adjustable gantry cranes and
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