Smith Bros. Crane Rental, Inc.’s policy is to get their cranes any place, anytime to meet a client’s needs. This “go for it” attitude has been part and parcel of the company’s philosophy since its inception. Versatility has also been a major factor in the company’s success. Smith Bros. Crane handles both residential and commercial accounts with commercial making up the bulk of the work. 

Much of the work Smith Bros. Crane does is “taxi crane service,” getting a crane out to a site doing the job, dismantling and moving on to the next job, often in less than a single day. The variety of projects the company has worked on could fill a large volume. Currently the company has a simple job lifting and placing a 20,000 lb. oak tree for a private home in Rancho Palos Verdes. This project will utilize the company’s latest acquisition, a 90-ton Link-Belt HTC 8690. The company also has an on going project they are working on at the new USC Hospital on Morango Dr. where they are lifting roofing materials some 140 ft.

Other projects include lifting steel for housing foundations in Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beaches. The company handled the construction of the front façade on UCLA Hospital. Smith Bros. lifted dry wall for construction work being done at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. They lifted steel for a new addition at Children’s Hospital in the City of Orange. At Beverly Hills High School Smith Bros. Crane was once again lifting roofing materials for construction of new facilities at the school. The company also hoisted roofing materials for the Budweiser Brewing Plant in Van Nuys. Smith Bros. Crane also handles air-conditioning installment, fiber glass pool installment and rebar placement. The company does a great deal of refinery work building storage tanks and lifting as well as placement of 30’- 40’ commercial satellite communications dishes and the erection of steel frames and base poles for large billboard signs. They also completed work lifting glass for the exterior of the CalTrans building in downtown Los Angeles.

In addition to the commercial and residential work the company does, Smith Bros. has been involved in a literal Who’s Who in the movie industry. From Steven Spielberg’s Terminal and War of the Worlds to Pirates of the Caribbean, Smith Bros. Crane has been actively involved in making movie magic happen.

(Top Right) Smith Bros. Crane Rental, Inc. using their 90-ton Link-Belt 8690 to off-load the 20,000 lb. tree. (Right) The 6,000 lb. tree being lifted to it’s location.

the company worked on the construction of the Bat Cave and lifting the Bat Mobile. For the film Hard Rain, Smith Bros. Crane worked on a huge set that was housed in the former Boeing Aircraft building where the B-1 Bomber was built. The sound stage is 750 ft. long, 350 ft. wide and rises to over 80 ft. For the film Smith Bros. Crane constructed the entire city which was then flooded for the shoot. At the time this was the biggest water shoot until the filming of Titanic. For the Kurt Russell feature, Soldier the company lifted an F-117 Stealth Fighter mock-up that weighed 17,000 lbs. and placed it on top of the set that was home for the family who rescued Russell. On ER Smith Bros. lifted a helicopter and then dropped it on the hospital set to “kill off” one of the series characters.

Big films are where Smith Bros. Crane really shines. For Steven Spielberg’s film The Terminal, the company literally constructed a working terminal on the massive soundstage. The set incorporated five working escalators, each weighing 20,000 lbs. Smith Bros. Crane recently wrapped-up work on Oceans 13. For this shoot the company was called upon to construct the casino’s massive steel structure used in the film. Pearl Harbor saw company sales rep Jim Jones, stomping through a field of mud to place the B-25 bomber that Alex Baldwin’s Jimmy Doolittle crashed in the movie. For Pirates of the Caribbean I, II and III, Smith Bros. Crane was involved with stunts, lighting, set construction and special effects. For a number of days the company had two cranes set up on barges for lighting which followed Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship, the Black Pearl, around Long Beach harbor while filming was going on. In the next installment of the popular franchise, the scene called for a sea creature to pick up a ship, turn it over and place if back in the ocean.

A Smith Bros. Crane was utilized to accomplish the shot. Mission Impossible I, II and III, Rush Hour III, Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty, George of the Jungle, Spiderman I, II and III are just the tip of the iceberg of the many films the company has been involved in the production of.

(Top Left) The site preparation where the 20,000 lb. tree will be placed. (Top Right, L-R) Marvin Peck, Oilier; Bob Hardy, Salesman; Omar Quezada, Operator; Smith Bros. Crane Rental, Inc. (Right) The Link-Belt 8690 putting the 20,000 lb. tree in place.

In order to do the wide variety of work they do, Smith Bros. Crane has a fleet of cranes that includes three 5-ton cranes, one 8-ton crane, one 14.5-ton hydraulic truck crane, four 30-ton hydraulic cranes, four 40-ton hydraulic cranes, one 70-ton hydraulic crane, their latest acquisition a 90-ton Link-Belt HTC 8690 telescoping truck crane and a 165-ton crane. Smith Bros.

Crane acquired their Link-Belt HTC 8690 from Nixon-Egli Equipment Co. The Link-Belt HTC 8690 is equipped with a 445-horse power Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine, ZF AS-tronic “automated” transmission, air ride suspension, 140’ 5 section formed boom and a 58’ two-piece bi-fold fly/jib that offsets to 45 degrees for a total of 200’ of hook height on board. “We have dealt with Mark Lomas and Nixon-Egli for many years and have a good relationship with them,” said company sales rep, Bob Hardy. Smith Bros. has their own maintenance division that makes sure all of the company’s equipment is kept in top working order.

Dennis Smith started the company shortly after he returned from Vietnam where he saw action. “I lost my job with the company I worked for when I was in Vietnam,” said Dennis. Smith bought his first 5-ton Michigan crane and started working on constructing oil and water tanks. Two years later Dennis’ older brother, Jerry, decided to go into business with him and the two brothers formed a partnership. They decided that if they were going to make a success of their business they would make their cranes available anytime and get them any place a client needed them. “We had our phones open 24/7 and worked seven days a week to get ourselves established,” said Dennis. The company continues to this day with that same philosophy. One of the first major jobs that put Smith Bros. Crane on the map so to speak was their work on the Aero-Space Museum at Exposition Park in Los Angeles. Smith Bros. was the only crane company involved with the complete construction of the museum. Smith Bros. makes it a policy not to hit their clients with a fuel surcharge. “The figure a client sees is exactly what it will cost them for a job, we don’t believe in trying to come the long way around the barn to hit a customer up with additional charges,” Dennis explained. Any company that is capable of handling the wide variety of projects that Smith Bros. Crane does, can still face major challenges. “One of the biggest challenges we face is qualified operators,” said Dennis. “Between that and the rising fuel costs it can be tough at times.” Even with such challenges, Dennis really enjoys the accomplishment in a job. “Seeing our machines going down the road and the variety of jobs we work on is a real good feeling,” said Dennis. “We have a great bunch of employees, most of whom stay when they come to work with us.”