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(Above) Advanced Crane using their Manitex 28102S Boom truck to lift air conditioning units from the roof of a commercial building in Anaheim.
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___In just three short of
months of being in
business, Advanced Crane’s owner, Brian McCullah,
says things are going so
well that he anticipates buying two more cranes the first of the year. Unlike most people who strike out
on their own after |
working for another company, Brian didn’t start his company conservatively with one piece of equipment. He started with four cranes and four operators and has another crane on order.
“I thought if we’re going to do this, we might as well go big,” Brian says. “Go big or stay on the porch and be safe.”
Brian found a location in Norwalk and they opened shop. Brian says things were slow the first week they were open, but from there things just picked up.
Brian brings his nine years of experience, both as a crane operator and general manager,
to the table. He worked for the now defunct Berg Crane for six years—three as an operator
and three as the general manager. When Berg went out of business, Brian took his customers to Able Crane where he was the general manager for two years. When he started Advanced Crane, his original customers from Berg followed him to his new venture.
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Brian never really thought about starting his own business, but when he left Able Crane, he needed to find work, so he says starting his company was a sort of “spur of the moment” kind of thing. “It was scary at first, especially purchasing new cranes,” he says. “But things have gone better than expected and we’re almost ready to purchase some new cranes.
“We’re at a point where we’re turning down work, which isn’t good,” he continues. “We need a bigger fleet so that we can meet the need.”
Two of Advanced Crane’s new pieces of equipment were purchased from Erik Coffin at Coastline Equipment’s crane division in Santa Ana. They are Manitex 28102S Boom Trucks, which have a 28-ton capacity. One of the things that Brian likes about the Manitex cranes is their computer system, which actually shuts down the crane before it can get in a position to tip. Manitex calls this the “Capacity Alert Warning System Audio/Visual with Overload Shutoff and Internal Boom Length Cable.”
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(Below) Operator, Charlie Summers.
(Inset Photo) The Manitex 28102S lowering
the air conditioning unit onto the flatbed for delivery. |
The Manitex cranes are a new brand for Brian, but he says they’ve been amazing. “They’re real fast and set up real well,” he continues. He also says that Erik has been very helpful with the purchase of the equipment. Advanced Crane has another Manitex crane on order from Coastline Equipment—the 22-ton 2201C Boom Truck—which Brian expects to get delivery of in January. |
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Advanced Crane’s fleet of four cranes range in size from 14.5 tons to 75 tons. Brian says that any new equipment they purchase in 2008 will stay within that size range.
The company completes lifts from the San Bernardino/Riverside area to the east, over to Ventura in the west. Brian says that the company does basically any kind of job that requires a crane, both for residential and commercial projects. His main customers that have followed him since he was with Berg Crane are air conditioning and lighting companies. Advanced Crane sets generators, air conditioners, spas, light poles, and vaults to name some of their jobs.
Recently the Manitex 28102S was on the job for setting an air conditioner at one location and a spa at a residence in another location. Brian says the most difficult jobs are those where his operators are setting spas and barbecues in the back yards of homes in the hills. These are the situations where the Manitexs shine, according to Brian. Setting the crane on a steep hill involves blocking the wheels, setting the brakes, and only using the front of the crane. He says they’ve had the Manitex on a job where the front was four feet in the air just to level the crane out and it worked beautifully. “This is the kind of situation where the Manitex’s on-board computer systems will shut the crane down before anything gets of control,” Brian says. |
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(Above) Advanced Crane transferring an air conditioning unit with their Manitex 28101S Boom truck.
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In addition to bringing a base of customers with him, Brian says the company has been growing mainly by word of mouth. “People see our drivers on the job and see that we have a good crew,” he comments. “We are smooth, courteous to our customers and on time. It seems like once a customer uses us for the first time, they like us and use us again.”
Although Advanced Crane would be considered a small crane company now, Brian says the company will grow, but he’d like to keep it to a “mom and pop” size ultimately.
“I want to be more concerned for the customer than for the numbers coming in,” he says. “I want to focus on keeping our employees happy and stay competitive at the same time.”
It is his operators that are making the company what it is so far, Brian says. “Our operators are great,” he says. “I go watch them and I realize they’re better than me. I’ll just stay in the office and let them do what they do.”
Another positive for the company is the fact that they’re on time. Brian feels its important not to inconvenience his customer and their crew at the jobsite. Being on time isn’t always easy, due to the traffic in the Los Angeles area—one of the biggest challenges Brian says the new company has faced. “If we have to leave two hours early to make sure we’re on time to a job, then we do.”
For more information call (562) 929-8099. Cc |
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