07.03.2023

Another acquisition for Bay Crane

New York based Bay Crane has acquired fellow New York crane rental company Cranes, Inc.

The move follows the acquisition of Chellino Crane’s business in Chicago last month, which added to the Gatwood purchase that Bay completed in the area a year earlier.

The Cranes Inc fleet is largely Liebherr, with All Terrains up to the 450 tonne LTM 1450-8.1, lattice crawler cranes up to the 500 tonne LR 1500, telescopic crawlers up to the 220 tonne LTR 1220 and Rough Terrains from Tadano, plus one of the new 90 tonne Liebherr LRT 1090-2s.

Bay Crane chief executive Kenneth Bernardo said: “We are excited by this unique opportunity to combine two premier businesses in the crane services industry in New York City and the surrounding region. Both Bay Crane and Cranes have built exceptional reputations and customer relationships through their commitment to providing the best quality equipment and the highest levels of customer service. The combination of Cranes with Bay Crane will be beneficial to both of our teams and, most importantly, to the customers we serve by providing an enhanced level of service, expertise, and equipment. The companies share a similar philosophy of providing customers the most complete and up-to-date fleet available, investing heavily in the latest and best technology to support our customers’ lifting needs.”

Cranes Inc chief executive Rob Weiss added: “Our companies have always had an outstanding relationship and know each other well, with ties that go back more than 80 years. The teams on both sides throughout each organisation are made up of the most experienced lifting solutions experts in the industry and the ability to work together going forward is exciting for everyone involved.”
The Bay Crane family of companies now includes Bay Crane, Capital City Group Gatwood Crane - including Chellino’s Joliet fleet and operation, and now Cranes Inc.
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New York City based Cranes Inc is a well known on both the national and international stages, owned and run by the Weiss family. The business was established by Paul Weiss in 1940 as an offshoot of A. J. McNulty & Co, the steel erection contractor he had set up with A. J. McNulty in 1925. Weiss started the Cranes Inc business with a small fleet of Link-Belt lattice truck cranes, and built the business at a steady and consistent basis over the years, while also taking over the running of A. J. McNulty. He was joined by his son Larry in the 1970s, and grandson Rob in 1992. He passed away in June 2006 at the age of 98. Rob Weiss has been closely involved with the development of the new Crane Rule and the updated and almost harmonised US/EU crane standards.
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One of Cranes Inc's early Link-Belt cranes

Bay Cranes was established in 1939 and now operates from 16 locations with a strong market leading position in both the New York and Chicago crane markets. It operates as Bay Crane in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts and as Capital City in Michigan, West Virginia and Ohio and Gatwood/Chellino Crane in Illinois.

Vertikal Comment

This is an interesting move and is surprising in that it substantially consolidates the New York City mobile crane market. However, it is a logical merger for the two companies involved, in that they share a similar philosophy about the way they do business, and have very complementary fleets.

We are not privy to the key driving forces behind the move at this time, although the participants will be driven by a number of potential reasons. One factor driving more acquisitions at the moment is the long lead time for new equipment, not to mention its cost. The effect is to make acquisitions of companies with good fleets an even more attractive proposition than it might already have been.

If you are in the mood, the video below from Cranes Inc shows examples of its cranes working around the city, worth a glimpse if only for some of the music and the scenery.