Crane Chronicles Turns 100!
This newsletter is the 100th edition of Cranes Chronicles – quite the milestone! In the early days of the company until a few years ago, we would send out print editions to our customers. For the last few years, we’ve gone completely digital, in line with going more and more paper free where we can. So in honor of this occasion, we’d like to provide a little history lesson as well as a look ahead.
Jay Sturm, our founder, graduating from the mechanical service business for years inspecting cranes, bucket trucks and other lifting equipment began inspecting cranes as Cranes Aerial Truck Service in 2001. Jay’s historical passion for bringing his business to the top of its game led him into joining the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME, in 2004. He was elected to the B30.16 Overhead cranes Safety sub-committee soon thereafter, then the B30.17 underhung bridge Crane sub-committee next and then the B30.5 Mobile Crane Sub-committee and the B 30 Main Committee as well as the executive committee. During this time Jay was elected to the ANSI Z133 Arboriculture Safety Committee.
The walls in the office at 57 Mendon St. Bellingham, MA are lined with certificates, awards and testimonial chronicling the 22 years of top shelf work done by Cranes Aerial Truck Service and Cranes101.
In 2006 Cranes101 was born, starting a new era in the progression of Jay’s business. Cranes101 flew to the top of the training world quickly and soon dominated the inspection business which is still the cornerstone of our business.
The business started in Ashland, MA in a 450’ office for its first year out of the basement of the Sturm home. Once the school got off the ground we moved to a new office that had a training room. That lasted for 1 year when it became obvious that the school needed more parking. That moved us to purchase the property in Bellingham where we still reside to this day.
Our dedication to the business compelled us to purchase cranes, forklifts, bucket trucks and digger derricks to enhance our training and subsequently our licensing business. The customer base today resembles the who’s who in the business. Cranes services an astounding spread of major industries and government entities.
Jay has a robust business serving as an expert witness for lawsuits all across the country. Lawyers, insurance companies and even OSHA are currently utilizing Jay as one of the foremost crane experts in the United States.
About 3 years ago Cranes made a concentrated effort to go paper-free. As part of our paper-free transformation, we built a state-of-the-art Safety Management Portal that allows our customers to take charge of their safety needs. Just by signing in, our customers can view all training records, certificates, inspection reports, and more. No need to print documents or have anything mailed unless absolutely necessary. All of it lives on our cloud, safe and secure.
Besides leading the way on the technological front, since edition one, we’ve grown so much over the years. We’ve added new classes taught in person all over the country and online, we’ve conducted so many inspections in multiple states and countries, and we’re hoping to continue to grow in these areas in the years ahead.
But that’s not all. Over the next few years, we’ll be adding to our course catalog to expand our range of safety training. We’ll be adding products like decals and slings that can be purchased alongside training courses. We’ll add more features to our Portal that will make it even easier for our customers to take full control of their safety needs.
Our newest venture brings us to an international status. Partnering up with Lisa Olver, Kolo Safety, in British Columbia is our latest venture. Kolo Safety has a long glorious history doing business just like Cranes. The addition of the CSA Standards to the portal will bring our inspection business to even greater heights. Any business that crosses the border will need the superior services offered by us, for sure. And maybe we have a few other tricks up our sleeve, so you’ll have to watch this space to find out.
To the next 100 editions of Crane Chronicles and beyond!
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