50 years and going strong

Thousands of lifts, every day, are all in a day’s work for ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp., who in 2014 celebrates its 50th year in business. For ALL Erection, performing so many lifts each day, safely and successfully throughout the enterprise, is routine. That speaks to the diligence, reliability and integrity of a company that started in 1964 with one crane.

Today, ALL has 34 locations in 14 states and Canada, a fleet of more than 3,500 pieces of lift equipment and 350 tractors and 1,700 trailers to deliver them. More than 1,500 employees contribute to the company’s success.

ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp. is the living legacy of one entrepreneurial family. It was 1964 when Michael C. Liptak, Jr., his brothers, Jake and Larry, and Mike’s wife, Marvine, first recognized the contractors’ need for lift equipment rental. At that time, contractors usually owned their equipment, including all the headaches and expense of maintaining it. So the brothers bought one crane and started renting it out.

They didn’t set out to be trailblazers, but they were. The largest privately owned crane sales and rental company in North America started with that one crane – one big idea, and a plan to become the best.

The plan was the key. For 50 years, the ALL Family of Companies has been growing strategically, east of the Mississippi and to the north in Canada. But growing larger is not, and never was, as important as growing better. They hired the best people they could find and recognized the need for a safety culture long before other crane companies did, according to the company. They invested in the best equipment and took care of it themselves so customers would not have to worry about downtime or maintenance.

“During five decades, as you can imagine, many things have changed,” said ALL President Michael L. Liptak, son of founder Michael C. Liptak. “Modern crane technology allows us to achieve what was once impossible. Onboard computers in every machine bring improved precision and safety to every job. Greater crane capacities have changed the game – just 50 years ago, who could have imagined a crane with a 1,000-ton capacity? We can now plan complex lifts in advance with 3D software that enables us to envision the jobsite environment and conditions.”

The company has integrated its 34 branches into a family of companies, connected through digital networks and digital service records for every crane.

“We have learned that ongoing training and education for operators, mechanics and staff at every branch is what makes us a family of achievers,” he said. “We make training mandatory and a point of pride. We celebrate what we have achieved, we remember our beginnings, and to our customers, we extend our gratitude for their loyalty.”