Altec celebrates 90 years

Altec Industries is celebrating an important milestone this year. The company is 90 years old, and it’s still owned by the family that started it in 1929.

It takes more than just resilience and longevity for a company to make it to 90 years. Zak Hilliard, boom truck market manager for Altec, said it has to do with values, placing the customer first and considering employees to be the company’s greatest strength.

Market still strong

Hilliard has direct responsibility of marketing Altec’s boom truck product line. He started with Altec in 2010, and after nearly a decade of experience in engineering and manufacturing, became the market manager for boom trucks. He previously was a project manager for the engineering team and a manufacturing engineer at the company’s manufacturing facility.

The boom truck market is a tricky one, and Altec continues to navigate it with a product line that is safe, high quality and that enjoys extreme customer loyalty. For now, the boom truck market is pretty good, Hilliard said.

“Over the last three or four years, the market has seen steady growth and an increase in demand for boom trucks in all market segments.”

WHAT ARE CUSTOMERS LOOKING FOR IN A BOOM TRUCK?

Our customers continue to challenge us to provide solutions for their ever-evolving needs. Our goal is to offer products and services to the market that help our customers increase their ability to work safely and efficiently.

WHAT IS THE EVOLUTION OF THE ALTEC BOOM TRUCK LINE?

Over the years, the Altec boom truck line has expanded to offer products generated out of customer demand and feedback. Our team will build upon this as we continue to listen to our customers to find out what they need to do their best on the jobsite.

WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE ALTEC BOOM TRUCK IN THE MARKETS IT SERVES?

In general, Altec prides itself in ensuring the products we launch into the market are among the best safety solutions available. Our boom trucks are no exception to that. When a customer buys an Altec boom truck, he or she can rest assured that a tremendous amount of time and effort goes into designing, testing and building their equipment.

Altec provides the safest solutions available and the best value in the market through standard features such as the LMAP (Load Moment and Area Protection) system, outrigger boom interlocks, two-man steel platform and an optional dual rating on certain models.

ALTEC HAS BEEN AN INNOVATOR IN TELESCOPIC BOOM TRUCK CRAWLERS WITH ITS AC40-152S-TC. WHAT HAS BEEN THE RECEPTION TO THis product line? WHAT ARE THE MARKETS FOR THESE CRANES?

Some of our customers let us know that they were having trouble accessing areas with a rough terrain crane. The track carrier version of our cranes is the solution to this problem. In addition to the AC40-152S-TC, we’re excited to showcase the AC45-127S-TC at this year’s ICUEE show at the Prinoth booth.

ALTEC IS CELEBRATING ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THE LONGEVITY OF THE COMPANY? CORE VALUES? FAMILY MANAGEMENT?

Since 1929, Altec has been a company committed to excellence. The values we hold – customer first; enjoyment of work; family; financial stability; integrity; people are our greatest strength; quality; spiritual development; and teamwork – are integral to our success.

Additionally, our products are the industry leaders and consistently raise the bar through innovative product design, integrated safety features and continued dedication to total customer satisfaction. Although we’ve evolved and grown as a business, we never forget our present is a direct product of our past.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS JOB AND THIS INDUSTRY THAT KEEPS YOU ENGAGED?

Altec’s associates are continuously focusing on meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations. This dedicated focus allows all of our associates, including myself, to consistently engage and seek solutions to help our customers solve real-world problems with the products and services we provide.

ALTEC ALWAYS HAS A HUGE PRESENCE AT ICUEE. WHAT ARE THE COMPANY’S GOALS FOR THIS TRADE SHOW?

At ICUEE, our goal is to engage with our customers as we showcase a wide array of products and services. Spending time with our customers allows us to learn how we can better serve them in all areas of our company.