New crane rental company for Midwest US

Viant Crane, based in Superior, WI, is a new crane rental company serving the heavy industrial, energy and construction markets throughout the Midwest.

Viant Crane has 10 Grove rough terrain hydraulic cranes ranging from 30- to 90-ton capacity, six Manitowoc lattice boom crawler cranes ranging from 100- to 300-ton capacity, and a Grove 45-ton truck crane. There is another Grove 110-ton truck crane on order. The vast majority of the fleet is less than five years old, according to the company.

"With mines on the Iron Range rebounding, strong new construction and maintenance projects throughout the upper Midwest, plus wind projects and refinery work, there's a tremendous need," said David Lemke, vice president of Viant Crane. "We are geographically closer than many competitors, able to respond quickly, competitively priced, and equipped to provide the most current crane technology available."

Nick Minardi has joined Viant Crane as operations manager. Minardi will be responsible for providing customer service, scheduling and handling other customer needs.

"Many of our customers own cranes, but there are times when they need additional equipment to complete the volume of work. They appreciate our flexibility in being able to quickly deliver just a crane or provide the crane, operator and equipment for short-term or long-term jobs," said Minardi.

The business started in early 2007 as a small crane rental business of Reuben Johnson and Son, Inc. Lemke said the timing seemed right for making it a full-service crane rental company, and they're seeing positive results. "The first quarter of 2011 was the busiest ever," Lemke said. "We're looking forward to continued growth."