The ProLift Rigging Company, a supplier of solutions-based industrial construction services, has promoted its vice president of sales and marketing, Bill Tierney Jr., to the role of chief sales officer.
In his new role, Tierney assumes ownership of revenue generation for The ProLift Rigging Company, overseeing and expanding the existing sales operations in the US and Canada as well as building a new marketing organisation in Chicago, Illinois.
Tierney began working with the ProLift Rigging Company in 2020 where he built a national sales process and implemented new and innovative sales and marketing strategies across North America. By the end of 2022, ProLift had increased its national footprint to 12 branches and increased its overall sales revenue by 60% from 2021.
“Bill has been our point man on sales and marketing for nearly four years,” commented Jesse Taylor, president and chief executive officer of ProLift Rigging. “He has his fingers on the pulse of our industry and understands how our customers' needs are changing. Increasing his responsibilities within our organisation and leveraging his experience and leadership is a key piece of ProLift’s ongoing growth strategy.”
Tierney possesses more than 20 years of experience working in the crane and rigging industry. He has previously held project development and management roles at Chicago Hardware Company, John Sakash Company, Hilman Rollers and Barnhart Crane & Rigging.
Canin Mizner has been promoted to branch manager at Barnhart Crane & Rigging’s St. Louis, Missouri, branch. Mizner had a 21-year career with Taylor Crane Rental in St. Louis before it was acquired by Barnhart in May of this year. At Taylor, he served as operator, project estimator, and operations manager.
Barnhart has also taken on Stephen Grennell as a crane and rigging sales representative.
Patrick Clark, director of business development at Dearborn Companies, heavy lift/civil/structural engineering firm, has announced that after a one-year hiatus, he has been voted back onto the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B30.21 (Lever Hoists) committee.
Clark says he is looking forward “to contributing as well as gaining a deeper understanding of this guideline”.
Not content with one job, Damian Mulcahy, the director of sales US and Canada at R&M Materials Handling, Inc., has taken on a second position, having now also started up as director of sales US and Canada at Demag Cranes & Components.
Jeff Pritchard has started a new position as regional operations manager at Hoist & Crane Service Group, having been promoted from branch manager in Cleveland. Hoist & Crane Service Group is a national provider for hoist and crane inspections, preventative maintenance, and repairs.
Mike Greive has become the regional sales manager at OMi Crane Systems. Greive moves from being a sales manager at Expert Crane. His experience prior to that includes working for the likes of Ace Industries, Wazee Crane, and Crane 1 Services.
Winch and crane firm Thern says that when it is looking to expand, it looks to its Southern Minnesota community, bringing in local engineering students for hands-on internships that provide industry-based learning opportunities with the chance to contribute ideas of their own.
“We strive to have good relationships with the colleges in town and with the students – it’s our way to support the community,” says Michelle Hermann, Thern’s HR Generalist. “The other side is that Thern likes to have new people come in and give us fresh perspectives.”
Cameron Larson is studying biomedical engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, but she stayed with her grandparents in Winona this summer to attend her internship at Thern.
Having found the opportunity through the SciTech Internship Program, Larson was able to connect one-on-one with Thern’s hiring managers, and secured a position that would help her e xplore alternative industries in engineering.
Once there, Larson gained exposure through the wide variety of projects and disciplines, and Thern says her ideas and solutions were always encouraged. While working on a drive issue, for example, Larson says that her mentor, an electrical engineer, “spent some time diagnosing the problem, he then asked me to assist and we were able to figure out the issue in about ten minutes together. From there, he had me to set up not only the drive but also the PLC [programmable logic controller]. I really appreciated that. It was cool to have my feedback listened to instead of just watching everything.”
Larson’s favourite task over the summer was getting to apply what she’d learned while testing a motor. The engineer she collaborated with “trusted me enough to bring me into the shop and let me work on it. When I hooked the motor up to test it, he didn’t check my wiring, so that was a really big confidence booster.”
“When someone like Cameron comes to us from college, she’s learning different techniques than what we did 15 years ago. So, she can come in and provide her suggestions and her ideas, and even implement new processes and products.”
Wherever a student is in their academic journey, Thern says it is looking for ways to support the intern’s growth through company immersion and applied learning.
“Our biggest goal for our interns is to give them real-life experiences in the field that they’re going to school for,” Hermann says. “Sometimes we’ll make full-time job offers to our interns, but even if that’s not the case, we always want to provide them with experience.”
With another year of school before she graduates, Larson is taking her Thern experience with her, returning to Milwaukie with the fresh perspective she went looking for.
“In my biomed program, about half of it is electrical engineering – it’s just on a much smaller scale. So, for me, this was eye-opening to see the industrial side of it,” says Larson.
Columbus McKinnon Corporation has announced the selection of Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, a board member since March 2020, to the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) 2023 NACD Directorship 100, which honours the most influential leaders in corporate governance.
“Jeanne’s valuable contributions to our board are further validated by this recognition from the NACD,” says David J. Wilson, president and CEO of Columbus McKinnon. “We have significantly advanced our strategy during Jeanne’s tenure and are executing to transform Columbus McKinnon into a top-tier, secular growth driven, intelligent motion solutions company. Her trusted and insightful guidance, in concert with the balance of our talented board, has helped to inform our journey. Jeanne is truly deserving of this honour.”
The annual NACD Directorship 100 awards recognise peer-nominated leading directors and governance professionals. Honorees are evaluated in four key categories: integrity, mature confidence, informed judgment, and high-performance standards. A selection committee reviewed the nominees’ histories of advancing board performance and leading corporate governance practices in accordance with established NACD principles. The principles are a framework that encourages excellence in areas that include risk oversight, corporate strategy, compensation and transparency.
Stephanie Faulkner was named one of Kito Crosby’s customer service reps of the month during the fall. Stephanie joined Crosby in 2020 and serves the company’s international customers.
According to her managers and colleagues: "Stephanie has been one of the most versatile, efficient, and focused team players. She has proven time and time an ability to see the bigger picture. Customers always welcome her name because they know their problem will get taken care of correctly if she's involved."
"She does an over and above awesome job with responding to our sales team and customers. The level of detail she provides the extended team helps resolves urgent issues."
We end the sad news that long-time LGH employee Syl Sikorski passed away at the age of 85 in the autumn.
He worked for 28 years at LGH, in Bridgeview, IL, where – as a national sales manager – he worked up until the day of his death.
The company said he “was instrumental in the growth of the company”.
In a LinkedIn blog post, LGH president Tony Fiscelli, wrote: “Syl Sikorski was an integral part for the success and growth of LGH over the years and I will be forever grateful that I had the chance to work and learn from him as a mentor. We both joined LGH approximately around the same time, while I was just starting my career. Syl took a chance with LGH and thankfully he did, because due to his determination and work ethic, he was able to help LGH grow to where it is today.”
