Link-Belt mourns passing of Braxton Snyder

An announcement was made at Link-Belt’s headquarters in Lexington by the vice president of marketing, sales and customer support, Bill Stramer, who commented: “Our Link-Belt family has lost a colleague, a leader and a true friend with his passing.”

Kentucky based Snyder initially joined Link-Belt as district sales manager, before rising through the ranks to become an industry-leading figure during his 29 years at the company.

After joining the firm in 1982, Snyder split his time between the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia for his role managing Link-Belt’s presence in the European and the Middle Eastern markets.

This was followed by a stint as Link-Belt’s district manager for the western US before he was appointed as manager of international sales in 1988.

Six years later, Snyder became the manager for North American sales before assuming the mantle of worldwide sales manager for Link-Belt in 2005.

Snyder’s prominence at Link-Belt made a profound impact on the industry.

During nearly 30 years at the firm he represented Link-Belt and other manufacturers on the allied governing committee of the Specialised Carriers and Rigging Association, as well as being a member of several regional associations such as the Northern California Crane Owners Association and the Associated General Contractors of America.

Snyder was also the public face of Link-Belt as the master of ceremonies at many of the company’s customer events.

Stramer added: “Brax was a true professional in every way. He had earned the respect of crane owners, distributors and competitors and will be remembered as one of the good guys of our industry.”

A service will be held for Snyder on Saturday, February 26, in Lexington. Contributions are suggested to the Markey Cancer Center, 800 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536.