Wranglings over the future of Maxim Crane Works (see page 6) have highlighted the problems of operating in the ferociously competitive US crane rental business.
George Bragg, owner of Bragg Crane in California acknowledges that the competition offered by Maxim ‘has made us more efficient’, but the general view is that Maxim has, in recent years, taken on jobs at prices so far below competitor bids that no one can make any money.
The downside of Maxim’s liquidation would be its massive fleet of more than 1,500 mobile cranes, 165 crawlers and 50 tower cranes* flooding the used equipment market. This would bring down the value of used machines, making it harder to trade in old for new and reducing the value of existing fleets. It would also open the door for dozens of new small-time competitors to emerge across the country, running older machines and able to undercut the established players.
However, Jack Swan, vice president of All Erection, Maxim’s greatest rival, thinks it a price worth paying. ‘There has never been a better time in the last 10 years for that equipment to come to the market. The market is coming strong again.’
He believes that the weakness of the dollar would mean some of the equipment would leave the country. ‘We are selling more overseas than we have ever done,’ he said. Also, Maxim had already reduced the size of its fleet in recent years and most of its cranes were working, rather than standing idle.
While Bragg has expressed interest in buying Maxim’s Western operations, Swan said that All Erection was not interested in buying any part of Maxim. As of the end of October, Amquip remained the only bidder to declare publicly its interest in taking over the whole operation.
Amquip general manager Frank Bardanaro told Cranes Today how Amquip hoped to repair some of the damage that, in his opinion, Maxim had caused. ‘We feel disappointed in the direction it’s been heading in recent years. It has taken an industry that was based on a lot of integrity and relationships and turned it into one based on predatory pricing.’
Although Amquip, with 300 mobiles and 38 crawlers*, is a top-10 player in the US rental market, it might be regarded as a surprising bidder, given the age of its president and owner, Joe Wesley. But at 66, his ambition remains undiminished.
‘Joe’s plan is to keep Amquip in growth mode for the current management,’ Bardanaro told Cranes Today.
Amquip expanded into Ohio through recruitment rather than acquisition, but it feels Maxim is worth spending money on. ‘Joe sees that they have some extremely talented people working in the field and in the operations end. We have had several of them calling us, but we are not going out to steal anybody.’
Bardanaro is related to the Carlisle family, whose crane business was joined with Anthony Crane Rental in 1999 to form the foundations of Maxim. His cousin is Bryan Carlisle, who tried to put together a deal to buy Maxim in July and remains a likely player in any reorganisation ahead.
Meanwhile, Al Bove parted company with Maxim on Friday 1 October from his post as president, three days after releasing a statement that he had teamed up with Amquip to promote an alternative strategy to save the Maxim business.
It was the culmination of months of in-fighting at Maxim.
When Maxim went into Chapter 11 protection on 14 June, Bove explained: ‘The slowdown in the economy and the leveraged balance sheet that was created in the late 1990s have made it necessary for Maxim to strengthen its capital structure. Over the past three years, we have systematically adjusted our cost structure and have always generated positive cash flow. With the economy showing signs of recovery, now is the time to restructure our balance sheet.’
Maxim’s primary problems were, indeed, financial. But Bove clearly believed there were also operational issues. Outsiders were brought in. First, there was Jeff Fenton. His credentials looked good on paper – he came from an equipment rental division of GE Capital. But he had little or no experience with cranes and in 2002, after three years, moved on. It was at this point that Bove was appointed to replace Fenton as CEO. Alongside him, as president and his number two, was appointed Art Innamorato, an attorney and accountant who had been an adviser during Bain’s acquisition of Anthony and Carlisle Crane.
Initially, Bove was responsible for customers, cranes and operations and Innamorato looked after financial control, human resources and other backroom functions.
In August this year, disagreements over company policy hit their first impasse and Bove was demoted to president, with Innamorato taking over as CEO. Bove has since left the company.
In a statement released on 27 September, Bove said: ‘If the sale to Amquip occurs, Maxim Crane will once again be run by crane people, rather than accountants, lawyers and MBAs. I know from the very depths of my heart that this is the only way the company can be saved.’

* Source: Cranes Today Fleet File 2004