Imperial Crane Services Inc. has opened a new office in Benton Harbor, Michigan -- the company's fifth location to date and a significant expansion of the Midwestern crane leader's reach into local power markets. The new facility sits on 6.5 acres and features an expansive crane yard, as well as approximately 15,000 square feet of under-roof shop space and 1,400 square feet of office space.
Rick Bohne, vice president of Imperial's Power Services division dedicated to servicing the power sector well beyond basic rigging and lifting needs, explained the expansion came about primarily due to the company's extensive work at the nearby Cook Nuclear Plant.
"The whole way we ended up here was doing work at Cook Nuclear," explained Bohne. "We do a lot of work in switchyards and a lot of power grid work for companies like AEP [American Electric Power]. Newkirk Electric is also up here in Michigan, and we do a lot of work for them as well."
Bohne added that, in addition to a brand new 70-ton crane and 45-ton boom truck, the new location will showcase some unique pieces of furniture repurposed from crane equipment.
"We built a very unique conference table," said Bohne. "I actually took a jib from a crane I ran 25 years ago, cut it off and stuck it into the wall with a glass top over it. I took other pieces of the jib and made a table in my office and a display table out of them."
As of Dec. 1, the new location is now open for business.
For more information, visit www.imperialcrane. com or call (800) HOIST-IT [464-7848].
