TNT Crane & Rigging ‘Lifting America to a higher standard’

TNT Crane & Rigging Inc. is one of the largest crane service providers in North America. For over 32 years, the company has provided safe, innovative lifting services to customers, with the simple goal "to be the benchmark by which others are judged in the heavy lift and transport industry."

TNT's history began in 1985, serving customers with a handful of employees and one 18-ton crane. Today, the company has grown to a fleet of more than 650 cranes operating from over 40 branch locations that reach from Florida, north to the Carolinas, westward along the Gulf Coast to New Mexico, and north through the Midwest and Rocky Mountains to Western Canada. The company serves this footprint with five regional brands that all operate under the TNT umbrella: TNT Crane & Rigging Inc., Southway Crane & Rigging, RMS Cranes, Eagle West Cranes and Stampede Crane & Rigging.

Currently, the equipment resources to support this footprint include hydraulic truck, all-terrain and crawler cranes with lifting capacity up to 1,300 tons, plus an inventory of tower cranes. In addition to the crane fleet, the company has invested in specialty lifting equipment, plus a dedicated team of rigging technicians to address unique dimensional applications that require the use of gantry jacks, counterbalance beams, forklifts, and jack and slide systems.

The foundation of TNT's business is its workforce of 1,500 employees who work diligently every day to deliver safe, comprehensive solutions that exceed customer expectations. All TNT crane operators are certified through the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) as well as a comprehensive in-house progressive development training program. TNT riggers are certified through NCCER. Field personnel are trained to meet site-specific requirements and are skilled, experienced craftsmen. Continuing education focused on safety, certification and operational excellence is a key component of TNT's safety and training plans.

In 2014, TNT made a commitment to create a culture absent of incident and injury. This decision was driven by management's desire for every employee to arrive at work and return home safely in the same condition each day. The company implemented the "Incident and Injury-Free® (IIF) Safety Approach," which challenges the status quo that incidents and injuries are simply a "part of the job." TNT has worked with employees at all levels to create change in people, processes and culture to perform at a level without any injuries or incidents and brings this methodology and culture to all work activities.

At TNT, all employees have the responsibility and authority to stop work that does not comply with the company's values. Employees have been issued a Stop Work Authority card signed by senior management that they carry with them at all times. The card is a symbol to remind them their ideas and concerns are important and they have the support and backing of the TNT management team.

TNT's end-market experience and expertise includes lifting activities in refining, petrochemical, oil and gas, power, wind power, commercial and infrastructure. Examples of the variety of applications include:

  • Recurring industrial facility maintenance.
  • Large-scale turnaround projects and outages.
  • Erection, fabrication and construction projects.
  • Oil and gas activities, including well completion, production and midstream.
  • Installation of commercial machinery and equipment, including HVAC, telecom and power units.
  • Wind farm construction and maintenance.

Overall, TNT's combination of equipment and manpower provides a high level of resource utilization flexibility to deliver solutions safely and efficiently.

Geographic footprint expansion

Since last year, TNT has continued to further expand geographic coverage, end-market exposure and fleet composition with the addition of several greenfield branches and new equipment.

One year ago, TNT Crane & Rigging -- Canada opened a new branch office in Leduc, Alberta, to serve the Edmonton area. TNT is expanding into the area to provide crane services to existing and new customers in the region. TNT currently has 10 branches stretching from British Columbia to Alberta and servicing multiple industries, including oil and gas, wind construction, bridge and road construction, as well as commercial customers. The TNT team is actively working on opportunities to continue to expand the customer base and end-markets served.

TNT also opened a new branch in Sulphur, Louisiana, in summer 2016. This greenfield branch was opened to provide crane services to the rapidly expanding Southwest Louisiana market. To celebrate the occasion, an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held. Sulphur Mayor Chris Duncan and Chairman of the West Calcasieu Chamber of Commerce Ethan Miller warmly welcomed TNT to the community during the event. Mike Appling, TNT CEO, commented TNT is "expanding its geographic coverage into the region to provide crane services to this rapidly growing industrial market."

The most recent new branch is in Freeport, Texas. An open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the new site situated at the heart of Freeport's industrial complex. Judge Jack Brown, Justice of the Peace Pct. 1. Pl. 1, led representatives from the Brazosport Chamber of Commerce with gracious comments welcoming TNT to the community during the special ribbon-cutting event. The addition of the Freeport branch expands TNT's branch network to 43 locations!

The addition of these three new locations will enable the company to capitalize on new opportunities and expand its presence in these important regions. Customers will benefit from the sum of the expanded services, manpower and resources available from TNT's experienced team and diversified fleet.

Fleet innovation

Last fall, TNT added a second 900-ton LTM 1750-9.1 crane to its fleet. One of its first projects was to remove and replace four cooling towers and their structural steel on an office tower in West Houston. Working in limited space, the job was completed safely and on schedule. Video of this project can be seen at https://youtu.be/g8R-RHIJfSw.

TNT has continued to expand its crawler crane and tower crane fleets. Over the past several years, the crawler division has grown from 12 crawlers to over 50 machines. The company uses crawler cranes to support commercial construction, road and bridge building, refinery turnarounds, and wind maintenance and construction.

TNT entered the tower crane market through the acquisition of RMS Crane. In the past year, RMS Crane has added nine tower cranes to its fleet, bringing the total to 35 units. The most recent addition came at the recent CONEXPO, where the company's new Potain MD 559 was featured.

In April, TNT Specialty Lifting Services participated in the 2017 Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association's "Rigging Job of the Year" competition held during the annual meeting. The entry in the "Rigging Jobs -- Under $150,000" category featured TNT's Specialty Lifting team setting a new aquarium exhibit inside the glass pyramid at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. Visit https://youtu.be/HQiR32DrWuY to see the video, which describes the ingenuity and teamwork needed to make this challenging project a success.

TNT continues to expand and innovate, showing its customers why it's "Lifting America to a Higher Standard."

For more information, visit www.tntcrane.com or call (800) 799-2505.

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