TNT Crane & Rigging continues on its growth trajectory. Since 2011, the company has grown 148.8 percent — both organically and through acquisition. The goal, “to be the benchmark by which others are judged in the heavy lift and transport industry,” remains in place. The company has continued to expand geographically, including the first international venture, as well as strengthening its important vertical market sectors. Here’s a recap of the highlights from this past year.
Equity sale
In November 2013, First Reserve acquired TNT Crane & Rigging Inc. from Odyssey Investment Partners. First Reserve is the largest global private equity firm focused exclusively on the energy sector.
“First Reserve’s investment is an important milestone for our company,” commented Mike Appling Jr., CEO of TNT. “Our partnership will create additional opportunities for our employees and advance our capabilities to service our customers. We believe the outlook for our business has never been better, and we are excited to partner with First Reserve in the next phase of our growth. Our management team is highly confident First Reserve’s strategic vision, energy industry knowledge — including relationships — and deep experience in providing companies like ours access to growth capital will benefit us as we continue to execute on our growth strategy.”
“We have a long and successful history of supporting and growing businesses providing services to the energy infrastructure end markets,” said Tim Day, managing director of First Reserve. “TNT represents a continuation of that theme. We are excited to partner with the highly talented management team of TNT and support them in their ongoing growth initiatives. We believe this platform is uniquely positioned for continued growth, both in terms of its existing served geographies and new markets.”
“We are proud of what TNT has achieved since we acquired the company, and we believe the company is well positioned to create additional value under its new ownership,” added Stephen Berger, chairman of Odyssey Investment Partners. “We applaud Mike Appling and his team for their many accomplishments and wish all the people of TNT continued success in the future.”
Greenfield expansion
In April, TNT opened a new branch office in Fort Dodge, Iowa, which is northwest of Des Moines. The new branch, located at 2125 Lainson Avenue, is the home base for seven cranes including a 400-ton Liebherr LR1350-1 crawler crane as well as a 500-ton Liebherr LTM 1400 7.1 hydraulic truck crane. The branch also has a support fleet of heavy haul trucks and forklifts.
TNT chose to expand into the region to provide crane services to customers in the growing renewables and industrial markets. TNT, a member of the American Wind Energy Association, has supported the wind energy industry for over 10 years. The move into Iowa will support one of the leaders in wind energy installations as Iowa leads the nation in the percentage of electricity generated by wind energy at 27.4 percent.
“TNT Crane & Rigging will be a great addition to the region’s economy,” said Dennis Plautz, CEO of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance. “They bring diversity to our industry base and are a well-respected service provider.”
In addition, the new branch is located deep in the heart of the Midwest Corn Belt, which is also home to numerous ethanol production facilities. TNT is now positioned to support these facilities that produce ethanol from corn and other plant-based materials for blending into fuel.
Acquisitions
In July, TNT purchased the assets of Rent-A-Crane Inc., an Oklahoma City-based provider of crane lifting services to the energy industry in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. The two companies’ shared experience and focus on energy and energy-related end-markets are a complementary and powerful strategic fit and strengthens TNT’s geographic footprint into the midcontinent region. It also is enabling TNT to capitalize on new opportunities and expand its regional presence. Customers will benefit from the sum of expanded service, manpower and resources available through this acquisition.
“The Rent-A-Crane team is very excited about this transaction,” said Gary Rohlmeier, CEO of Rent-A-Crane. “This combination will provide our customers a large and diversified offering of lifting and rigging services and enable our employees to share in the continued successful growth of the business.”
“We are extremely excited about the growth opportunities Rent-A-Crane brings to TNT,” said Kregg Lunsford, president of TNT. “Not only is the company strong in the oilfield, but they have a robust customer base in the infrastructure, power and commercial markets we serve across all of our branches in the South and Southeast U.S. Even more importantly, Rent-A-Crane brings a solid group of experienced and talented managers and operators who will lead our expansion in this rapidly growing market. In this business, the people are the most important asset and we are certainly getting some of the best in the business with this acquisition.”
In September, TNT finalized the acquisition of Stampede Crane & Rigging Inc., Stampede Crane & Rigging Ltd., Eagle West Truck & Crane Inc., Eagle West Precast Ltd. and certain assets of J&B Trucking (collectively Stampede/Eagle West).
Stampede/Eagle West has been a full-service provider of crane and rigging services to customers in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. The acquisition provides a strong entrance into the rapidly growing energy end-markets in Western Canada. Stampede/Eagle West will serve as a platform for TNT’s anticipated future growth in Canada both organically and through further acquisitions.
Stampede/Eagle West and TNT’s shared focus on energy and energy-related end-markets is an exceptional strategic fit that will enable TNT to capitalize on new opportunities and extend its presence into a new geography. Stampede/Eagle West operates an integrated network of nine branches and 78 cranes strategically located across Alberta and British Columbia that delivers a solid tactical footprint in the region. Customers will benefit from a more diversified fleet, continued investment in new fleet and the combined experience and expertise to execute larger and more complex projects.
“Our employees couldn’t be happier to be joining forces with a company like TNT,” said Bob Fairbank, president of Stampede/Eagle West. “We are well positioned to compete for the burgeoning projects and maintenance activities in Western Canada with our combined track record, depth of resources and wealth of management expertise.”
“The acquisition of Stampede/Eagle West provides increased geographic diversification and gives TNT a superb platform for entry into the rapidly growing Canadian energy end-markets,” stated Appling. “Their longstanding history in Alberta and British Columbia, coupled with TNT’s capabilities, will provide our combined customer base tremendous benefits. We are excited to welcome our new partners/employees to the TNT family and look forward to our future growth together.”
“We are very bullish on the Canadian market fundamentals and believe Stampede/Eagle West is the ideal company with which to partner,” said Lunsford. “They not only have outstanding customer relationships in the energy, power, infrastructure, construction and commercial end-markets but also have employees who take great pride in their work with deep ties to their communities. Stampede/Eagle West’s management team coupled with its talented operators will enable us to quickly establish TNT’s presence in this important strategic region. The key managers bring invaluable expertise and professionalism, and we are excited about our prospects for the future.”
In the past several months, TNT has introduced two cantilever bars to its Specialty Rigging operations. These custom-designed systems have been utilized in several unique lifting projects, which require an innovative approach to the lifting process. TNT’s Specialty Rigging group operates a fleet of hydraulic gantries with a lifting capacity from 40 tons to 1,220 tons with a maximum lifting height of 40 feet. They also inventory a wide range of accessories including header beams, skid tracks, slide shift systems and lifting lugs.
Today, TNT offers full-service capabilities utilizing its portfolio of truck mounted, all terrain, rough terrain, crawler cranes, mobile gantries and heavy rigging solutions with lifting capacities ranging in size from three tons up to 1,300 tons. The company’s fleet has grown to over 560 cranes, which are operated at more than 30 branches throughout North America. With one of the youngest fleets in the industry, TNT’s customers are better served from a larger and stronger company with a high level of resource utilization flexibility.
For more information, visit www.tntcrane.com or call (800) 799-2505.
