Archive: May 2022

American Crane Awarded Women Owned Business Certification

Manufacturing is akin to an orchestra of people artfully joining together to create a one-of-a-kind experience—sales, engineering, fabricating, purchasing, accounting, and information technology harmonize with other departments—this teamwork then crescendos into an exciting environment, yielding magnificent products that can be shared with our customers. And I am proud to be leading this ensemble, with my sister Stephanie beside me.

I’ve been inspired to encourage others to see the value of this industry. I like to think of American Crane as a garden. And while I nurture our garden, our future, it also nurtures me.

As we make strides towards a prosperous and innovative future, we are proud to announce that we have been certified as both a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and as a Small Business Administration’s Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

One of the major milestones in my life was the decision to work for my father. At the time, I wondered “How fun could manufacturing be?” It’s been more than 18 years since I made one of the best decisions of my life. Through my work with American Crane and Equipment Corporation, I found my passion for manufacturing.  If it hadn’t been for my father, I may not have considered a career in manufacturing. I would have missed out on the most rewarding job I have ever had.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of women-owned businesses has been steadily on the rise, with the most recent figures from 2020 finding that 20.9% (1.2 million) of American companies were owned by women.

More importantly, too often, women are not aware of the opportunities available in manufacturing. But there is a significant overlap between what women want in careers and the attributes of careers in manufacturing today. To those wanting to enter our field, join us! There is exciting work to be done and a path that still needs paving for the future generations of women.

Being a certified WBE/WOSB enables our customers in government entities and private industry to formally acknowledge their partnership with American Crane, not only as a leading supplier of innovative overhead handling solutions but also as an indicator of their increased commitment to engaging a diverse supplier base.

Both certifications verify that American Crane is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women. This means one or more women must have unrestricted control of the business, a demonstrated management of day-to-day operations, and a proportionate investment of capital or expertise.

By partnering with a forward-thinking, evolving organization that has valued and prioritized inclusion, diversity, and innovation within our operations for 50 years, our customers—both existing and new—will continue to benefit from our creative solutions.

Want to learn more about our new certifications and how they can benefit your organization? Contact us.

One-Stop Shopping for All Your Crane Component Needs

E-commerce and online shopping exploded during the pandemic to the tune of $4.2 trillion U.S. in 2020. And why not? It’s an easy, convenient way to find virtually anything you need (or don’t need: Chip Fingertip Protectors anyone?).

The trick, of course, is being able to find what you need. That’s not always the easiest thing to do. Take American Crane’s Online Store. It’s been up and running for the better part of a decade and used by many of our customers. Based on their feedback, however, we realized we could foster a better shopping experience by making a few key changes, which we’ve recently implemented.

Accessible via the yellow clickable button at the top of every page on americancrane.com—or by navigating one of two choices (parts and new equipment or custom manufactured equipment) at the bottom of the slider image window on our homepage—you will find our freshly revamped Online Store. It incorporates a variety of enhancements designed to make it much more intuitive and easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. These include new functions for keyword searches for filtering by brand, crane type (jib or gantry), lift height (10, 15, 20, or 30 feet), or by three primary product categories: parts, new equipment, and new old stock/used inventory.

Both the parts and new equipment sections include products from key crane, hoist, and monorail brands, including Duct-O-Wire, Columbus McKinnon and its different product families. Also Listed in the parts section is a huge selection of off-the-shelf replacement and service items for maintenance and repair, organized by category.

By browsing the new old stock/used inventory section, you’ll find ready-to-ship items ranging from electrical and mechanical components to full hoists and below-the-hook devices. We’re also listing refurbished and used equipment here as well, both manufactured by American Crane and by others.

With more than 40,000 separate items listed, the new search and filtering functions are a huge help for those who are searching for something specific. Already have a part number? There’s also an express ordering function that allows you to plug in the specific part—or parts—needed. In case you’re wondering, no, we do not physically stock every part sold via our online store. Many are shipped directly from the manufacturers themselves, often from the distribution center with the closest geographic proximity to your location to minimize shipping time.

For those who need a bit more guidance or have questions as they’re searching for exactly the right component, American Crane’s parts team is available for personal assistance via email at parts@americancrane.com or phone call at 610-385-2950. They can be reached between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday. Existing customers can also sign into the store to access their order history for repeat orders.

Finally, and as always, if you can’t find what you’re looking for in a standard, off-the-shelf model, American Crane can design, engineer, and manufacture virtually any crane or material handling equipment or system required. Our custom overhead lifting equipment is used widely across multiple industries—such as aerospace, nuclear, hazardous, cleanrooms, and more—to lift, lower, and transport critical loads. And we look forward to bringing that expertise to your next project!

We welcome you to check out our new online store as you’re looking for your next overhead material handling part or component. Have additional ideas about how we can make it even better? Contact us.

ACECO Leverages the IoT, to Create Smart Crane Technology

Ever since the rise of personal computers and portable phones in the ’80s, humanity has been on the fast track of innovation; seldomly slowing to take a breath, but as we find space and take time to bask in all we’ve created, among the many algorithms and blue light screens, it seems hard to figure out where we’ll end up—likely a healthy mix between Ready Player One, Orwell’s 1984, and Blade Runner. I guarantee real-life Sci-fi has found its way into your life. Smart technologies have already begun to dominate our lives, just look down at your Apple Watch, or tell your Google Home to play Spotify, shout Alexa and ask her to buy more toilet paper for your stockpile, or toss on your VR headset and instantly travel to a destination on the other side of the globe.

Past the blockbuster drama and sea of LCD screens, it is an inevitable fact that humans become more and more intertwined with technology every day. The machines we use are smarter, faster, and communicate more efficiently. 

American Crane is utilizing those advancements and building upon them in our Innovation Lab to better merge the world of overhead lifting and digital technology. One of our latest cutting-edge solutions: the new ACECO Smart Crane System, leverages the Internet of Things (IoT) to continually collect machine status data for analysis.

What is the IoT? In the simplest terms, it’s an extension of internet and network connections to different sensors and devices embedded within industrial equipment and machinery. And its use is on the rise. According to the most recent MHI Annual Industry Report, IoT solutions are currently deployed by 21% of material handling equipment owners and are poised to be adopted by 80% of them within the next five years. Further, the report found that 45% of those surveyed believe IoT has the potential to disrupt the industry in a positive way or create a competitive advantage among those who use it; 39% say IoT supports ongoing operational improvements.

To support and utilize those findings, our ACECO Smart Crane System is designed and engineered to support real-time, wireless IoT communication with overhead handling equipment. This enhanced data exchange allows overhead handling equipment owners and operators to gain access to a variety of information about their systems, and to benefit from:

• Detailed remote monitoring information about travel, lift, and speeds; load weights; limit states; amperage ranges; and drive fault status.
• Collection and analysis of long-term, historic usage data for comparison and evaluation of trends in the Cloud.
• Detection of, and alerts about, unsafe conditions.
• Alerts to key personnel with event-based notifications via email or text when a pre-determined threshold has been reached.
• More accurate timing for scheduling predictive and preventive maintenance or repairs based on actual usage.

Customizable and scalable, the ACECO Smart Crane System can be provided with a new crane system or retrofitted into existing equipment. Its system architecture interfaces with any crane system equipped with variable frequency drives (VFDs) for motor control and can be integrated into nearly any sensor embedded within the overhead equipment system. It consists of two separate solutions: 

• SmartCrane loT – This system provides remote asset monitoring, improved performance, predictive maintenance and minimization or elimination of downtime through Cloud-based analytics. 
• MachineHealth loT (MHloT) – Also AI- and XR-enabled, this machine health system monitors currents, vibrations, and temperature for cross-field industry applications. This comprehensive system allows for remote monitoring and Cloud-based predictive analytics to optimize performance, maintenance, and diagnostics.

Data collected by both of American Crane’s IoT solutions can be accessed in a centralized dashboard by both local and remote users via web browser or app. The Cloud-based dashboard offers graphical chart and table views of a broad range of data points. These include determination of Crane Manufacturer’s Association of America (CMAA) usage-based service classification (Class A-F); monitoring and more accurate predictions of component life spans based on speed, run time, and loading; precise scheduling of preventive maintenance and repair based on actual usage; trends in operation and function; and access to crane-specific design documentation, inspection reports, and user manuals.

Additionally, application of the ACECO Smart Crane System is not limited to overhead lifting. It can also be adapted to work with any other material handling equipment utilizing VFDs for motion control and operation. That allows users to gain the same monitoring and preventive maintenance benefits on other machinery within their facilities.

If you’re ready to have a more intelligent system communicate with your overhead lifting equipment, we’d love to make that happen. Connect with us today to learn more and Let’s step into the future together!