U.S. Crane & Rigging LLC.

Written by Amy Milshtein

Produced by Stephen Marino

Founded in 2000, U.S. Crane and Rigging LLC offers its clients complete turnkey solutions for their projects. Family owned and operated, the company provides skilled licensed personnel along with an extensive fleet of specialized crane, hoisting, and rigging equipment. The firm also offers warehousing and distribution services. This breadth and depth of services offered allows U.S. Crane and Rigging LLC to tackle even the most complex rigging jobs.

With operations in New York state, New York City, New Jersey, and Florida, U.S. Crane and Rigging owns an impressive array of equipment. Their inventory includes tower cranes, crawler cranes, derricks, hoists, and trailers. Along with these machines, they offer mining equipment like magnetic drills, crushers, excavators, and loaders as well. Customers can also take advantage of their shipping and warehousing capacity.

U.S. Crane and Rigging is a dynamic company that delivers customized solutions for complex projects. Poised for growth, the firm also offers a high level of job satisfaction for their 100 employees. At a time when the construction industry is suffering through a high employee turnover

rate, U.S. Crane and Rigging boasts of a workplace where every employee has the capability to excel and maximize their potential. As a result, most employees have been with the firm for more than five years.

“The length of time that the employees work at U.S. Crane and Rigging is a testament to the culture of the company. Employees

U.S. Crane and Rigging

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“The length of time that the employees Rigging is a testament to the Employees can thrive and achieve company founder and owner Thomas are amongst some of the best

- Founder, Tom

can thrive and achieve their full potential,” boasts company founder and owner Thomas Auringer. “Our employees are amongst some of the best in the construction industry.”

MAJOR INVESTMENTS DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES

With a 22-year track record of growth, U.S. Crane and Rigging

employees work at U.S. Crane and the culture of the company. achieve their full potential,” boasts Thomas Auringer. “Our employees in the construction industry.”

Tom Auringer

U.S. Crane and Rigging LLC. |

constantly reinvests in their infrastructure. Sometimes, however, those investments come during unprecedented times.

“We placed a large order of Liebherr mobile cranes, crawler cranes and tower cranes at the 2020 CONEXPO show in Las Vegas,” recalls Auringer. That show began on March 10, at the literal dawn of the pandic. One day later, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. By March 13, the Trump Administration declared a nationwide emergency.

“So, we made this very large purchase of cranes,” he reflects thoughtfully. But, even with the world falling into uncertainty, Auringer did not go back and cancel any of the orders. “If I would've revisited, I probably would've cut back on some of the orders because they've been sitting around.”

COVID DELAYS AND BACK AGAIN

Obviously COVID-19 caused months of significant delays to U.S. Crane and Rigging’s business. Those pauses, however, were not entirely universal. “There were big challenges working around COVID and the

THE TRUSTED CHOICE TO BUILD SOMETHING REAL

vaccine mandate. Particularly in New York City,” Auringer recalls. “The only jobs they had going for almost two years were essential projects like housing development projects and whatever projects were going on prior to COVID-19. That’s New York City,” he says.

Florida, Auringer reports, was a different story. “They basically just kept plowing right through,” he says. “They did not stop.”

Right now, the outlook seems a little brighter everywhere. “So, things slowed down, Everything went on a holding pattern for some time and then it slowly started coming back,” he notes. “It

seems like now, in 2022, after this first quarter it look like things are definitely booming in Florida. And in New York City it looks like it is starting to pop a bit.”

BILLIONAIRE’S ROW, LOWINCOME, and ELECTRIFYING OPTIONS

U.S. Crane and Rigging helped erect a huge variety of building types and styles. One of the most spectacular examples is 111 West 57th Street in mid-town Manhattan, known today as “Billionaire’s Row.”

At 1,428 feet tall, the structure rises high above Central Park and is

Since 1928, Potain tower cranes have been building new skylines around the world. Contractors like U.S. Crane & Rigging rely on Potain to bring performance and innovation to help them deliver tomorrow’s projects today.

Visit manitowoc.com/potain to learn more.

Photo credits: Oscar Nunez @skyalign, Luis Mello, Thomas Auringer

U.S. Crane and Rigging LLC.

expected to be the second tallest residential skyscraper in New York City. At a mere 60-feet wide, it is also among the slenderest in the world.

Constructing this building required 80 cranes positioned 80 feet away from the building. It also required bringing out the tallest freestanding tower crane ever seen in New York City, topping out at a whopping 220 feet. “We posted the tie-ins and had to tie the crane in. It was like a double tie. It was like a 15-ton tie to hold the crane in place,” Auringer recalls.

Auringer admits that working at that height is enough to make

anyone woozy “It’s a whole other world up there,” he says. He points to one photograph in particular. “If you look at some of the pictures, you'll see the steel beams with the men. That's like a major tie-in at a 1200-foot elevation or 1100-foot elevation.”

U.S. Crane and Rigging delivers the same exacting care to all of their jobs, especially complex projects with special requirements. One example Auringer points to is a low-income housing project going up right next a subway line.

“In New York City they don’t want you to swing the boom over the tracks,” explains Auringer. To

comply, the company called on their Liebherr LTM 1500 mobile crane and installed sections of their Favco MD 440 Diesel Tower crane.

Auringer calls the Favco MD 440 the perfect piece of equipment for this kind of project. “It can be locked into place and not weathervane. This prevents the boom from swinging over the train tracks,” he says. “It can withstand the building code high wind restrictions of 98 miles an hour.”

Very aware of building trends, U.S. Crane and Rigging also offers electric powered cranes for contractors that interested in “going green.” For one such

project, 11 Hoyt, located in Brooklyn, NY, Auringer purchased two Favell Favco MK440E units.

That “K” in the product name means the luffing jib tower cranes are electric, the first electric Favell Favco units to work in New York City. Auringer report being very pleased with the purchase. “The crane performed flawlessly,” he says. “We have two additional units on order.”

“THE KING OF INFRASTRUCTURE”

With over 25 years in the business, Auringer earned the title, “The King of Infrastructure” from his partners

U.S. Crane and Rigging LLC. | and peers. A savvy businessman for sure, Auringer also brings hands-on experience to the job.

license and get approved through the system. This makes it very complicated to work in New York City.”

“I'm a New York City licensed and master rigger number 198. I'm also a New York City licensed hoist machine operator and crane operator. I have what’s called a Super B license. That’s an unlimited license, meaning I can run any machine.”

This is crucial because New York City is very restrictive with licenses to operate equipment. “It's very complex, and it takes a long time to obtain a license,” explains Auringer. “You have to be supervised by licensees to get your

This means that along with strategically guiding his company, Auringer can also be found on the job when required. “We have three other master riggers beside me,” he says. “Along with a whole fleet of crane operators.”

More than just “a crane guy,” Auringer also owns Urban Precast. This company manufactures four to five million square feet of hollow core precast slabs a year. Set in Kingston, NY Auringer trucks the slabs from Urban Precast to New

York City using U.S. Crane and Rigging’s trucking fleet and erects them with their mobile cranes.

This allows the turnkey operation to claim the lion’s share of lowincome and other building construction in New York City. “We’re the leader,” Auringer states. “We’re the main supplier of tower crane operations in New York City.”

For others looking to enter the industry Auringer offers important advice. “Safety is the priority,” he insists. “There are no shortcuts. Follow manufacturers and governing agencies' rules and regulations along with specifications in the manual.”

U.S. Crane and Rigging LLC. |

After safety, Auringer points to the next priority for a successful business. “Foster good customer relationships,” he advises. “Customer and vendor relationships are key.” U.S. Crane and Rigging vendors include big names like Potain, Manitowoc, Liebherr and Link-Belt. He also stresses strong relationships with banks and finance companies.

But Auringer’s most important relationship is with his staff. “This is the number one crane company in New York City to work for. It’s important to be a leader to your employees.”

COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name:

U.S. Crane & Rigging LLC. Country: United States Industry: Construction Est: 2000

Premiere Service: Provide a range of complex solutions combining skilled licensed personnel with an extensive fleet of specialized truck ing, crane, hoisting and rigging equipment.

President: Tom Auringer, Founder Website: www.uscraneriggingllc.com

www.uscraneriggingllc.com