Tacoma-based Pacific Lift Equipment has been acquired by a Canadian firm, Leavitt Cranes.
The company also bought Pacific Tower Cranes in Mount Vernon.
Both companies were assets of Barnhart Crane & Rigging Co. of Memphis, Tennessee. The sale price was not disclosed.
With this purchase, Leavitt Cranes makes its first move into the U.S. tower crane market, said Bob McIntosh, company senior vice president. And Leavitt becomes one of the largest tower crane dealers in the Pacific Northwest.
“The crane business (in the area) has doubled in the last three years, and we think we can continue to grow,” McIntosh said.
Seattle had 62 cranes on its skyline at the end of last year, reported in January, trailed by Chicago at 56 cranes.
Leavitt Cranes will maintain Pacific Lift Equipment’s lease on its Thorne Road site on the Tacoma Tideflats, McIntosh said Thursday. The facility will house the company’s operations and service team.
The company will host its management and administrative group out of a Mount Vernon office, according to its news release. Most of the Pacific Northwest staff will be retained.
Leavitt has wanted to expand its reach in the Northwest, according to company general manager Erick Zampini, and wants to bring new equipment and products to the crane market.
With that, the company will hire more people, around a half-dozen, from mechanics to office staff and project managers, Zampini said.
Leavitt has done work in the U.S. for a number of years, McIntosh said. It already has a Tukwila division, called Leavitt Machinery, that rents forklifts and other equipment, but not cranes.
A physical expansion may be in the works later as the company grows, McIntosh said.
“We plan to grow the business as responsibly as we can,” McIntosh said. “We have to ensure we are bringing the right people onto the team and making sure we are providing good service to our customers. Once that’s in place we can look at growth.”
Kate Martin: 253-597-8542, @KateReports
