Bigge and Empire Team Up

Mar. 20, 2023 - Bigge Crane and Rigging Co., one of the nation’s largest crane sales and rental companies, has taken a majority stake in Empire Crane Company.

From left, in photo: Paul Lonergan (Empire), Weston Settlemier (Bigge), Luke Lonergan (Empire).

The alliance between Empire and Bigge’s Perfect Fleet makes more than 1,800 cranes and 21 maintenance facilities more readily available to customers on the East Coast.

This new partnership is an essential milestone for both companies and will benefit crane buyers worldwide with a true coast-to-coast offering.

Empire Crane has a long-standing reputation for sales support and crane service.

Its partnership with Bigge and the resulting expansion of Empire into the Gulf, Mountain, and West Coast regions will help bring even more robust sales support to its customers across the U.S. and globally.

Crane buyers will now access dealer pricing and priority ordering for leading crane manufacturers, including Tadano, Kobelco, Liebherr, Manitowoc, Potain, Peiner, Terex, Comedil, Broderson, Manitex, and Jekko, as well as telehandler manufacturers Merlo, Magni, and Xtreme.

This strategic relationship will give customers access to more inventory and will also reduce freight costs for shipping equipment nationwide.

“I’ve known Paul and Luke for over 20 years. They’re the two most trusted principals in the crane and equipment sales business,” said Weston Settlemier, CEO of Bigge Crane and Rigging Co. “Furthermore, the Lonergans are the two best partners Bigge has ever had. I personally have been promoting the benefits of principled partnerships for over 12 years and the Bigge/Empire collaboration will be the standard by which all future partnerships are judged.”

Empire’s president Paul Lonergan echoed Settlemier’s sentiments. “We are thrilled to join forces with Bigge – the pillar of excellence in the crane business for over a century, and, like us, to be in business with a family-owned company with common business values. This strategic alliance provides our customers access to Bigge’s extensive sales inventory and over a century’s experience building and maintaining the Perfect Fleet of cranes.”

Bigge and Empire Crane co-exhibited at the recent ConExpo trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.