Rental Resource

Wolffkran Inc.’s direct-rental program in the United States gives tower crane users here an extra option for getting the crane they need when they need it.

Depending on their particular needs, a potential Wolffkran user can buy a Wolff tower crane from a dealer, buy or rent them from a typical crane rental fleet or rent them directly from Wolffkran Inc.

Likewise, rental fleet owners can book cranes from Wolffkran’s fleet to help meet peak demand if all of their own tower cranes are already in use.

Wolffkran Inc. is the U.S. branch of Wolffkran GmbH, a tower crane manufacturer that is headquartered in Switzerland and produces its cranes in Germany.

An online search indicates that Wolffkran is the only tower crane maker that offers direct-from-the-manufacturer rentals in the United States.

Proven Model

“We started a U.S. rental fleet for several reasons,” said Michael Herget, president of Wolffkran Inc., whose headquarters are in Houston, Texas.

“One is that our parent company, Wolffkran, has seen proven success with its rental fleet in Europe,” Herget added.

He noted that by offering both sales and rentals, Wolffkran Inc. is aligning North American operations with a system that has been tested and shown to work effectively.

“It is working just as well here,” said Herget. “So far, customer response has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Builds Relationships

Wolffkran Inc. Sales Manager Tony Cappellaro added that renting cranes helps the manufacturer build even stronger relationships with customers.

“Renting cranes in addition to selling them directly helps us maintain long-term relationships with contractors and stay involved throughout the crane’s life cycle,” Cappellaro said.

He noted that running its own rental fleet gives Wolffkran Inc. control over the quality of the equipment and enables the company to ensure proper maintenance and service are performed so the cranes give users consistently strong performance and maximum reliability.

“Users benefit from well-maintained machines, consistent quality and direct technical support,” said Cody Good, regional sales manager, who spends much of his time supporting Wolffkran Inc.’s U.S. rental fleet.

Helps Rental Fleets, Too

“Our rental program doesn’t just serve end users,” Good said. “It also strengthens relationships with rental-fleet operators by being a backup resource when their own fleets are in full use.”

Good explained that Wolffkran rental allows fleet operators to add more cranes when they need them without making a long-term financial commitment.

“Our fleet partners can scale up or down depending on project needs without the financial burden of purchasing new equipment,” Good said.

He noted that the minimum rental is six months and that a typical deployment  lasts about a year — though some go 48 months, and one rental now in the works could go as long as 72 months.

One- or two-crane rentals are most common, but one medical facility project will eventually have six on site, and an  industrial job has occupied eight cranes for more than a year.

Although Wolffkran’s rental program is now available only in the United States, Good says it can serve Canadian partners through re-rental arrangements.

Growing Fleet

Wolffkran Inc. started operating its U.S. rental fleet in 2004, is continuing to grow it and looks to more than double its number of cranes in the next two years.

“We now have 45 tower cranes in the rental fleet,” said Herget. “We plan to have more than 100 by 2028.”

Today, the fleet offers flat-top and hammerhead tower cranes in capacities ranging from 12 to 40 tons and luffing-jib tower cranes with maximum capacities from 28 to 66 tons.

Good says Wolffkran rents most units bare but can offer operator service through a third party if a customer wants it.

Expert Support

If the end user needs or wants it, Wolffkran can provide comprehensive expert support from beginning to end.

The support can start as help specifying the right type and size of crane, help with preplanning and engineering support and help arranging crane assembly and dismantling.

Wolffkran’s expert support for the rented cranes can continue throughout a project.

“The cranes’ advanced diagnostics enable many issues to be solved from afar, but to address on-site needs for rentals or customer-owned cranes, we have five factory-trained technicians based strategically around the country for quick response,” said Cappellaro.

For quick delivery of spare parts both for rented and owned cranes, Wolffkran has a primary distribution center at its headquarters in Houston as well as a regional hub on the West Coast and one on the East Coast.

“We believe that Wolffkran’s combination of sales and manufacturer-rentals gives tower crane users the best range of options to get the outstanding equipment and expert support they need to succeed,” said Herget.