Monthly Archives: July 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The broken bearing atop South Carolina’s Capitol flag pole spun wildly, tangling the national and state symbols that fly above. Neither flag could be raised or lowered. Enter Southern Crane, which came to the rescue at the Columbia Capitol building recently when Capitol officials realized the flags atop the 186-foot pole could not be moved.

The need for repair was urgent as flags are lowered at half-staff to honor South Carolina soldiers killed in the line of duty. Sadly, three soldiers were killed in June. This was a job for Southern Crane’s Liebherr LTM 1160-5.1, dubbed “The Bear,” whose powerful 203-feet of main boom and 141-foot jib could easily reach the 190-foot radius needed to lift crews to the flagpole’s peak at 186 feet.

“That was a dark cloud week for me,” said Capitol Facilities Manager David Martin. “I was relieved to find Southern Crane and its ‘Bear’ could so quickly help us restore the flagpole.”

Replacing the broken bearing wasn’t the only challenge facing Southern Crane’s workers. Federal law requires flags to fly 24 hours a day unless they are being exchanged for new flags. Crews created a unique solution to keep the colors flying: they tied the flags to the crane lines as they installed the new bearing.

“That way when the crane was in the air, the flag would be flying as much as possible,” said Kenneth Mullens, Southern Crane’s Columbia branch manager.

With the flags back in place, The Bear’s job was done. Or so they thought.

A few days later, Martin called Southern Crane with another urgent problem: the pre-fabricated flagpole cable had broken and the flags were lying on the roof of the State House.

“A storm blew by and destroyed that cable,” Martin said. “That’s a day that’s going in my journal. To have something go wrong twice in a row sent us all into a panic. When I called Southern Crane, they were very accommodating and rushed right back to the rescue.”

The Bear was on its way back to North Carolina, but crews quickly returned to Columbia to rescue the flags once again. They started work on a Tuesday morning, and within a few hours the flags were back in position, flying high above the Capitol.

About Southern Crane
Southern Crane is among the Southeast’s most comprehensive crane and rigging service providers. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Industrial Constructors, one of the largest private employers in North Carolina. Southern Crane operates in Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C., and Columbia, S.C. The company is a passionate advocate nationally for industry safety standards requiring its crane operators to be certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO). All Southern Crane operators have been awarded NCCCO certification. http://www.southern-crane.com

FAIRFAX, Va. and RALEIGH, N.C. — The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) in cooperation with Southern Industrial Constructors today announced the company’s pledge of $15,000 in scholarship funds to the SC&R Foundation.

The nonprofit supports the crane, rigging, millwright and transportation industries by conducting research and by providing education and scholarships to students preparing for careers related to transportation or construction management.

The scholarships are part of the Association’s new corporate scholarship program, which launches in 2012 and funds scholarships for a period of three to 10 years, depending on a company’s contribution.

Other organizations that have joined the corporate scholarship program include: Terex, of Wilmington, N.C., Bennett International Group of McDonnough, Ga., and Mammoet of Houston.

Southern Industrial has been involved with the SC&RA for more than 35 years. This contribution will fund one $3,000 scholarship each year for five years to help students at four-year colleges or two-year vocational schools find success in fields related to the specialized carriers and rigging industry. Those fields typically include civil engineering and construction-related degrees.

Executive Vice President Earl Johnson, III said that Southern Industrial is always looking for ways to give back to an organization that has provided so much support to the industry.

“Helping the SC&R Foundation provide scholarships to students who want to enter our field is a good way to continue the legacy of hardworking problem-solvers in our industry,” said Johnson. “We owe the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association a great deal of gratitude for what it has done for our company and our industry as a whole.”

The SC&R Foundation has awarded more than $275,000 in scholarships since 1986.

Founded in 1962, Southern Industrial Constructors is among the region’s largest private employers, providing a unique set of heavy industrial construction services to organizations across the country. These services include: comprehensive industrial construction; industrial electrical construction; complete plant relocations, installations and maintenance of manufacturing and process plants, turnkey rigging and precision millwright work; heavy lift and crane services; industrial process piping; precision civil/concrete work; and specialized metal fabrication/erection.

The SC&R Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, provides support to the carrier, crane, rigging, and millwright industries by providing industry research, education and scholarships. Since its inception, the Foundation has invested more than one-half million dollars to advance the work of the industry.