building is taller, we rent a selferecting crane.”
Mussro said that those tower crane rentals typically last from two months to a year, depending on the project.
He also noted that ACS rents mostly Potain Igo T 85 or T85 A self-erectors because they can“ lift a healthy load out at the jib tip.”
Mussro added that once a crane is on site, it handles all kinds of loads.“ It lifts OSB, lumber, trash boxes, utility boxes and outhouses, plus does work for other trades like roofing and HVAC,” he said. Mussro said that ACS is starting to use self-erectors more often than other lifting equipment.“ They’ re proving to be faster and more costeffective than forklifts and hydraulic cranes for logistically challenged projects,” he said.
Blossom Building LLC, Dillion, Colorado, is a home builder that often constructs high-end homes on scenic but difficult sites in the region’ s mountains.
Andrew Blossom founded the company in 2019 after working as a carpenter for years and having been involved in construction since childhood.
He says that using self-erecting cranes has transformed the company’ s culture and building techniques.
“ We started using selferectors three or four years ago and just bought an FB Gru 1589 last year,” Blossom said.“ It gives us 89 feet of horizontal reach, 65 feet of hook height, 5,500-pound maximum capacity and more than 1,500- pound jib-tip capacity in a 14-foot-by-14-foot footprint.“ Using self-erectors has cut our crew size from eight people to three, including me,” said Blossom.“ We no longer need to have a bunch of people on hand to manually muscle up walls or handle big pieces of fascia board.”
Blossom said that his small but highly motivated crew all enjoy coming to work, thanks in part to having a crane to do the bull work.“ No one has called in sick in more three years,” he said.“ And doing the heavy lifting with the crane takes the injury potential out of the job. It will enable these guys to have longer careers, and retire in better health.”
Blossom’ s FB Gru 1589 comes to a jobsite as one load riding on its own axles and pulled by a semi tractor. Setup takes about 90 minutes, according to Blossom.
The Blossom crew works all year round, often at altitudes higher than 10,000 feet, so it sees lots of snow and ice.
“ The crane is all electric, so the control is very accurate and the cold doesn’ t affect it,” said Blossom.“ We use it to place and empty snow tarps, unload delivery trucks and handle big structures like assembled gables and rake walls. On one job, we even set 135 tons of steel with it.”
Ideal Crane Rental, Madison, Wisconsin, clearly believes in the power of self-erectors.
Its founder and president Bob Kalhagen has put 20 Liebherr self-erectors into
the company’ s fleet and says they stay at about 70 % utilization all year round, in spite of
12 September 19, 2025 www. contractorshotline. com