Wisconsin’ s harsh winters.“ We have 16 81K. 1s and four 125Ks,” said Kalhagen.“ We use
An Arcomet A50 owned by Uperio Group USA unfolds its 164-foot jib during self erection. The newest and largest Arcomet self-erector, the A50 can lift up to 17,640 pounds, offer hook heights to 118 feet and lift 3,310 pounds at the jib tip.
them on our projects and also bare-rent them to customers all over the state.”
Kalhagen says that the self-erectors work mainly on wood-frame multi-family housing, commercial and similar buildings, with most jobs taking place in Milwaukee, Madison and the Fox Valley along the west side of Lake Winnebago.
Ideal’ s delivery system makes it easy for rental customers to get the self-erectors set up and working quickly.
“ Our experienced set-up crew delivers and erects each crane, then familiarizes the customer’ s crew with how it works,” said Kalhagen.“ Though the cranes can self erect, we minimize setup time by using a small crane to handle and stack counterweight slabs.”
The crew can set up a selferector in about four hours, and it erects an average of three to four rigs a week.
The forward-thinking Kalhagen has recently invested in a new twist on self-erecting cranes by buying four Liebherr MK Series cranes, which are essentially self-erectors mounted on truck-crane chassis.
Kalhagen says that since Ideal put the MK Series cranes to work in May 2024, they have been changing how customers think about self-erecting cranes.
“ The MK cranes can travel on public roads, then set up and be working in as little as 30 minutes with all the same benefits as a standard selferector, and in some cases up to 200 feet of outreach” said Kalhagen.“ They will change the game on many jobs.”
www. contractorshotline. com September 19, 2025 13