According to data released on December 1 by the U.S. Census Bureau, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of construction spending across public and private sectors has been on the rise since 2019 and currently stands at a whopping $1,800 billion dollars. Engineered Rigging’s projects for the year reflect the construction boom, with demand for our heavy lifting equipment rental and sales, engineering expertise and design-build solutions reaching an all-time high.
Our most popular equipment rental in 2022 was the strand jack system. This impressive technology by Enerpac provides precise, synchronous lifting and lowering capabilities with load capacities up to 1,405 tons per jack. The strand jack’s compact footprint makes it a winning solution when a conventional crane is not feasible or affordable. This powerful heavy lifting solution was leveraged in a variety of applications including an airport project in Louisville, Kentucky, the demolition of the Wittpenn Bridge in New Jersey; the dismantling of port cranes in Portsmouth, Virginia; the construction of the McClugage Bridge in Peoria, Illinois; and the launching of the tallest bridge in Kentucky (pictured below).
Accelerated bridge construction was trending in 2022 thanks to the government’s $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In addition to the strand jack bridge projects, we put our engineers and equipment expertise to work on a railroad bridge project in Anchorage, Alaska.
This year we also experienced a lot of activity in shipyards and ports, providing equipment rental and on-site technical support in Superior, Wisconsin; Charleston, South Carolina; Chile’s Terminal Cerros de Valparaiso (TCVAL); and the aforementioned port crane dismantling in Virginia.
In addition to being the shing star in lowering three locomotives onto the railroad tracks in TCVAL, our hydraulic gantry rentals were used for projects in Texas, Kansas, Illinois, and other locations in the US.
Not to be upstaged by Engineered Rigging’s rental business, equipment sales were brisk. We were pleased to supply clients in New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Chile, and Canada, among others.
Another notable trend was the demand for design-build solutions. Our engineers created bespoke custom lifting solutions for a specialized rigging solution in Owensboro, Kentucky; a power plant in El Paso, Texas; a custom equipment installation solution in Benton Harbor, Michigan; and a government client.
One noteworthy equipment rental project was the relocation of a historic building in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida. Using the LH400 Low-Height Skidding System by Enerpac, hydraulic cylinders and split flow pumps. We also contributed technical support on-site.
With the American Institute of Architects projecting a 6% increase in construction spending in 2023, Engineered Rigging expects growing demand for our heavy lifting and specialized transport equipment and engineering services in the year ahead. We encourage our clients to reserve equipment early to ensure availability. Please call 844.474.448 or reach out to one of our heavy lifting specialists listed below.
We wish everyone a safe, healthy and prosperous 2023!
