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CRANES in Action
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CRANES in Action
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• Liebherr USA has appointed Simon Schuster as divisional director of mobile and crawler cranes, effective November 2025. He succeeds Pierre Bilgeri in the role, based at the company’ s U. S. headquarters in Newport News, Virginia.
Schuster
Schuster will oversee new and used crane sales, customer service and spare parts support for the U. S. market.
Schuster began his career with Liebherr in 2018 as a sales trainee at Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH, completing cross-functional training across departments. His program included time in the U. S. and Canada, establishing familiarity with North American customers and operations. He later served as area sales manager for the U. S. and Canada, coordinating engineering and production with regional sales strategies.
Two Link-Belt TCC-2500 telescopic crawler cranes handle the heavy lifting on a $ 548 million I-35 Capital Express South
Project in Austin, Texas.
Heavy Lifting in the Heart of Austin
On Austin’ s I-35, the $ 548 million Capital Express South Project is reshaping the corridor with nine miles of new dual high-occupancy vehicle lanes between SH 71 / Ben White Boulevard and SH 45 Southeast. At the heart of the construction effort, Fluor is relying on two Link-Belt TCC-2500 telescopic crawler cranes to handle some of the project’ s heaviest and most complex lifts.
Delivered in early summer 2025 by Holt Crane & Equipment, the 250-ton TCC-2500s quickly demonstrated their capabilities, logging more than 500 engine hours in just the first two months. During nightly lane closures from 9 p. m. to 5 a. m., the cranes lift and position prestressed concrete beams weighing up to 148,000 pounds. Some lifts take advantage of the cranes’ pick-and-carry capabilities, highlighting their versatility. From the median of I-35, the TCC-2500s hoist beams as high as 60 feet to form the elevated managed lanes, guided by operator-settable fine metering controls.
“ These are rugged, robust cranes,” said Kevin Wood, Fluor lift director.“ They handle 170 feet of radius with ease and have the reach and capacity to set smaller precast decking just as smoothly.”
Operator Donnel“ DJ” Jammer noted the benefit of the TCC-2500s’ advanced camera system and in-cab display, which provide clear, realtime views even in low-light conditions. Lift setup is simplified through the pulse 2.0 touchscreen, allowing operators to select boom extension modes, monitor live ground bearing pressures and set alarms as needed.
Wood also highlighted the performance of the 223-foot greaseless main boom, which allows the cranes to reach over taller bridge spans without compromising capacity at radius. The robust undercarriage enables travel across long stretches of I-35, supporting dual heavy lifts with precision.
Both Wood and Jammer point to cab comfort, smooth hydraulic performance and predictable capacities at radius as critical factors that make the TCC-2500 a reliable choice. Their combined experience underscores why these cranes remain a trusted solution for large-scale infrastructure projects that demand both power and precision.
• Bigfoot Construction Equipment has announced key leadership changes as the company continues its growth across the lifting and support equipment industry.
Eric Steiner has been appointed head of business development, transitioning from his previous role as
E. Steiner marketing director. In this new position, he will oversee sales expansion across the United States and focus on managing relationships with key partners and clients.
D. Steiner
Eric is committed to fulfilling Bigfoot’ s mission of bringing strength, stability, safety and 100 % American-made products to customers. During his more than three years with Bigfoot, Eric has worked to scale the company’ s market presence and will continue to drive growth as the company expands.
Stepping into Eric’ s former role, Dylan Steiner has been named marketing director. Dylan has held several positions within the company, including roles in manufacturing, shipping and office administration, providing him with a broad understanding of operations and customer needs.
As marketing director, he will oversee content creation, coordinate trade shows and manage brand consistency across platforms.
• Konecranes announced that Jussi Rautiainen will become president of its industrial equipment business area, effective January 1, 2026. In this role, Rautiainen will also join the Konecranes leadership team, reporting directly to Marko Tulokas. He succeeds Tulokas, who was appointed
Rautiainen
president and CEO of Konecranes in June 2025. Rautiainen brings extensive experience to the position, having served as senior vice president of the quay and horizontal unit within Konecranes’ business area port solutions. He has held various leadership roles at the company since 2004, contributing to its growth and operations. Rautiainen holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management. Tulokas noted that the industrial equipment business is in strong shape and expressed confidence in Rautiainen’ s ability to build on its momentum. Rautiainen said he looks forward to joining the leadership team and continuing Konecranes’ work to meet current and future customer demands.
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December 2025 • www. cranehotline. com