Cranes In Motion

By Mike Larson

That was the case when Superior Rigging & Erecting and Heaton Erecting teamed up to transport and assemble the Beacon, a new stainless-steel sculpture that highlights a community green space in Trilith, Ga.

Created by sculptor Adam Hart, the Beacon stands as a landmark on the 51,000-square-foot plaza outside Trilith LIVE, a music and theater venue in the 235- acre, master-planned Trilith development in Fayetteville.

When the shiny new sculpture was dedicated in January, the key speaker called it“ a symbol of creativity, connection and what’ s ahead,” and added that it stands as a shared gathering point for the community.

Team Effort

After being friendly competitors for decades, Superior Rigging & Erecting and Heaton Erecting became one business when Superior bought Heaton in 2024.

Both companies are headquartered in metropolitan Atlanta and have long histories and strong reputations in the area.

Superior was founded in 1952; Heaton in 1966.

Although each company still operates under its own name, they often work together on projects, as they did on this one.

The Superior-Heaton team was chosen for this project based on the recommendation of one of Heaton’ s satisfied repeat customers.

“ Working together allows the two teams to seamlessly combine crane services, transportation and advanced rigging under one coordinated operation that benefits the

Above: At the artist’ s studio, Superior Rigging and Heaton Erecting use a National NBT 45-2 boom truck to load carefully packaged sections of the Beacon, a stainless steel sculpture. Right: At the sculpture’ s installation site, Superior Rigging and Heaton used the same crane and rigging to carefully unload and mount each section.

customer,” said Bryant Lewis, marketing manager for the both businesses.

On this project, Heaton provided the crane and operator, and Superior handled the transportation and rigging.

Representatives of both companies advised Hart on the design, structure and rigging points of the frames he custom welded to support his sculpture’ s sections during transportation and installation.

“ We made site visits and looked at several rigging arrangements to make sure we had the best one,” said Superior’ s project manager for cranes and rigging, Gage Williams.“ And the team effort paid off in a smooth operation from start to finish.”

Unique Sculpture

Fully assembled, the Beacon stands about 20 feet high, 15 feet wide and 20 feet long.

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March 2026 • www. cranehotline. com