Link-Belt Celebrates 150 Years at CraneFest 2024
Event Review By Jameson Weiss
From Bourbon to Boom
Link-Belt Celebrates 150 Years at CraneFest 2024
CraneFest 2024 kicked off in true Kentucky fashion, with bourbon and horses. Following an opening reception that featured a complimentary bourbon station, we made our way to Fasig- Tipton, North America’ s oldest thoroughbred auction company. There, Link-Belt treated us to a fantastic cocktail hour and dinner, where attendees wasted no time taking full advantage of the open bar.
While enjoying a drink myself, I struck up a conversation with Darrell Knight, a district service representative for Link-Belt based out of Denver. For Knight, CraneFest is more than just a networking opportunity; it’ s a chance to meet customers face-to-face and hear about their needs directly.“ Earlier today, a customer asked me about a telecrawler— whether it could handle a specific job. It was a great question, but I didn’ t have the answer offhand. Tomorrow, I’ ll head to the factory, research it and figure out if it’ s something we can make happen.”
After dessert, we gathered in an auditorium-style auction room, where we were treated to an engaging presentation by Andrea Wilson, master of maturation and COO of Michter’ s Distillery. She took us through the history of Kentucky bourbon, adding local flavor to the evening. We also learned about Fasig-Tipton and its deep roots in the world of horse racing. The night continued with a charity auction featuring a limited-edition model crane set. The winning bid topped $ 15,000, with all proceeds pledged to support pediatric care in West Africa.
As a final touch to the evening, each guest was gifted a personalized bottle of Michter’ s Kentucky Straight Bourbon, complete with a custom label bearing their name. It was a memorable way to close out an already impressive night.
Celebrating 150 Years of Link-Belt
Day two kicked off bright and early. After breakfast, we gathered for the group welcome session, which featured speeches from
Above: A row of rough-terrain cranes showcased during the live show.
Left: Jameson Weiss with Casey Smith, supervisor of marketing information at Link-Belt Cranes, in front of the brand-new 225 | AT.
Right: Attendees enjoying cocktail hour at Fasig-Tipton.
Bill Stramer, senior vice president of marketing, sales and customer support, and Melvin Porter, Link-Belt’ s CEO and president.
Stramer emphasized Link-Belt’ s long-standing commitment to excellence:“ Our focus is on designing, manufacturing and supporting a premier line-up of mobile cranes. This focus and effort is not a new‘ gee whiz’ strategy that we adopted after listening to some high-dollar consultant. We’ ve been utilizing this approach for a long time— actually, for a very long time.”
During the session, they presented a video highlighting Link-Belt’ s rich history, from its origins on the Great Plains to the invention of the actual link-belt. In honor of Link-Belt’ s upcoming 150th anniversary, the video highlighted the company’ s long history of innovation and its ongoing commitment to shaping the future of the crane industry.
A memorable part of the video was the section showcasing the incredible projects Link-Belt has been a part of— legendary endeavors like the Hoover Dam, the
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