Schaedler Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1995, when owner Matt Schaedler began working on small construction projects and providing crane and rigging services around Tecumseh, Michigan. By 2002, however, Schaedler realized a lot of his business was in Northwest Ohio, and he relocated the company to a site just off I-75 in Toledo, giving him easy access to customers in southeastern Michigan and eastern Indiana as well as Ohio.
SEI continues to serve those same markets today, working mainly within a 100-mile radius of Toledo, according to Tom Greenman, vice president. The list of services the company offers has expanded to include crane rentals, crane services, rigging, machinery moving, pile driving, caisson drilling, and industrial concrete. Its varied services result in an equally varied list of customers.
Because crane rentals are a major part of the business, SEI has a large fleet of cranes, including five Link-Belt models— 30-ton and 40-ton rough terrain cranes, a 65-ton truck crane, a 100-ton truck crane, and a 140-ton truck crane. The newest of these is the HTC-86100, a 100-ton hydraulic truck crane the company purchased from Columbus Equipment Company when it replaced a smaller, 2008 HTC-8690 model.
After looking at Link-Belt and Grove machines in the 100-ton class, SEI chose the Link-Belt, in part because they liked the Cummins motor in the 86100. They also liked the chart the Link-Belt offered. The 86100 can work with multiple counterweight configurations to provide capacity for just about any job requirement.
“Link-Belt’s 86100 is a great crane,” Greenman said. “It’s a good, oversized vehicle for what it is, and it goes down the road nice. It’s dependable. We like it.”
SEI has used the 86100 in a variety of general crane applications, including construction, setting steel and setting cell towers.
The 86100 was designed for easy transport and it can be configured to meet some of the toughest transportation rules in the country. On the jobsite, the Link-Belt 86100 can travel with the counterweights. The operator’s cab provides improved visibility, and the crane is equipped with cameras to give the operator a better view of the right side carrier, back-up, right side upper, and main and auxiliary winches.
The crane features a five-section pin and latch boom that extends from 38 to 140 feet, and optional two-piece offsettable flies are available. Maximum tip height is 237 feet.
SEI has had good experience with Link-Belt cranes. “Some of the Link-Belts we own are older, but they are good machines and are holding up really well,” Greenman said. When the contractor had issues with one crane due to problems with its Cat engine, “Link-Belt stepped up to the plate and gave us a fair shake,” he added.
SEI has been doing business with Columbus Equipment Company for years, Greenman noted, primarily using the branch in Toledo. “Columbus Equipment is good at communicating with us, and they always treat our problem with urgency. If they can come out the same day we call, they will,” he said.
While the company has its own mechanics who handle basic work, Greenman relies on Columbus Equipment to solve more technical problems his staff can’t handle.
SEI promises its customers safety, reliability, quality and customer satisfaction. By combining its expertise in crane operations with dependable equipment and support from partners like Link-Belt and Columbus Equipment Company, SEI is able to distinguish itself from the competition.
