Each year, Crane & Hoist Canada’s annual photo contest shines a light on the country’s heavy lifting industry – and this year, we’ve succeeded in that goal quite literally, thanks to a stunning, sunny shot from Calgary, Alberta’s McIntyre Crane & Rigging.

Submissions were diverse, with a wide range of cranes, lifts and subjects featured across every photo – but, as you’ll see across the following pages, one thing they all shared was their outstanding quality.

This installment of the contest also marked the first year of collaboration between Crane & Hoist and the Canadian Crane Rental Association (CCRA), with the CCRA’s executive director, Claire Bélanger-Parker, serving on the judging panel and sharing her industry expertise on what makes a lift safe, stunning, and most importantly, deserving of the cover-star crown.

“This was the CCRA’s first time participating in the judging panel for the photo contest, and the task was challenging due to the exceptional number of high-quality entries,” said Bélanger-Parker. “Ultimately, the judges unanimously agreed that McIntyre Crane’s submission stood out as the winning photo, thanks to its excellent composition, framing, and overall quality.”

Taken on June 22, 2024, in downtown Calgary, McIntyre Crane’s winning photo depicts their 200-ton Demag AC160-2 crane, operated by Jason Ball, hoisting materials and equipment atop a 170-foot high building as the summer sun peeks through the buildings on the horizon.

The lift was performed for Brault Roofing, a regular client of McIntyre Crane. Due to the particulars of the job, the crane was outfitted with 107,800 pounds of counterweight, along with a 55-foot, two stage swingaway jib and a 210-foot live boom to allow the machine to reach the height of the building.

“What I thought was unique [about the job] was being in a small pocket surrounded by all the high-rises and all the crowds of people stopping to watch the crane,” said Ball. “It was a busy road, and also a bus route, so we knew that precision would be crucial. Because of this, we coordinated closely with the rigging team and planned every step meticulously.”

While the sunlight may be one of the stars of the photo, Ball shared that it also presented another obstacle to be mindful of in getting the job done right, and getting it done safely: “The sun was also making the lift challenging, because it was shining directly on me and reflecting off the glass of another building.”

Despite these challenges, Ball sees the resulting photograph as a sign of the success that can come from all the hard work that both his crew and those across Canada’s heavy lifting industry put in every day in their work.

“It takes experience, dedication and a passion for this industry to thrive as a crane operator, and this picture captures all the hard work and planning involved to complete this job in a safe and effective manner,” said Ball. “Timing of the picture was an important part in capturing the skill and control involved in the lifts, along with trying to get the best angles and lighting to showcase to magnitude of the crane, load and the surrounding high rises – but the most critical part when taking the picture was always safety first, to not interfere with the operations.”

The McIntyre Crane crew is no stranger to showcasing their lifts, with the company’s social media channels regularly abuzz with shots and videos of McIntyre’s cranes in action across various jobs, courtesy of the company’s dedicated industrial videographer Sabir Palani.

“We strongly believe in documenting and sharing our projects. When the crew is lifting, I follow them to capture moments and experiment with different angles and shots to see what works best,” said Palani.

For Palani, his job isn’t just about sharing the regular lifting feats performed by McIntyre, but also spotlighting the crews behind them, and the collected passion that makes the success of these jobs possible.

“At McIntyre Crane & Rigging, we take pride in every operator who represents our brand and operates our crane,” he said. “For small family-owned companies, transparency is essential, and sharing photos like this offers a glimpse into why we are passionate about this job.”

Thanks to Palani’s skills, McIntyre had a range of potential submissions to choose from, but he said that the number of passerbys stopping to take photos of their own while the lift was in progress was one of the factors that convinced the team that they may just have a winner on their hands.

Like Ball, Palani sees this photo as a great representation of the extensive pre-planning that makes heavy lifting successes possible, though he also believes that the picture offers a great representation of what McIntyre Crane is capable of, while also serving as a fitting tribute to the company’s home city.

“Seeing our crane with beautiful downtown Calgary as its backdrop, I can’t stop smiling. This project required tremendous pre-planning, which helped the lift go smoothly,” he said. “We’re a family-owned company in Calgary, but we definitely punch above our weight, and this photo perfectly represents that.”

McIntyre Crane & Rigging’s sun-soaked summertime lifting shot taken in downtown Calgary this year is our 2024 photo contest winner. (Photo: Sabir Palani, McIntyre Crane & Rigging)