As High Reach Inc. builds its new headquarters in Oakville, Ont., the company is able to see its own equipment contribute to the construction of the facility.
High Reach sells Canada’s largest line of Broderson carry deck cranes and Versa-Lift large capacity forklift trucks.
As well, the company manufactures Orion heavy lift forklift trucks.
The new 60,000 square foot building, situated on six acres on Wyecroft Road, allows High Reach to consolidate the business. Currently, High Reach houses its weld shop, repair shop, assembly shop and shipping department in three buildings.
“It’s being born, it’s coming together,” said High Reach President Santo De Arcangelis.
“It’s taken 30 years to bring our vision together. Hopefully, this will make it safer, easier to work and make the guys happier.”
When the time came to install four 10-ton overhead cranes and one 20-ton overhead crane, High Reach recruited Canadian Crane, based in Barrie, Ont. , one of their own customers.
“I like their product, their price was good and I like their professionalism,” De Arcangelis said, adding the company was able to handle steel installation and delivery.
To install the overhead cranes, Canadian Crane used High Reach’s Riggers Tri-Lifter 65BW, which has a maximum lift capacity of 200,000 lbs. and a lift height of 24 ft., as well as the Orion K120 forklift that is capable of lifting 120,000 lbs. with a lift height of 18 ft. on the forks, or 35 ft. with an attached boom.
Room to expand for High Reach
The 20-ton overhead crane will accommodate future growth for High Reach.
“We probably could have got away with another 10-ton,” De Arcangelis said. “It’s a little ahead of our time, but it’s thinking ahead.”
Allan King, field service supervisor for Canadian Crane, said the 20-ton machine is a good choice for everyday operation.
“Due to the ease of use of the 20-ton, compared to a five-ton, it has the same speed ratio so you can use it every day and not have an issue,” King said. “You don’t even notice it’s a 20-ton. There’s bonuses to that aspect, like when he needs 20-ton.”
The new building previously served as a maintenance facility for the City of Oakville’s bus fleet. KCL Construction Services, based in Vaughan, Ont., was hired to renovate the building. The crane installation is a first for KCL. However, KCL President Fred Carroll said Canadian Crane helped identify potential issues that could hinder the installation.
Like Lego
“We did so much work in the backend. When it came to the actual site, it went together like Lego,” Carroll said.
“That’s always the philosophy: if you spend the time in the backend by the time it comes to do the work, nine times out of 10 it’s very easy and pain free.”
De Arcangelis hopes to have the facility, which is expected to take about a year to complete, up and running by winter.
“It’s a big project, and it’s an old building we trying to work with,” De Arcangelis said.
