Cranes have played an important part in constructing houses, buildings, cities, and nations throughout history.

The earliest cranes were made from wood.  These cranes were used in Ancient Greece to build an entire nation in the fifth century B.C.

1834  English engineers begin to design and build stronger cranes using cast iron and powered by steam engines.  These cranes were known as mechanical cranes using wire ropes and could lift two tonnes.

1859  Scottish engineer James Taylor designs and builds the world’s first four wheeled, rail mounted steam crane.

1946  Mechanical cranes begin to be replaced with hydraulic cranes.  

1952  The world’s very first mobile crane truck was designed and built in Bremen Germany by mounting a hydraulic crane on the back of a Chevrolet truck.

Today, the world’s largest hydraulic truck mounted crane can lift a massive 1,200 tonnes!