ACT EXCLUSIVE: Kenneth Bernardo on Bay Crane’s bold moves

Bay Crane is deeply rooted in the history of New York City. Founded in 1939, the company was started by Frank Bernardo and Charles Smith, the paternal and maternal grandfathers of Kenneth Bernardo, president and CEO of Bay Crane Companies.

Now in its 86th year of operation, Bay Crane Companies has been amid a strategic expansion that has taken the company beyond the New York City region.

Kenneth Bernardo, President and CEO, Bay Crane Companies

“The company ventured beyond New York during the financial crisis of 2008, setting up operations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Connecticut,” said Bernardo, who got his start with the family business in 1986, painting cranes. “Beginning in 2021, we made significant strides into the Midwest.”

Since embarking on an aggressive growth strategy, Bay Crane Companies has acquired and fully integrated nine companies, grown to 24 locations and almost tripled the size of the company.

“This expansion was driven by a desire to better diversify our business mix given uncertainty in the Northeast post-COVID, along with promising opportunities that we identified in the Midwest,” Bernardo said.

Through the years, American Cranes & Transport has reported on jobs performed by Bay Crane several times. The magazine has covered the company’s expansion, as well. But in its 20-year existence, Bay Crane has never been on the ACT100 list of top crane-owning companies. Until 2025.

At the end of 2024, Bernardo let me know that he planned to start participating in our top lists, namely the ACT100. Adding Bay Crane Companies to the list gave our ACT index a healthy boost and heightened credibility. See the ACT100 on page 33.

Through the years, I’ve gotten to know Bernardo at various tradeshows and SC&RA events. He is an esteemed businessman in the crane sector and his perspective is respected. So, in anticipation of Bay Crane Companies appearing on the ACT100, I asked him if he would participate in our Q&A. And low and behold, he said yes.

I think you will find his answers to our questions thoughtful and interesting.

Bay Crane Companies is definitely on the rise in the crane sector. What led to Bay Crane’s expansion into the Midwest and its acquisition of several legacy crane companies?

As we exited the COVID pandemic period we felt uncertain of the direction of construction in the Northeast. Fortunately, our greatest fears proved not to be true, and the Northeast has remained a very robust market for us.

There are many characteristics about the Midwest region that we found very appealing, including the strong union presence and growing base of industrial customers. We were able to identify several incredible legacy companies with long histories and solid reputations in their markets that found the concept of joining Bay Crane to be a very appealing solution for their succession and estate planning challenges.

These companies have all brought with them a tremendous amount of very talented and experienced people that have fit well with our corporate culture. In all cases, once we integrate these companies into our organizations – with the addition of additional equipment, leadership, safety programs, technical experience and support – we have been able to re-invigorate their growth trajectory. This has proved to be an incredibly successful expansion strategy and has resulted in consistently strong double-digit growth for these companies in the years following our acquisition – often more than doubling or tripling the size of the original operations.

Do you anticipate further growth in terms of mergers and acquisitions?

We always look to maintain a balanced approach of organic and acquisition growth, so yes, we are planning to continue this selective growth strategy and look forward to many more successful transactions in the years ahead. We believe Bay Crane is a unique company for both people looking to sell their company and for their teams of people looking to build their careers. Bay Crane offers the capabilities and professionalism of a large company with the appealing culture of a privately owned business. We have a very consistent and proven track record of integrating these family-owned businesses and significantly enhancing the services, teams, equipment and capabilities and, most importantly, seamlessly blending the corporate cultures. We look forward to continuing this growth.

This is the first year that Bay Crane has been on the ACT100, ranked as the fifth largest crane company in North America. What led to this decision?

Although we have a long history in the NE region, Bay Crane is a relative newcomer to many of the markets in which we operate and the customers we serve. We felt it was important that they be able to understand where in the industry we compared in terms of our competitive position and our capabilities.

How do you characterize Bay Crane’s fleet and scope of services?

Bay Crane has focused on being a full-service lifting solution for our customers. As a result, we maintain a diverse fleet of the highest quality brands and own one of the largest selections of cranes, specialized heavy hauling and transportation tools, as well a tremendous selection of specialized and custom rigging equipment.

What are the jobs that you all are best suited to perform?

I think we do a great job for our customers no matter what the job size or scope. We provide the best service solution for everyone from the small independent mechanical contractor to some of the largest industrial customers in the world. Whether you need one crane and operator for a day or hundreds of cranes with a team of qualified operators and riggers, we believe we offer the best alternative.

Bay Crane Companies has evolved from a predominantly New York City-area crane company to a diversified entity that offers full service lifting, rigging and specialized transportation in the northeastern and midwestern U.S.

What distinguishes Bay Crane in the markets it serves?

Bay Crane is one of the premier lifting solutions companies, providing a comprehensive slate of lifting services, including cranes with or without operators, rigging services, specialized transportation services, storage and equipment and services for moving oversized and heavy equipment and machinery.

We are constantly working to expand our capabilities and be a leader in all our markets when it comes to lifting and specialized hauling solutions. We provide our local managers the tools and resources to operate independently, and we have built an incredible team to support our operations in all aspects of the business – including engineering, fleet management, safety training and programs, permitting and many other critical areas. Brian Gibson is a critical partner and leader on our Bay Crane team.

Do you have a favorite project or lift from your time in the industry that stands out?

My favorite project is the one where everyone gets home to their families safe. Having said that, some of my more memorable ones are performed by our specialized projects group. This group performs some incredible jobs each year including moving the Space Shuttle Enterprise; the British Airlines Concord G-BOAD; installation of an 850,000 pound overhead crane as well as countless Accelerated Bridge Construction projects would be some of our favorites.

It’s our understanding the crane rental market is very competitive. What’s your take?

Crane rental rates have historically lagged far behind the inflation we have seen in the cost of new cranes, in wages, in construction materials, in rental rates for other equipment and generally throughout the economy. The crane service industry remains highly fragmented, and this lack of discipline and fiduciary responsibility can lead to pricing that does not keep up with inflation.

Where do you see Bay Crane in the next five to ten years?

Bay Crane plans to continue to grow and expand. We have a long runway available for growth in the United States that I feel we have barely begun our journey.

You’ve been in the crane industry a long time. What keeps you engaged?

I am very lucky to really enjoy what I do – I have a tremendous passion and energy for the company. I spend almost 200 days on the road meeting with our employees and customers, and it gives me great satisfaction and energy to spend time meeting with people, hearing their stories and history and helping them grow and be successful in their careers, either as part of Bay Crane or as one of our valued customers.

The business and the projects are both demanding and exciting, but watching it all come together and knowing you are working together to build an incredible focused and talented team that share that same passion and energy keeps me excited and driven to continue this growth path we are on.