Alan Barnhart is an adventurist

While Alan Barnhart is not retiring, he is taking things in a new direction. Barnhart, who has worked at Barnhart Crane & Rigging for 50 years and served as president and CEO for the last 39 years, said it was time for a change.

“I can still contribute, but I think it would be good for someone else to be the president,” he said. “We were looking for the right person, and we found it in David Webster. It’s really good to make a transition when you don’t have to.”

Webster has been part of the company for almost 12 years, and Barnhart said he knows how it operates.

Whether working at Barnhart, volunteering for Christian ministries in India or standing atop a wind turbine, Alan Barnhart sees life andwork as an adventure.

“I don’t think there will be wild changes,” he said. “Certainly, no changes to our purpose, our mission or our core values. There will be some differences, and that’s a good thing. The company benefited from my strengths and suffered from my weaknesses.”

No one in the company was surprised by Webster’s appointment, he said.

How do you envision your role as chairman of Barnhart playing out?

David and I have created a grid. I told him I will disappear if you want me to, or I can sit next to you and talk to you every 30 minutes if you want. I expect it will be somewhere in between. I’ll still be involved in the R&D and the acquisitions, and the development of people. We have five other companies in our group, and I will be involved with [those leaders].

What do you see as the biggest challenges for Barnhart?

As we get bigger, it’s harder to maintain your culture. I think we are continually trying to do that. I used to be critical of the waste and the inefficiencies of big companies. And as we’ve gotten bigger, I understand it more. I used to know everyone’s kids’ names. And now, we have 2,500 people, and a lot of them I’ve never met. It’s more difficult and it takes a broader group of talent. I think one of our mantras is we can’t grow faster than it takes to develop and grow talent. That’s going to continue to be a big challenge.

I don’t see us changing a lot about our philosophy or becoming a global company. We did open up in Canada with the acquisition of NCSG. That was a big deal for us. We always had Canada as a part of our strategic plan. But I don’t see us venturing outside the U.S. and Canada.

Do you have family members still playing a leadership role in the company?

I have one son, Nathan, who is making a career at Barnhart. He’s been here for maybe 12 years, and he’s really good. I could easily see Nathan being a key leader in the company for many years to come. But I don’t think there’s a birthright to him being the CEO. He may be that, but only if he proves himself to be the best person to do it. He is continuing to work hard and earn his way in the company. The decision for him to become CEO in the future would not be a decision I would be involved in. I want him to be recognized by others rather than achieve the position because he was my son.

Reflecting on your career, what have been the high points of leading Barnhart through the years?

Well, there have been a lot. There are a lot of relationships that I made through SC&RA. I grew up there. I started going to the Crane & Rigging Workshop when I was in my early 20s. And now, it seems like all the key guys have retired and many have passed away. SC&RA has been a big part of the high points, from an industry and social standpoint.

Alan Barnhart, Chairman, Barnhart Crane & Rigging

The development of people, and particularly the senior leaders in our company that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years, many have been [with us] for more than 25 years. We’ve kind of grown up together as friends, and coworkers, and we share a common purpose and mission. That’s been rich.

I love the challenges of our business, the physicalness of it, the coming up with a new way of doing things. We have a big team that does that, and I’m a small part of it, but I really enjoy being a part of a team that can solve hard problems and come through when people are really in a bind. I remember one job when we helped get I-10 restored after a hurricane. Our work probably saved weeks because we did it so quickly. We love to be able to step up when there’s a critical need.

Was there ever a moment where you faced a major challenge or turning point in the company’s history?

Of course, we had some bad days. Some very bad days. There was a big transition when my parents left. They ran the business for 17 years and then they left, got on a sailboat and sailed around the world. It was an abrupt departure when I was 25 years old. That was a pretty intense time. I was working 100 hours a week for about a year, which I enjoyed. It wasn’t a drudgery, but it wasn’t sustainable either.

That’s when I started bringing more people into the company who were smarter than me and more talented than me. That was a big turning point.

In the late 1990s we went through a period of growth and we had some massive accidents. I am a “from the hip” kind of guy. I’m not big on procedures and policies. But we outgrew the ability to function from the hip. And we suffered the consequences of that with some very substantial accidents in the late 1990s. Early in 2002, we formed our senior leadership team. We had to figure out how to be better as a company, and set a goal of how to be the best company in the industry. We were not even close to that.

Safety became our first goal and we set our core values, formed a purpose statement and a mission statement. That all happened in 2002, and it was a huge turning point for the company. We put some people into positions who understood processes and procedures, and we started training and started being very intense about safety. That served us really well.

Like every company in our industry, things boomed from 2005 to 2008. That was a huge time for us and we got involved in wind turbines and grew very substantially during that four-year period. It was a great time, unlike the late 1990s, when our growth led to the wheels coming off. We had the systems and the people in place, but we still had some pain.

If you could go back and give yourself advice at the start of your career, what would it be?

Pain is a good teacher. I think some of the worst things that happened in our company have been some of the best things for our company in the long term.

Do you have a bucket list?

Yes. I do. I’ve had a lot of adventures in my life. I’ve travelled to 60 different countries. Two years ago, I hiked the Appalachian Trail, which was 2,200 miles of hiking.

I’m about to do the rim of the Grand Canyon. I love outdoor stuff. I love backpacking. I’m hoping next year to climb Kilimanjaro. I will probably keep doing things like that. I’m also involved in a lot of Christian ministries, particularly in India, and I will continue my involvement there.

Work is also an adventure. It’s not what you do to afford the good stuff in life. It is the good stuff in life. I love what I do every day. When I’m away, I enjoy other things, but I’m always looking forward to getting back and working.

It’s always great to check in with you Alan. You seem pleased with the direction of Barnhart. 

We have the right person in place in David Webster, and I’m very thankful for that. I look forward to seeing how he makes modifications and moves the company in the next direction.

I will still be around. I will continue being a part of the SC&RA and continue to visit our branches. I will contribute as long as David wants me to do so. I’m going to continue working until my mind and body give out.