Career guy: Maxim’s Larry Lis

While it’s not often you run into a person who has spent his entire career with one company, it does happen, and more so in the crane business. Larry Lis is one of those people who has devoted his entire career to one company, Maxim Crane Works, which he joined in 1999 as a sales representative.

Through the years, he has had the opportunity to lead across every corner of the company’s business, from sales and operations to regional leadership.

In 2012, he was appointed regional vice president of Maxim’s northeast region, and then in 2016, he assumed the same position in the Midwest region. When Maxim began a fleet refresh strategy, he was named vice president of fleet management. In 2024, he stepped into his current role as chief operations officer.

“What really sets Maxim Crane apart is how we leverage our national presence and scale. We’re not just the largest. We operate as one unified team with a national footprint and strong local responsiveness.” Larry Lis, Chief Operating Officer, Maxim Crane Works

“It’s been a privilege to grow with the company and contribute to its evolution,” Lis said.

For 20 years, Maxim has been the largest crane-owning company in North America, spending 20 years at the top of the ACT100. While the company’s fleet size has grown and retracted, it has always been substantially larger than any other crane company in the United States. Beyond the cranes, Lis has always been one of Maxim’s best assets, a man who is revered and respected for his knowledge and business acumen. He’s a straight shooter and a good guy. Read on.

As the largest crane-owning company in North America, Maxim has been through a reset over the past three years. What has this reset Involved?

We’ve been undergoing a full-scale business transformation that touches every aspect of our organization. Since 2022, we’ve been executing a long-term fleet refresh strategy – an unprecedented investment in both cranes and support assets. This transformation includes not only equipment but also our systems, technology and processes. We’ve modernized how we operate through a company-wide paperless initiative, enhanced safety and training protocols and made a deeper commitment to operational excellence. The transformation has been about building the foundation for sustainable growth over the long term while continuing to deliver unmatched value to our customers.

What distinguishes Maxim in the markets it serves?

What really sets Maxim Crane apart is how we leverage our national presence and scale. We’re not just the largest. We operate as one unified team with a national footprint and strong local responsiveness. That allows us to deliver with consistency, safety and speed, whether it’s a single crane rental or a complex, multi-state lift plan.

We also offer best-in-class insurance coverage and risk management for our and truly end-to-end solutions, from planning and engineering to heavy haul, crane rental and ongoing customer service. It’s that combination of scale, expertise and service that makes us a one-stop shop and a reliable partner to our customers across the country.

For a company as large as Maxim and with a fleet so large and complex, how do you approach long-term planning?

Long-term planning at Maxim is a collaborative, data-driven process. We continuously evaluate our fleet, customer demand and regional market trends. But it’s also about aligning people, technology and assets. Every major decision – whether it’s capital allocation, geographic expansion or technology investment – is grounded in strategy, not just short-term gains. We look five to ten years out, ensuring we’re not only meeting today’s needs but preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.

A good example of this is the diligence we’ve put into our fleet refresh strategy. Our goal is to meet our customers with turn-key lift solutions in their industries and ensure that Maxim has the right crane in the right place at the right time to serve the most dynamic projects. We’ve focused on purchasing fungible assets that can work across our core customer verticals of building, industrial and infrastructure.

Specifically, how does Maxim address fleet refreshment? 

We treat fleet refreshment as a strategic initiative, not a reaction to market conditions. It starts with data – fleet performance, age, utilization, safety metrics and customer demand. Then we layer in market intelligence and operational feedback to determine what to retire, redeploy or replace, while prioritizing return on investment as a guiding principle. This disciplined approach ensures we have the right mix of assets in the right regions and branches, optimizing both operational performance and financial outcomes.

We also look across our customer verticals at the demand for various types and classes of cranes to ensure the right asset is available in the right place at the right time. In addition, we actively partner with our OEMs to find innovative ways to execute our fleet refresh strategy. For example, we partnered with Manitowoc on a rebuild project for our 2250 fleet. It was an initiative that allowed us to bring high-demand machines back to market through a cost-effective program that enhances fleet capabilities while managing investment levels.

What are the determinants? Fleet assessment, what to sell, what to keep, knowing which markets need which cranes, purchase timing, etc.?

Fleet assessment is ongoing and multifaceted. We evaluate performance metrics, total cost of ownership, asset age and technological capability. As assets age, we recognize that financial performance deteriorates – older equipment becomes less reliable, more costly to maintain and less competitive in the market. This reality is a key driver in our assessment process.

The Maxim Crane Works team at Bauma, celebrating the first purchase of the new Tadano CC 78.1250-1, the latest addition to Tadano’s lattice boom crawler crane lineup.

We also closely analyze regional demand profiles to ensure we’re investing in the right types of equipment for each market and looking at fungible assets that have applications market-to-market and industry-to-industry. Timing is critical: we place orders strategically to ensure continuity of service, avoid supply chain delays and align fleet deployment with seasonal and regional cycles. Through these efforts, we are strategically reducing the age of our crane fleet to bring a more modern, reliable and diversified fleet to the market.

Is there a capacity range, or even brand, in which Maxim concentrates its purchases/investments?

Our strategy strikes a balance between breadth and specialization. We invest across the full capacity spectrum to meet a wide range of customer needs, from carry deck cranes to some of the largest crawler cranes in North America.

Over the past four years, we’ve invested over $800 million in capital expenditure, with a significant portion dedicated to refreshing and expanding our fleet. This includes investments in all-terrain cranes in the 40 to 900-ton range, rough terrain cranes in the 80 to 165-ton range and crawler cranes from 150 to 1,375 tons.

In the tower crane segment, we’re right sizing our fleet to align with customer demand, including the strategic acquisition of the Sims Tower Crane Division.

From top to bottom, we’re modernizing our fleet through an unprecedented level of capital investment.

It’s my understanding that the crane market is currently very competitive. How does Maxim address competitive markets?

We view competition as an opportunity to differentiate through service, safety and reliability. Our investments in fleet, technology and operational excellence are not just about having the newest equipment, they’re about delivering consistent, worry-free outcomes for our customers. Whether through our national footprint, our industry-leading insurance program or our value-added services like in-house engineering, several differentiators position Maxim as the leader in a competitive crane market.

How do you characterize the crane rental market currently? Through 2025?

The market remains healthy with strong demand across infrastructure, energy and industrial sectors. We’re optimistic about 2025, particularly given the continued investments in public and private infrastructure. While we remain vigilant about economic fluctuations, we expect steady demand and continued opportunities for growth, especially as customers prioritize partners who can deliver reliability and scale like we do.

What keeps you engaged in the crane industry?

This industry is built on relationships, problem-solving and precision – and that keeps it exciting. I truly believe Maxim has the best team of experts in the industry, and I’m proud of the work we’re doing here at Maxim. It is transformational for us and we believe for the industry as a whole.

What is your business philosophy?

At Maxim, safety is the foundation of everything we do. Our business philosophy is to lead with integrity, prioritize the safety and well-being of our people and customers and never stop improving. We believe operational excellence isn’t a one-time achievement – it’s a continuous commitment. By empowering our teams, listening to our customers and embracing innovation, we foster a culture that delivers results safely, reliably and consistently. n