Friday round up: big lifts, bigger records and bold leadership moves

Sarens won the ESTA Award in the Combined techniques category. The company replaced the old Emile Hammerl bridge at Bettembourg railway station in Luxembourg with a new curved steel bowstring structure, debuting its CS250 tilting system

MONDAY 19 MAY

PHOTOS | ESTA Awards 2025 - the winners revealed

The ESTA Awards 2025 showcased the best and the brightest from the abnormal road transport and mobile crane sectors. This year, the awards were held in Munich, Germany, alongside the Bauma trade show.

A panel of 13 expert judges carefully whittled down 50 entries from across Europe into a shortlist of four finalists per category, before selecting the ultimate winners. This year’s awards celebrated a range of remarkable achievements, from a pioneering lifting system debut to a record-breaking crane launch.

Projects included installing massive bridge sections with millimetre precision, navigating complex transport routes using clever trailer configurations, and delivering critical infrastructure against the clock. Industry leaders showed resourcefulness and technical prowess in overcoming environmental and logistical challenges, setting new standards for safety and efficiency.

Read more about the winners and see photos of the projects in action

Leading Tuesday’s Crane and Transport Briefing news was the announcement of a partnership between Fagioli and Denzai to share equipment and other resources.

WEDNESDAY 21 MAY

Fagioli’s offshore loadout sets three world records

In an extraordinary feat of engineering and logistics, Fagioli completed the complex loadout of the B212-Charybdis jack-up vessel, built by Seatrium Amfels in Brownsville, Texas, USA, setting three world records in the process. To move the 51-million-pound (23,134 tonne) offshore wind turbine installation vessel from land onto the water, Fagioli deployed 880 axle lines of Scheuerle self propelled modular transporter (SPMT), 28 power packs, three semi-submersible barges and 10 tugboats, co-ordinating assets and teams across three continents.

The effort set world records for the largest number of axle lines under a single load, the heaviest weight ever moved using SPMT and the heaviest load on wheels transferred onto multiple barges. Despite tight schedules, international coordination and fluctuating tides, Fagioli executed the move in under 72 hours.

The central SPMT group alone included 340 axles, while the side groups each used 200. Synchronising the equipment, some of it from different generations, required months of testing and integration to ensure flawless communication across all systems. Preparation took over a year and required global sourcing of axle lines, power packs and three of the world’s largest barges, brought in from Norway.

Read more about the record-breaking SPMT loadout.

THURSDAY 22 MAY

Meet incoming Barnhart president David Webster

David Webster didn’t start his career in the crane and rigging world, but he’s become one of its strongest leaders. Now named president of Barnhart Crane & Rigging, Webster is stepping into the role Alan Barnhart held for nearly four decades. And he’s ready.

In an exclusive interview conducted by ACT editor D.Ann Shiffler, Webster shares his journey from industrial construction beginnings to leading one of North America’s largest and most innovative crane companies. He reflects on lessons from Alan Barnhart, the challenges ahead and what it means to lead with a “front-line focus” and “mind over matter” mindset.

He discusses Barnhart’s evolving fleet strategy, continued emphasis on people and culture and why sectors like power generation, including nuclear, are central to the company’s historic pipeline. Barnhart tackles 40,000 jobs a year, and while fewer than 500 are the “big, sexy” headline-grabbers, every single one matters.

“The every day jobs are still happening 1,000 times an hour in our business,” said Webster.

Read more about the future of Barnhart and the leadership guiding it.