Chad Rados has worked in the crane business since he graduated high school, staying with The ALL Family of Companies throughout his career and working his way up to project coordinator. BIC Magazine recently spoke with Rados about how his workers and customers keep him motivated daily.
Q: What led to your position at The ALL Family of Companies?
A: I’ve been with The ALL Family of Companies since 1995. I was fresh out of high school and started as a crane oiler in the Cleveland yard. I immediately fell in love with the business. Within a year, I was an operator and cycled through industrial cranes, rough-terrain (RT) cranes and, finally, heavy truck-mounted cranes.
In 2007, I became site supervisor at Central Contractors Service, our Chicago branch, where I showed a knack for jobsite analysis and creating lift and equipment packages that minimized or eliminated site challenges. I became a project coordinator in September 2012 and now assist other branches with large projects and large package crane orders.
Q: What is the biggest news at ALL right now?
A: We’re excited about the outlook for summer and fall and even beyond. We’re forecasting high utilization going into 2019, and I feel the pace will continue.
Obviously, we are constantly expanding our fleet to meet demand and respond to industry trends. We recently received a new order of Liebherr 100-ton RTs. We fell in love with them and think anyone doing construction in congested plants — where space is narrow and being nimble is crucial — will appreciate them as well. We’ve added more of the Manitowoc MLC series, and we have two new 500-ton Liebherr ATs (all terrains). We’re also gearing up for a huge wind project in Canada this summer. There’s a lot going on and a lot to be excited about.
Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: There are two main things. One is seeing the success of our employees. We put a lot of work into planning and coordinating a successful lift. When it all comes together and the team executes the job, that sense of accomplishment is hard to beat. Second, when a customer says “thank you,” my team and I know we were critical to the success of this project. That makes me feel like we did our jobs well. So, wanting to keep seeing employees succeed and continue satisfying our customers is what keeps me motivated.
That’s why we challenge our team to use all of our assets when they are pursuing a sale, from lift-planning software to our excellent support team, which includes logistical leadership plus on-the-ground and in-the-plant safety and service support personnel. We challenge the sales team to view themselves as problem-solvers, to use the size of our fleet to make sure customers are really getting the crane they need — not just the crane they think they need.
Q: What’s the most important thing a person should know before taking a career path similar to yours?
A: This is not a 9-to-5 job. The people I’m surrounded by truly have a passion for cranes and equipment. In the wider crane business, a lot of people know what we do, and the majority know how we do it, but we know why we’re doing it. We want to do whatever it takes to make our customers successful. When they’re successful, we’re successful. We’re constantly thinking about our “why” and working to find new ways to improve our customers’ performance. When I leave the office, I’m getting ready for tomorrow.
Q: What is a “fun fact” about you people might not know?
A: I love CrossFit. I call it my “healthy addiction.” I’m at the gym six days a week for the 5 a.m. class. It’s a great way to start off my day.
For more information, visit www.all crane.com or call (800) 232-4100.