At CEI Crane & Rigging, we recently held an open house at our new headquarters, celebrating six decades of business.
We’ve grown exponentially and have a full fleet of equipment to tackle the most challenging projects. Moving into our new headquarters in Massillon, Ohio, we have expanded our facilities, providing more opportunities for expansion in the future.
It’s a good time to look back at our history and see how a small family company has grown to be a leader in crane rental and crane service, rigging services and heavy hauling and machinery moving.
Our Beginnings as Canton Erectors Inc.
CEI started as Canton Erectors, Inc. in 1964 when Neil Selinsky opened the business with a 15-ton Grove. The 15-ton was the first hydraulic crane in Stark County, Ohio. As the years progressed, the company added equipment and needed more space, first moving to a 3,500 square-foot warehouse in Canton, Ohio and then later adding an additional 4,800 square-foot warehouse.
Canton Erectors purchased the FJ Egner property on Quimby Ave, across the street from the original warehouse, which added another 6,000 square feet of space. This is where the company remained until the move to the current mor than 200,000 total square foot space on more than 20 acres in Massillon, Ohio.
Milestones Over the Years
- The company purchased its first 2-man crane in 1989, the 50-ton Link-Belt. This was followed by purchases of the 75-ton Grove (1993) and the 175-ton Grove (1997).
- In the late 1990’s, Canton Erectors began working for The Timken Company, and as our capabilities grew, we worked for other notable companies such as Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
- In 2002, we began a very important relationship with Habitat for Humanity, providing crane service for building new homes. To date, the company has participated in more than 170 builds.
- More equipment purchases included the 110 Liebherr, a 240-ton Grove crane, a 75-ton MobileLift and a 75-ton TwinLift. The MobileLift and TwinLift expanded our rigging capabilities.
- With the purchase of Starrett Service in 2023, we added additional heavy hauling capabilities, more trucks and drivers to our fleet and expanded our heavy equipment moving services.
Canton Erectors Inc. Becomes CEI Crane & Rigging
In Spring of 2024, we officially changed our name to CEI Crane & Rigging and moved to our current location at 1369 Sanders Ave SW in Massillon. The new name maintained the “CEI,” which we are known for, while encompassing our expanded capabilities and international reach.
The new location contains not only our headquarters but two heated, indoor storage warehouses. For industries that need to move large pieces of machinery or even an entire factory, CEI Crane & Rigging can handle erecting, moving, assembling, relocating and storing.
A New Era
With more than 200,000 total square feet of heavy machinery warehouse space, our storage facilities are conveniently located near major freeways connecting to Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh and more.
As we begin a new era as CEI Crane & Rigging, many things have not changed. We are still a family company, active in our community. We are dedicated to quality service, the highest safety standards and providing businesses of all sizes, locally, nationally and internationally, with the crane services, lifting services, heavy hauling and moving services they need.
All our crane operators are certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO). We put a heavy emphasis on safety, fully adhering to all required third-party safety standards but going beyond that to ensure our people constantly protect their safety and the safety of our customers. With a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol program, a safety incentive program and constant safety evaluations, we maintain an exceptional safety record.
At a recent 60-year anniversary open house celebration, we took time to recognize our achievements and look to the future, ready to provide the best customer service with the same attention to detail that has helped us grow.
Learn more about CEI Crane & Rigging at ceicrane.com.