Tadano America Corporation is a global leader in the industrial cranes and lifting industry with their North American headquarters right here in Houston. The city was chosen by Tadano to serve as its U.S. hub for sales, marketing, service, and parts distribution due to its central location, strong port access, right-to-work environment, and favorable climate. Since Tadano first opened its doors in the U.S. with only 25 employees in 2011, it has steadily grown into a significantly larger workforce today, reflecting steady expansion of the company. Tadano is increasingly a cornerstone of the Texas manufacturing economy and has staunchly integrated itself into the Houston community.
Much of this growth comes from acquiring other U.S. lifting companies, including the Manitex facility we visited in Georgetown, Texas, earlier in August. As the company expands its U.S. operations, it seeks to make the Tadano name top-of-mind when customers think of high quality, safe lifting equipment. “Our expertise in cranes lends itself to anything that elevates people. That’s why we see ourselves not just as a crane company, but as a leader in the lifting industry.” said COO Jack Fendrick, “We’re moving everything under one name: Tadano. That’s important because when we buy a company, it’s not just to turn a profit on what they were making. It’s to bring it up to our standards.”
The AEM Manufacturing Express rolled into Houston for our final event on a 22-stop tour through Texas to spotlight the over 345,000 hardworking men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry who live right here in the Lone Star state. The event was a lively celebration of Tadano’s people and purpose. And for Tadano, Houston isn’t just home; it is the center of its operations across the Americas. The 3.6-acre facility on West Greens Road offers sales, service, and parts, along with a full-service workshop where customers can bring their equipment for repair. “This office is the hub for all of Pan America. What makes Houston different is that, besides sales and service, we have a full workshop where customers can bring their equipment in, not just technicians going out,” said Workshop Manager Omar Rodriguez. “We went from squeezing a crane into a storage space to having 10 to 15 cranes waiting in line for repair. It’s a big change, and a successful one.”
That workshop is busier than ever, thanks to Tadano’s expanding product line. The company manufactures everything from rough terrain and all-terrain cranes to truck cranes, crawlers, and telescopic boom crawlers. The recent acquisition of Manitex expanded the lineup to include boom trucks and scissor lifts, and Tadano is also pioneering the industry’s first fully electric rough terrain crane—the EVOLT. Training Director Andrew Broussard explained why the innovation matters: “We’ve had two EVOLTs here, and they’ve made operations drastically easier. Something as simple as not having to stop for fuel or regen cycles saves us time and headaches.”
Beyond investing in product innovation, Tadano is investing heavily in people. The Houston team has grown to more than 130 today, reflecting Tadano’s steady expansion and strong culture. Workshop Manager Omar Rodriguez has seen this growth firsthand.
“I’ve seen this office grow from 60 to over 100 people. That expansion reflects not just a bigger customer base, but the strength of the people here and the quality of the product.” Rodriguez said, “The culture here is different. There’s no such thing as a bad employee, only bad management. That mindset creates a place where people actually enjoy coming to work.”
The Houston site is also leading a revamp of training, building 3D simulators and digital models so new hires and technicians can learn safely and effectively. The goal of the program is for Houston to serve as the central hub for training in North America, eliminating the need for employees to travel overseas in order to get trained.
This investment is just one part of Tadano’s longstanding commitment to providing high quality customer support. Tadano America CEO Dean Barley thinks this is one of the major factors responsible for the company’s success. “The most important thing this team does is support our customers, and that’s what every business is about.”
Tadano is already in the planning stages for CONEXPO-CON/AGG. The company continues to attend the CONEXPO in Las Vegas to hear the voice of the customer while building and strengthening customer relationships all over the world. Showcasing at the trade show is no small feat. Planning begins as far as two years in advance, and is a major logistical operation. Tadano’s largest crawler crane takes as many as 18 trucks to bring to shows, and takes almost 3 months to assemble onsite.
The company’s next appearance at CONEXPO is not until March, but today was about celebrating the hardworking men and women who build Tadano’s iconic cranes and lifting equipment. As the celebration went on and employees enjoyed their food and the chance to win giveaways, it was clear the day was about more than cranes. It was about community, pride, and the spirit of American manufacturing.
Much like the rest of the peers we had the opportunity to visit over the past month, Tadano shows that there is a good reason they chose to manufacture in Texas. For Tadano, when it comes to making an impact on your community, customers, and the world around us, everything really is bigger in the Lone Star State.
