With transition comes great opportunity, and that has proven to be the case in ML Crane Group’s Southwest region. When longtime Southwest region GM Bob Warianka announced his retirement, ML Crane Group looked within the company for the newest group of leaders at its Crane Service Inc. (CSI) branches in Albuquerque, NM and El Paso, TX.
To step into the role of GM for CSI’s Albuquerque and El Paso locations, the company turned to Joe Estrada who has been with CSI since 2012 and most recently served as Branch Manager in El Paso. Throughout his years with the company, Joe’s philosophy has been to teach and mentor his team in order to bring out the best version of themselves. He sees tremendous opportunities for the company by building upon the strong relationships that have been established by Bob and others in the region.
Under Joe’s leadership, the company will look to expand in market segments primed for growth such as wind, natural gas, commercial construction, and government projects. Joe added, “Success for me is putting great people in the best possible position to grow and giving them the tools and resources so that they too can shine as leaders within our company.”
To round out the new leadership team at the Albuquerque branch, Joe and CSI looked first to its current employees and deservingly elevated George Walter to the position of Branch Manager. George joined CSI in 2015 first as a Dispatcher then serving as Branch Manager at the company’s Aztec, NM location. He has since relocated to Albuquerque to serve the company in an expanded capacity. George shares Joe’s passion for wanting to see people grow and he is focused on engaging his team to uncover the talents that people have within themselves to help take the branch to the next level. Since joining the company, George has always pitched in, undergone extensive training programs, and done everything he can to help the company and people around him succeed. His leadership and team building qualities are what helped propel him to this newest chapter in his career.
In El Paso, Joe’s former Branch Manager position was filled with another homegrown talent, Isaac Holguin, who joined CSI in 2017 and previously served in Administrative and Dispatcher positions. Working closely together for over three years, Joe describes Isaac has having a quiet yet energetic persona and never having shied away from a challenge. When the branch was short on personnel, Isaac always stepped up and pitched in – receiving his rigging card and undertaking various roles to help the company. Also noteworthy is the respect that Isaac has earned from his fellow colleagues in El Paso, several of whom recommended Isaac for the Branch Manager role when it became available. Isaac is excited for his new opportunity, adding: “I’m happy that Crane Service looks within the company for these types of roles. We have an awesome team of operators, drivers, dispatchers, sales and administrators that work together towards a common goal and that’s going to serve us well in the future.”
Developing our own homegrown talent is one of the qualities that makes ML a great place to work. George added, “Moves like this will help to transform our culture. Looking at the skill sets of employees, what they’ve learned, and what they have to offer moving forward, motivates our team to make a difference.”
Joe, George and Isaac are energized and optimistic about the future across the Albuquerque and El Paso branches.
