Crane Construction Co.

Andy joined Crane Construction Company LLC  in March 2015 to head up Real Estate Development for Crane’s affiliate company, GC Housing Development LLC.  Andy becomes the fourth generation at Crane to carry on the tradition of developing high quality residential developments throughout the Greater Chicago Region.

Prior to joining the GCHD team, Andy was the Executive Vice President of the Harry Walker Agency (HWA), a speakers’ agency based out of New York.  There, Andy ran the Speaker Management and Contracts Department. HWA represents many of the world’s foremost speakers, including President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Vice President’s Gore and Cheney, Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Michael Eisner, David Stern, Steve Forbes, Shaquille O’Neal, and many others.  In his role at HWA, he had the opportunity to work closely with these distinguished speakers. His time running the Speaker Management Department took him to 26 countries and 27 US States.

Prior to joining HWA in 2005, Andy was the Deputy Director of Advance for the Kerry/Edwards for President Campaign. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from American University.

Jeffrey D. Crane has lived construction for his entire life. He has been President of Crane Construction Company LLC since 1980, having been both a Project Manager and General Superintendent earlier in his career. Jeff has been actively involved in Real Estate Development and Property Management, centered around Affordable Housing, in several communities in Illinois.

Jeff is a Past President of the Builders’ Association of Greater. He has served as the head of the Carpenter’s Labor Trade Committee and has been a part of the formal labor negotiations. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO), a joint Labor-Management Organization serving the construction industry.

Jeff has also exhibited strong community involvement, having served on the Board of the Young Men’s Jewish Council. As one of the founding directors, Jeff helped establish the Center for Enriched Living, a community service center for mentally challenged young adults.

He has raised in excess of $1,000,000 to support Liver Research for Northwestern University Medical School and is on the Executive Committee of the Northwestern Comprehensive Transplant Center.

Jeff has developed a highly respected reputation within the building community as a fair and honest leader. Through his relationships with subcontractors, architects, and organized labor, Crane’s building projects maintain the highest standards of quality.

Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Masters of Management from Northwestern University.

Justin has been with Crane Construction Company LLC since 2005. Justin is a results orientated, hands on construction and development professional with expertise in all facets of the industry. Justin has successfully completed multi-million dollar projects through coordinating trades, developing partnerships, and building positive rapports with architects, engineers, local officials, vendors, and clients all while maintaining costs. Versed in project estimating, spotting impending design problems, document preparation, building code and regulations, material purchasing, and site management through certification of occupancy.

Ralph joined Crane Construction Company LLC in 1995 as Executive Vice President and a Partner in the firm. For the past twenty years Ralph has been successfully managing the Crane team’s National Retail efforts for various clients. Ralph has also developed the Crane team’s new approach to onsite management of retail projects through the new combined position of Project Manager/Superintendent. Previously, Ralph was employed by Capitol Construction Group of Wheeling, Illinois for 13 years as an Estimator, Project Manager, National Account Manager and finally Senior Vice President/General Manager of the Specialty Retail Group. Ralph has successfully built projects in 48 states in his 34 years of retail construction, and by Crane’s count, approximately 3,000 stores constructed. Ralph received his Bachelor of Art in Business Administration degree from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Rich has been employed with Crane Construction Company since 1984 in the capacities of Assistant Project Manager, Project Manager and currently Senior Vice President. Rich has built a varied portfolio of projects over the years with a strong expertise in senior housing.  Rich received his Bachelors of Science degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Arizona State University in 1983. Rich has received a Presidential Award of Excellence for his work in resource management and is also LEED certified. 

Al joined Crane Construction Company LLC in April 1998 and has been working with various clients on prototypical and standard retail projects. Al served in The United States Air Force and is a Certified General Contractor in the State of Florida.

Bill joined Crane Construction Company LLC in May 2004. Prior to becoming a Project Manager/Superintendent with the Crane team, Bill was the head of research and design for a company that specialized in high end millwork and exclusive retail store fixtures. Previous to that Bill worked in a custom woodworking shop where he was the foreman and head designer for a custom kitchen manufacturer. Bill graduated from The Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Degree.

Bill joined Crane Construction Company LLC in December 2016. Bill brings a multitude of leadership qualities to the Crane team that include personnel management, quality assurance, business development and construction design. Bill has broad experience in the formation and motivation of cross-functional teams and has worked extensively with top-management leadership. Along with these traits, Bill is also fully familiar with the construction trades of carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, and more. Bill graduated from Aquinas College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

Duane joined Crane Construction Company LLC in August 2008. Prior to becoming a Project/Superintendent with the Crane team, he was employed by Pooley Enterprises of Orlando, FL. He specializes in high end retail and restaurants as well as hotel suite renovations.

Ed joined Crane Construction Company LLC in May 2012. Prior to becoming a Project Manager/Superintendent with Crane, he was employed by Belcaster Commercial Contractors in Chicago. Ed specializes in high-end tenant improvement and large-scale renovation work. Ed studied Engineering at Wright Jr. College.

Joe joined Crane Construction Company LLC in June 2014. Joe comes to the Crane team with 30+ years of experience in all aspects of the construction field. Joe’s qualifications and knowledge include general contracting, building spec homes, union carpentry, and running many commercial projects from the ground up. Joe trained at the National Association of Power Engineers.

Mark joined Crane Construction Company LLC in May of 2012 and has 30+ years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane team Mark was employed with SC Nestel, Inc. out of Indianapolis, IN. His area of expertise is in Retail Tenant Interiors and Ground up Construction. Through the College of DuPage, Mark completed 30 hours of OSHA certification training, CPR Training, and is Storm Water trained.

Patrick joined Crane Construction Company LLC in October of 2000 and has been working with various clients on prototypical and standard retail projects since. Patrick was educated in Construction Management, Construction Estimating, and Business Management at Black Hawk Technical College. Patrick is also in the Carpenters Union and has received Superintendent Training.

Rich joined Crane Construction Company LLC in May 2013. Rich comes to the Crane team with an extensive carpentry background and with a proven track record of completing difficult projects on schedule and with great efficiency.

Rick joined Crane Construction Company LLC in January 2016 and has been working with various clients on retail projects since. He has 25 years of experience in Residential and Commercial Carpentry and Construction. Rick completed a 4-year UBC Journeyman apprenticeship and has been a member of the UBC Rockford Local 0792 for 20 years.

Ross joined Crane Construction Company LLC in February 2017. Prior to coming onboard the Crane team, Ross was at GrandeFit. Ross graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where he was a Division I collegiate wrestler.

Thom joined Crane Construction Company LLC in December of 2006 and has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane team as a Project Manager/Superintendent he was employed by D.R. Horton National Home Builder as a Project Manager in charge of all phases of construction in housing developments in Chicago area suburbs. Prior to D.R. Horton, Thom was employed by Ewing-Doherty Mechanical as a plumbing foreman. He has extensive experience with ground up buildings as well as tenant build-outs. Thom earned an Associate’s Degree from Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Warren joined Crane Construction Company LLC in March 2015.  Prior to becoming the Director of Safety/Project Manager with the Crane team, he was employed by Kone Elevators/Escalators for 9 years, where he specialized in elevator installations, maintenance, service, and modernization.  He has also received numerous accreditations in the area of safety. Warren received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Carthage College.

Michele has been part of Crane Construction Company LLC since 1995. Michele is extremely adept at project administration and coordination. Michele’s responsibilities include: drawing distribution, project submittals, contracts and change orders, maintaining control of all logs and documents (i.e. contract documents, drawing schedules, submittal schedules, equipment cuts, etc.). Michele is excellent at project control and is accustomed to dealing with Subcontractors, Vendors, and Clients at the highest level. Recently, Michele has become the Crane team’s in-house LEED coordinator.