In 1963, you could rent Frank and Dominic Giuffre and their dump truck for $12.50 an hour. Today their multimillion-dollar business, Giuffre Bros. Cranes Inc., Milwaukee, sells to more boom-truck contractors than any company in the United States.

Celebrating 45 years of business in 2008, the Giuffres have combined hard work, responsiveness to market needs, creative equipment packaging and innovative financing to reach a pinnacle in their industry.

Frank started as a dump-truck owner/operator after high school in 1963. When Dominic graduated two years later in 1965, he teamed up with his brother to purchase a 5-ton crane.

The Giuffres continued to operate their own equipment and add to their fleet, acquiring a dozen miscellaneous pieces by 1972: trucks, cranes and excavators.

Truck-mounted cranes become specialty

Dominic worked in the field and Frank handled administrative tasks. By the early ’70s they had begun to recognize how truck-mounted cranes could increase efficiency in the roofing, sign and tree-care industries.

However, Dominic says that introducing the concept of truck-mounted, contractor-operated cranes was a tough sell in the beginning. Then he found a contractor with foresight — Langer Roofing and Sheet Metal Inc. of Milwaukee — willing to try something new. Dominic taught crane operation to one of Langer’s laborers right on a job site.Bare rentals and crane leasing soon followed. Exposure through conventions and trade shows helped spread the Giuffre name throughout the United States.

The roofing industry was the first to see the value of truck-mounted cranes, and experience was teaching the Giuffres which attachments roofers needed to enhance efficiency. Word spread about truck-mounted cranes customized for roofing contractors that were available for immediate delivery at highly competitive prices. And financing was available with the package. Volume went up and prices came down, enabling the company to sell at prices that were — and still are — well below the competition. Glen Langer, retired president of Langer Roofing, believes that creating a special equipment package for roofers and exhibiting at regional and national conventions have played a key role in Giuffre Bros.’ success.

"Before the Giuffre crane, we raised materials with an A-frame hoist that had a motor attached to it," Langer says. "The Giuffre unit was a perfect fit, and the fact that it was designed specifically for our needs made it an attractive piece of equipment. It could be outfitted with pallet forks and tear-off boxes — all the things we needed to get materials from the ground to the roof." Chris Busalacchi, president of Schranz Roofing of Milwaukee, adds, "Truck-mounted cranes revolutionized the commercial roofing industry. Frank and Dominic designed a lot of the equipment we use today. The gravel clam bucket is the only way to get stone and gravel to a roof. The conveyors we used to use weren’t nearly as efficient."