Crane Industry Veteran Lonergan Dies

Tom Lonergan

August 7, 2007 • Thomas Lonergan of Empire Crane Company, Syracuse, N.Y., passed away in June after a short battle with lung cancer. He was 65.

Lonergan's work history spans 40 years in the crane industry. He began his career in sales at LB Smith and went on to become a dealer representative for Pettibone before he founded CranExon. He also worked in sales for Stewart Equipment and in 1982 founded Syracuse Equipment. From 2002 to 2007 he worked with his sons Paul and Luke at Empire Crane Company, which they founded.

During the 20 years Syracuse Equipment was in business, Lonergan weathered the crane industry's highs and lows. In 1994 he introduced the CT-2, the first city class all-terrain crane, to the North American crane market from Germany. In 1999, he was the first American crane distributor to be invited to China. Eight years later, the crane industry in China took off; the Mantis crane proved its working power in Boston's Big Dig, a highlight of Lonergan's career.

Those who knew Lonergan describe him as a man with integrity and gentlemanly charm. He never powered up a computer, preferring instead to talk face-to-face to discuss specs and go over load charts. A company statement said, “Tom was a major player, despite his reluctance to take advantage of the technological advances of the day. It became comical when we all realized it was a waste of time to ask him to fax over a load chart to a customer, or email an update to a business contact. He would instead head off in his car to Boston, Connecticut, New Jersey, West Virginia, to talk about the Yankees, tractors, and cranes, and work on achieving the more personal relationship he preferred to have with his customers.”