Mazzella Restructures Executive Leadership Team

30 Second Takeaway

Mazzella has appointed Rick Smith as executive vice president of service and Mark Erny as executive vice president of cranes. Both executives have also joined the company’s leadership team. Dan Carmichael has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing, expanding his responsibility across Mazzella’s commercial operations. The revised structure separates executive responsibility for service, crane manufacturing and commercial operations, supporting Mazzella’s stated goal of operating as a more unified, customer focused organisation.

New Executive Structure at Mazzella

Mazzella has announced two external executive appointments and an expanded leadership role as part of a restructuring of its senior management team.

The appointments are:

• Rick Smith, executive vice president of service

• Mark Erny, executive vice president of cranes

• Dan Carmichael, executive vice president of sales and marketing

Smith and Erny are new members of Mazzella’s leadership team, while Carmichael has received broader responsibility after working with the company since 2019.

The revised structure establishes defined executive ownership across three major areas of the business:

• Service operations

• Crane manufacturing and engineered lifting products

• Sales and marketing

Mazzella said the changes reflect its focus on becoming a customer first and service first organisation.

Rick Smith Appointed Executive Vice President of Service

Rick Smith has joined Mazzella as executive vice president of service and a member of the company’s leadership team. A veteran of the United States Navy, Smith brings decades of leadership experience from the crane service and industrial aftermarket sectors. His new responsibilities centre on developing a more consistent operating structure across Mazzella’s service business.

Smith will focus on:

• Systemising service operations

• Establishing standard operating procedures

• Defining measurable key performance indicators

• Creating consistent processes across locations

• Supporting scalable service performance

• Improving visibility of service results

The role covers the systems and processes used to deliver inspection, maintenance, repair and modernisation services to customers.

Standardising Service Across the Business

Mazzella provides crane, rigging, fall protection and other industrial inspection and repair services through a network of locations across North America. As a service organisation expands, differences can develop between individual facilities in areas such as scheduling, documentation, performance measurement and customer communication.

Establishing common operating procedures can give technicians, branch managers and customers a clearer understanding of how service work is planned and completed.

Defined key performance indicators can also help management assess areas such as response times, work completion, equipment availability and service capacity.

Smith’s appointment gives the service organisation dedicated executive leadership as Mazzella works to coordinate its operations across multiple facilities and markets.

Mark Erny Appointed Executive Vice President of Cranes

Mark Erny has joined Mazzella as executive vice president of cranes and as a member of its leadership team. Erny brings experience across the overhead crane sector, covering several equipment categories.

His background includes:

• Process cranes

• Workstation crane systems

• Tooling centres

• Crane manufacturing

• Equipment fabrication

• Engineered material handling systems

Erny will lead Mazzella’s crane manufacturing and fabrication facilities. He will also provide strategic oversight of the company’s below the hook product line, connecting responsibility for crane systems with the lifting devices used between the crane hook and the load.

Oversight of Crane Manufacturing and Fabrication

Mazzella designs and manufactures overhead crane systems for industrial and material handling applications. The company’s crane operations cover equipment ranging from workstation systems used for repetitive production tasks to larger process cranes designed for demanding operating environments.

Erny’s responsibilities will extend across Mazzella’s crane manufacturing and fabrication facilities, with an emphasis on coordinating the company’s engineering, production and delivery capabilities.

Centralised leadership can help align:

• Product design

• Engineering

• Manufacturing

• Fabrication

• Project execution

• Quality control

• Installation support

• Customer service

Overhead crane projects often require coordination between these functions because the equipment must be designed for the building, load, operating cycle and production environment in which it will work.

Below the Hook Products Added to Erny’s Responsibilities

Erny will also oversee Mazzella’s below the hook equipment business. Below the hook devices connect a crane or hoist to the item being lifted. They are selected or engineered according to the load’s weight, geometry, lifting points and required handling method.

Mazzella’s product range covers equipment such as:

• Lifting beams

• Spreader beams

• Coil lifting devices

• Sheet lifters

• Pallet lifters

• Die lifting equipment

• Vacuum lifting systems

• Special lifting fixtures

• Custom engineered devices

Bringing crane manufacturing and below the hook products under the same executive creates a closer organisational link between the lifting machine and the equipment used to connect it to the load.

Each crane and lifting device remains subject to its own design requirements, rated capacity, inspection criteria and operating procedures.

Dan Carmichael Named Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Dan Carmichael has been appointed executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Carmichael has more than 25 years of experience in the overhead lifting and rigging industry, with a career spanning sales, service and operations leadership. He joined Mazzella in 2019 and has since worked across the company’s customer and commercial operations.

In his expanded position, Carmichael will lead Mazzella’s sales and marketing activities with responsibility for:

• Revenue growth

• Market share development

• Commercial strategy

• Vendor partnerships

• Customer relationships

• Market positioning

• Coordination between sales and operating teams

The role extends beyond conventional sales management by connecting Mazzella’s commercial strategy with the technical knowledge available throughout the organisation.

Connecting Commercial and Technical Expertise

Mazzella supplies products and services covering cranes, lifting equipment, rigging, inspection, repair, training and fall protection. Customers can therefore require support from several parts of the company during a single project or facility programme.

A crane project, for example, can involve equipment design, manufacturing, installation, inspection, operator training and continuing service. It can also require rigging equipment and an engineered below the hook device. Carmichael’s expanded role is intended to help Mazzella present these capabilities through a coordinated commercial organisation.

The company said part of his mandate is to position its teams as technical experts within the markets they serve.

Leadership Organised Around the Customer

The restructuring places service, cranes and commercial operations under dedicated executive leadership.

Matt Mazzella, president and chief executive of Mazzella, said: 

“Rick, Mark, and Dan each bring something exceptional to this leadership team, and together they reflect exactly the direction we’re taking this company.”

“Everything we do comes back to the customer. From lifting centers and sales to service and cranes, our goal is that every customer gets the right solution, backed by the right expertise, from one unified team.”

“Our leadership team is structured around that, and I’m confident that as we move forward together, our customers will see and feel the difference.”

The structure is intended to improve coordination between the teams responsible for specifying products, manufacturing equipment, supporting customers and maintaining lifting systems throughout their operating lives.

Service Plays a Central Role in Overhead Lifting

Overhead cranes and lifting systems require continuing inspection and maintenance after installation.

A service organisation can support equipment throughout its working life through:

• Preventive maintenance

• Scheduled inspections

• Emergency repairs

• Load testing

• Modernisation

• Electrical upgrades

• Control system replacement

• Hoist and component repairs

• Runway inspection

• Compliance documentation

The reliability of these services can directly affect production facilities where an overhead crane forms part of the manufacturing or material handling process. Mazzella’s decision to create a dedicated executive vice president of service reflects the operational importance of this part of the business.

Crane Manufacturing Covers Different Operating Environments

The overhead crane sector covers a broad range of lifting applications. A workstation crane used for handling smaller components in an assembly area has different operating requirements from a process crane working in a steel mill or production facility.

Crane design can be affected by:

• Rated load

• Span

• Lifting height

• Duty cycle

• Operating speed

• Building structure

• Environmental conditions

• Control requirements

• Required positioning accuracy

• Maintenance access

Erny’s experience across process equipment, workstation cranes and tooling centres gives him responsibility for equipment serving several distinct operating environments. His oversight of manufacturing and fabrication will connect these technical requirements with Mazzella’s production capabilities.

Mazzella Continues Organisational Development

The latest changes follow a series of leadership appointments as Mazzella develops its management structure. The company has expanded through organic development, new facilities and acquisitions across the lifting and industrial sectors.

Its growth has increased the importance of common operating systems and clearly defined leadership responsibilities.

The three executive roles establish direct responsibility for:

• Delivering and developing service operations

• Managing crane and below the hook manufacturing

• Coordinating sales and marketing activities

Mazzella said the objective is to give customers access to products, services and technical expertise through a unified team.

About Mazzella

Mazzella is a privately owned North American manufacturer and distributor serving the overhead lifting, rigging and material handling industries. The business was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1954 by Jim Mazzella Sr. as the Mazzella Wire Rope & Sling Company.

Its original operation specialised in hand braided wire rope slings for construction sites, ports and steel mills in northeastern Ohio. Mazzella has since expanded into a multi location organisation employing more than 1,200 people across approximately 50 North American locations.

The company’s products and services cover:

• Wire rope and synthetic slings

• Rigging hardware

• Overhead cranes

• Hoists

• Below the hook lifting devices

• Fall protection systems

• Crane inspections and repairs

• Rigging inspections

• Crane upgrades and modernisations

• Wire rope socketing and spooling

• Safety and operator training

• Engineered lifting products

• Specialty material handling machinery

Mazzella also operates lifting centres that supply rigging products and technical support to customers across industrial, construction, energy, manufacturing and material handling markets. The wider Mazzella Companies portfolio includes Sheffield Metals International, which supplies coated and bare metal products for engineered roofing and wall systems, and New Tech Machinery, a manufacturer of portable roll forming equipment.

Company website: www.mazzellacompanies.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has joined Mazzella’s executive leadership team?

Rick Smith and Mark Erny have joined Mazzella and become members of its leadership team.

What is Rick Smith’s new position?

Smith has been appointed executive vice president of service.

What will Rick Smith oversee?

He will focus on systemising Mazzella’s service organisation, establishing standard operating procedures, defining performance indicators and supporting scalable service delivery.

What is Mark Erny’s new position?

Erny has been appointed executive vice president of cranes.

What operations will Mark Erny lead?

He will lead Mazzella’s crane manufacturing and fabrication facilities and provide strategic oversight of the company’s below the hook product line.

What experience does Mark Erny bring?

His overhead crane experience covers process equipment, workstation cranes and tooling centres.

What is Dan Carmichael’s new role?

Carmichael has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing.

How long has Dan Carmichael worked for Mazzella?

He joined the company in 2019.

What will Carmichael oversee?

He will lead commercial operations covering sales, marketing, revenue growth, market development, vendor partnerships and customer positioning.

Who leads Mazzella?

The lifting business is led by Matt Mazzella, president and chief executive.

When was Mazzella founded?

The company was founded in 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio.

What does Mazzella manufacture?

Mazzella manufactures overhead cranes, engineered below the hook devices, rigging equipment, specialty machinery and other industrial lifting products.