Southern Industrial Constructors/Southern Crane Names Richard Stichter Crane Manager, Project Manager
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Southern Industrial Constructors / Southern Crane, a full-service industrial
contractor, has named Richard "Rick" Stichter as crane manager and project manager in the
companies' Columbia, S.C., office.
In his role as crane manager, Stichter oversees the Columbia branch's six cranes by coordinating
their maintenance and operations, managing operators and interacting with clients. As project
manager, Stichter oversees job bids and manages all operational aspects of jobs won.
"Before he joined us, Rick owned and operated an award-winning heavy mechanical contracting
and crane rental company, ably managing its growth to 35 employees and multi-million gross
sales," said Earl Johnson III, president of Southern Crane. "We've already benefited from his
skills and expertise, and we are delighted he's joined our team."
With more than 30 years of experience providing crane rental and heavy equipment and
industrial construction services to a wide range of manufacturing and process industries, Stichter
was named one of 10 finalists for the highly regarded "Contractor of the Year" award by
Equipment World Magazine in 2002. His expertise is providing contracting services to asphalt,
cement/concrete and aggregate industries requiring the installation and maintenance of bulk
material handling machinery and equipment.
Celebrating its 45th anniversary, Southern Industrial Constructors / Southern Crane has served as
an industry and community leader, taking pride in providing services with safety, integrity,
quality workmanship and responsive customer care.
Founded in 1962, Southern Industrial provides a wide range of services throughout the
Southeast, including turnkey industrial construction, industrial electrical construction, turnkey
plant installations and relocations, turnkey rigging and plant maintenance service, and
specialized metal fabrication. Southern Crane provides state-of-the-art crane and rigging
services, and has been a leader in a national safety movement to encourage the certification of all
crane operators. All of Southern Crane's operators are CCO certified.
Because of their exemplary safety records, both Southern Industrial and Southern Crane are
among the few companies in the state recognized as STAR contractors by the N.C. Department
of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Division. Visit us at www.southernindustrial.com.
CONTACT:
Earl Johnson III,
president of Southern Crane,
919.782.4600
