Business View - November 2015 109
lifting devices: wire rope slings that were braided by hand.
From those gritty and humble beginnings, Mazzella’s com-
pany grew by taking advantage of opportunities as they
arose - expanding its product offerings and entering new
markets. It also grew by making carefully considered ac-
quisitions over the years. “The early acquisitions were
probably more opportunistic,” Mazzella explains. “It had
to be a really good fit before we’d get them. But in the last
several years, while the fit was always good, it was prob-
ably more from our aggressive commitment to stay inde-
pendent, and knowing that to survive and to stay indepen-
dent, we had to grow. So, when we buy somebody, typically
it’s when we want to be in that region.” Mazzella also ex-
plains that since the lifting sector is primarily made up of
small, independent companies, like his once was, when it
comes time to sell assets, or when an owner wants to exit
the industry, these small firms would rather be absorbed
by a family-oriented company similar to theirs, rather than
a larger, more corporate-type entity that, according to Maz-
zella is “run by the numbers.”
Today, the company that James Mazzella founded is one
of the largest independently-owned companies in the
overhead lifting and rigging industries, providing “one-stop
shopping” for its customers in the Steel, Construction, En-
ergy, Vehicle, Durable Goods, Ship Building and Repair,
and Mining sectors. Its 420 employees work out of 21
locations across the country, offering all styles of slings,
overhead cranes, hoists, pullers, assemblies, rigging and
lifting hardware, and engineered lifting devices. It is also
a manufacturer and distributor of coated and bare metal
products for the architecturally-designed metal panel in-
dustry.
Mazzella explains the two main revenue drivers of his
business: “One is the lifting side, which covers three main
other businesses,” he says, “and then there’s the metal
roofing side. On the lifting side - anybody that has a crane
has to hook a load using some type of device between the
crane hook and the load itself. So, we make the cranes,
and we make the lifting apparatus, whether it’s a sling or
an engineered lifting device. We also have a Service group
that goes out and does inspections on cranes and slings
and all overhead lifting products. We also repair and mod-
ernize the cranes, themselves.” Mazzella is talking about
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
The Mazzella Companies
WHAT:
Manufacturer and servicer of overhead
cranes, slings, and lift systems
WHERE:
Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio
WEBSITE
:
MANUFACTURING
