History

Humble Beginnings

Earl F. Sever Sr. had the foresight to create a business that would withstand the turbulent times of the Great Depression and future potential economic and geo-political environments. Through hard work and determination, Earl took the initiative to found Piqua Steel Company, now known as PSC Crane & Rigging.

Along with his dedicated personnel, Earl traveled throughout Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Indiana—focusing primarily on demolition and plant dismantling.
 

World war II

As the country entered WWII, Bill Lear, of Lear Avia Corp., moved his detonator manufacturing plant to Piqua, Ohio. PSC Crane & Rigging became the prime contractor to rig all the equipment out of the existing plant in Vandalia, Ohio, which was then unloaded and installed in Piqua. In turn, this allowed PSC to enter the machinery-moving, rigging, and crane rental industry.

A “working-man’s man,” Earl proved to be a man of determination, learning many new trades throughout his career and consistently aspiring to be a success. He established long-term relationships built on the foundations of trust, honesty, and hard work. Every employee was his friend and considered family.

A season of growth

Due to exceptional growth, Earl Sr. brought Earl Jr. onboard, and instilled in him the many high-quality standards he’d developed through the years. Today, those same beliefs have been carried forward by Earl Jr. and Earl F. Sever III (Lynn).

Lynn set the bar high with his devotion to PSC’s team members, through his values of Trust, Honesty, Dignity & Respect. Those same values became solidified with clients and vendors now several with over 50+ years of positive relations.  Lynn along with his wife Nancy worked closely together with their team throughout the turbulent 80’s and stabilization of the early 90’s in hopes to propel the business to the next generation of Severs. 

A new generation

After attending Tri State and The Ohio State University, Randy returned to Piqua, joined the Ironworkers, and graduated from their four-year apprenticeship program.

A few years after having worked in the field, Randy quickly progressed from foreman to general foreman and soon became the company’s lead estimator/project manager.

Jim attended Wright State University, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in business management in 1996. 

He then returned to PSC as the assistant office manager. Jim learned the individual aspects of all the company's administrative functions and brought new technologies and their related efficiencies to the forefront while developing a stronger hands-on understanding of business finance.

Since joining the organization in the mid-1990s, both Randy and Jim have been instrumental in the company’s growth.  In the early 2000’s and with added specialized equipment and competent field team members, PSC grew into a turnkey press installer and became more nationally known. After the 2008-2010 Great Recession, it became apparent diversification into new industries and added capabilities would be required to enable more year over year consistency and sustainability. PSC expanded into the Columbus, Ohio market while also establishing a Special Projects business unit focusing on specialized hauling and heavy rigging in the petrochemical and power generation and utilities industries. 

Later in 2019, PSC acquired an existing rigging company located in Cincinnati and quickly carried forward with retaining many clients since then throughout southern Ohio and northern Kentucky.  These more recent growth initiatives have expanded PSC Crane & Rigging’s footprint through the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Earl Sever III’s belief that “We are only as good as our people” is an overarching principle in that today we view our people as “Team Members” (not employees) and is paramount to PSC’s success, sustainability and legacy.