One of the privileges of being behind the editor’s chair for Crane & Hoist Canada has always been getting to see how this industry shows up for every opportunity to celebrate the talent and hard work that keep it moving forward, and this year’s photo contest is no exception.

If paper was free, our photo contest showcase would have been several pages longer, as we received dozens of picture-perfect examples of the creativity and complexity across Canada’s heavy lifting sector.

I would like to extend a sincere thank you to every single organization that took the time to snap a picture of their cranes in action to submit for consideration in this year’s contest – getting to see the variety of exciting work being done across the country never fails to bring a smile to my face.

In the end, a snapshot of GUAY’s new Liebherr LR1700 duo performing upgrades to the roof of Montreal’s historic Olympic Stadium provided us with the gold medal cover. The pair of cranes reaching toward the pink and blue-hued sky is the perfect framing for showing off a project and building that is firmly planted in both GUAY and Canada’s history.

“As the photo contest grows each year, selecting the winning photo is increasingly challenging, with each submission reflecting the dedication and pride of our industry,” said contest judge Claire Bélanger-Parker, executive director of the Canadian Crane Rental Association. “We congratulate GUAY for their winning photo, sharing a very unique perspective.”

Over 50 years ago, GUAY’s team and fleet built this stadium with a capacity of over 50,000 spectators. To have the full-circle opportunity to help usher in the next half-century of the Olympic Stadium’s legacy was a privilege for the company, shared GUAY executive vice president Guillaume Gagnon.

Gagnon’s enthusiasm behind returning to a cornerstone of the company’s legacy came from the opportunity to see how much GUAY had grown – from technology to talent – in the decades since building the stadium they were now helping to repair.

“The Olympic Stadium is part of GUAY’s legacy, and this lift represented both history and innovation,” said Gagnon. “What excites us most is combining our 60 years of experience with innovative solutions designed by our technical representatives, engineers, and skilled operators to meet the unique challenges of such a landmark project.”

The roof upgrade project saw GUAY both develop and execute the required lifting methods; a collaborative process between their technical department, crane operators and site supervisor, alongside the engineering team behind the project itself.

In addition to their two new LR1700s, GUAY also used a Manitowoc MLC300, a Manitowoc 16000 and a Demag CC2800-1 to work in coordinated sequences for handling the various removals, placements and reinstallations required by the massive roof components.

“The project required extremely precise planning and execution due to its unique constraints,” said GUAY’s sales team. “The limited space on the playing field, the atypical rigging, and the geometry of the stadium mast created conflicts with the dismantling path of certain roof components.”

GUAY thanks its business development advisor Réal Lebrun, director of engineering Habib Laoubi and his team of designers, director of projects Jean-François Bouchard and his team, along with all operators, for their efforts and contributions to both this project and the client.