Tuesday October 14, 2025
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Gov. Matt Bevin today joined local officials and company executives from Maxim Crane Works LP, a nationwide crane rental and lifting services provider, to open a $4.71 million office that consolidates the company’s operations into Kentucky and is creating 100 full-time jobs.
“Maxim Crane Works has been a steady corporate partner in Kentucky for more than 80 years, and this latest investment showcases even further commitment to the commonwealth,” Gov. Bevin said. “Maxim Crane is a powerful name within its industry, and we are proud the company continues to strengthen its presence in our state. Congratulations to the company, the community of Wilder and the Northern Kentucky region on this incredible new endeavor.”
Before the ribbon cutting, Maxim executives toured guests through the new 17,000-square-foot office. The building brings together Maxim’s operations and leadership functions in Campbell County, where the company has operated a regional headquarters since 1937. Maxim bases about 400 cranes in Wilder for quick deployment to customers across the Eastern US. Its growth projections – including organic and via acquisition – helped bring the project to fruition.
“This is a project that clearly demonstrates the benefits of a pro-business government working together with the private sector to generate jobs and economic growth at a record pace,” said Frank Bardonaro, COO for Maxim. “We appreciate the support of the Governor and local leaders to provide Maxim the opportunity to bring more jobs and opportunity to the local community as a result of this tremendous joint effort.”
“I am honored to be able to present our employees, customers and the next generation of Maxim employees with this state-of-the-art facility,” added Bryan Carlisle, the company’s CEO. “We are extremely grateful to our employees for providing us with this opportunity to continue what started a few miles away in 1937 and has grown into the largest and most successful Crane Rental company in the USA.”
Maxim is a coast-to-coast provider of crane rental and lifting services. With over 50 locations across the country, Maxim provides services in every state and has consolidated more than 30 crane-rental companies.
Sen. Wil Schroder, of Wilder, noted the company’s prominence within its industry.
“On behalf of the citizens in the 24th Senatorial District, I’d like to welcome the nation’s largest provider of crane rental and lifting services, Maxim Crane Works,” Sen. Schroder said. “This $4.71 million investment and the creation of 100 jobs is yet another testament to Campbell County’s workforce. The 24th Senatorial District continues to be a leader of economic development in the commonwealth and I am proud to welcome this business to our region.”
Rep. Dennis Keene, of Wilder, said the local workforce has the skillset to meet any need and expressed gratitude for the company’s investment in the region.
“This announcement is just further proof that Wilder is a great place to do business and that its workforce is second-to-none,” Rep. Keene said. “I want to thank the leaders of Maxim Crane Works for being such an integral part of our corporate community for more than 80 years and for deciding to invest nearly $5 million more as it consolidates its in-state operations here. I also appreciate what our local and state economic development leaders have done to make today’s ribbon cutting possible.”
Wilder Mayor Stanley Turner commended the company on its steady growth.
“Congratulations to Maxim Crane on the completion of this expansion,” Mayor Turner said. “The City of Wilder is very proud to be the location chosen to support the continued growth of Maxim Crane’s corporate operations in our region.”
Kenton County Judge-Executive and Northern Kentucky Tri-ED Board Chair Kris Knochelmann noted the company’s strong standing within the community.
“Maxim Crane is an excellent community partner in Northern Kentucky and we appreciate their ongoing investment into their facilities, employees and operations here,” Judge-Executive Knochelmann said. “We look forward to continued partnership in the years to come.”
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) a year ago preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $2 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
Maxim Crane also can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies can receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. In fiscal 2017, the Kentucky Skills Network provided training for more than 120,000 Kentuckians and 5,700 companies from a variety of industry sectors.
For more information on Maxim Crane Works, visit www.cranerental.com.
Gov. Matt Bevin, together with Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Jeff Hoover, today unveiled “Keeping the Promise” — a comprehensive plan to save Kentucky’s ailing public pension systems.
“There is no such thing as an insurmountable obstacle,” said Gov. Bevin. “We, as a Commonwealth, have a moral and legal obligation to fulfill the promises that have been made to our public employees. This is not just about fixing our present underfunding problem. It is also about ensuring that we leave a better, financially stable Kentucky to our children.
“The right thing to do is rarely the easiest, but we are determined to address this crisis with the most fiscally responsible public pension reform plan in the history of the United States. I am confident that the rest of the country will pay close attention to this excellent work by our legislature and for good reason. For those retired, for those still working, and for those yet to come: we are truly fixing our broken pension systems. United we stand. Divided we fall.”
Highlights of the plan include:
- “Keeping the Promise” will save Kentucky’s pension systems and meet the legal and moral obligations owed to current and retired teachers and public servants
- Requires full payment of ARC and creates new funding formula that mandates hundreds of millions more into every retirement plan, making them healthier and solvent sooner
- For those still working: no increase to the full retirement age, and current defined benefits remain in place until the employee reaches the promised level of unreduced pension benefit
- For those retired: no clawbacks or reductions to pension checks, and healthcare benefits are protected
- For future non-hazardous employees and teachers: enrollment in a defined contribution retirement plan that will provide comparable retirement benefits
- For current and future hazardous employees: will continue in the same system they are in now
- Closes loophole to ensure payment of death benefits for the families of hazardous employees
- Stops defined benefits plan for all legislators, moving them into the same defined contribution plan as other state employees under the jurisdiction of the KRS Board
- No emergency clause: law will not go into effect until July 1, 2018
- Structural changes should improve the Commonwealth’s rating with credit agencies, which have downgraded Kentucky’s rating, citing unfunded pension burdens
Gov. Bevin will call the General Assembly into special session in the coming weeks to pass into law these much-needed reforms.
“Our state’s pension systems are among the worst-funded in the country,” said Senate President Stivers. “In order to move these systems forward along the path to solvency, bold action is required. The framework that we have in place for a pension reform bill is morally right, fiscally responsible, and legally defensible. I thank Governor Bevin, Speaker Hoover, and all my colleagues in the Legislature for their help and support throughout this process, and I look forward to hearing feedback from constituents and moving forward in the coming weeks.”
“Kentucky’s pension problem has been a long time in the making, and has only gotten worse by past leaders who failed to act, or even acknowledge, the issue,” said Speaker Jeff Hoover. “Unlike in the past, inaction is simply not an option. The New Majority is committed to address the pension problem by providing a strong foundation that results in long-term pension stability for public workers and teachers.”
The Commonwealth’s three major public pension systems — Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), Teachers’ Retirement System of Kentucky (TRS), and the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement System (KJFRS) — collectively administer eight distinct retirement plans.
The state currently has an unfunded pension liability of at least $64 billion, ranking as the worst funded system in the nation. Using prior funding patterns, experts conclude that the Kentucky Employee Retirement System, Non-Hazardous (KERS-NH), will run completely out of money by the year 2022 if meaningful pension reform does not occur.
With $7 billion in negative cash flow over the past decade, Kentucky’s pension spending has been increasing nearly five times as fast as revenues. This effectively reduces funds available for other important budgetary priorities such as education, healthcare, public safety and transportation infrastructure.