This fall, Brothers Sid Hildebrandt, Roger Schmidt and Calvin Meier were called to the Burnaby site of Habitat for Humanity (H4H) to do a series of lifts in preparation for Phase VI of the project.

Their company, GWIL Industries Ltd., donated the labour and equipment. Rob Magee, one of the owners, said, “We’re happy to help out the Operating Engineers on this initiative.”

Business Rep Frank Carr, who was also on site, explained that not only are they among the biggest hydraulic cranes operating in Metro Vancouver, they also feature operator-friendly computer systems, smooth lifts of up to 163,000 lbs, comfortable drives and crab steering so they can get into small areas with little difficulty. The tilt-back seats provide some relief for operators who spend much of their time looking up.