In 2013 the City of Seattle experienced the start of a $5 billion construction boom in commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Over 100 projects were valued at more than $1 million each. Morrow’s Seattle office was ready to deliver cranes and hoists to the many contractors awarded these projects and looking for an equipment supplier to handle the load.

Contractors such as GLY Construction, Skanska USA Building, Sellen Construction, Nash-Holland and many others have leased equipment from Morrow during this period of expansion. These contractors relied upon Morrow for erection and dismantlement services, equipment inspection and parts supplies. Seattle’s construction activity continues to gather momentum with many projects slated for 2015 and beyond.

One of the most active companies in the Seattle area has been Amazon.com. Morrow leased equipment to Sellen Construction and GLY Construction, two of the main Amazon contractors, for use on new corporate office spaces. In 2014 alone, Amazon.com added 4 million square feet of office space. The company is planning for an additional 6 million sq. ft. to house an estimated 71,000 employees. These buildings include a 38-story high-rise and the Amazon “bubble building”.

After GLY Construction was awarded the contract for the Allen Institute for Brain Science, they turned to long-time partner Morrow for their lift equipment needs. This new high-throughput science facility will be six stories tall with 245,000 sq. ft. of floor space for laboratory work, high-powered computing, robotic and other automated systems. A Liebherr 420 EC-H hammerhead crane and an Alimak FC 7100-12 construction hoist were used on this project.

Many of the new commercial and residential high-rises utilize either the Liebherr 316 EC-H or 420 EC-H tower cranes, as can be seen in the accompanying panoramic image. The Alimak FC 7100-12 construction hoist can be seen throughout the Seattle-metro area and is a reliable choice for contractors to deliver workers and materials. Contractors are beginning to employ the luffing boom class of tower cranes such as the 540 HC-L and 542 HC-L. As Seattle’s urban core increases in density we expect the luffers to become a common site on the horizon.