Dawes at 80

Post-WWII era
Dawes has a winding origin story of its own, tracing its roots all the way back to the 1945 merger of two Wisconsin firms—the Shea Drayage Company of Racine and the Matson Company of Kenosha. That makes 2025 a milestone 80th anniversary year for Dawes.

For the next 25 years, the Shea-Matson Company, by then headquartered in Milwaukee, became one of the area’s largest specialized carrier and rigging companies. In 1947, it even helped form the organization that eventually became the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association (SC&RA). In 1973, Dawes Transfer of Milwaukee purchased Shea-Matson, began operating as Dawes by 1976, and sold to ALL in 1978.

Dawes owner Tom Freckmann remained as Dawes general manager until 1989, when his son, Steve, took over. Steve Freckmann was GM for the next 20-plus years until his own retirement in 2023. At that time, Ryan Harrison was promoted to general manager of Dawes. He’s been with organization for a quarter-century and previously served as manager of the Madison, Wisconsin, Dawes branch.

These days, Dawes has four branches, located in Milwaukee, Madison, Kaukauna, and Elk Mound, as well as Dawes Special Transport (DST), its trucking arm. Taken together, Dawes is a Midwest powerhouse with deep roots in the communities it serves, and an exemplary extension of the ALL brand.

Bedrock of the Midwest
“That Midwestern work ethic—an honest day’s work, a man’s handshake is his bond—that’s the foundation of everything Dawes has built over the decades,” said Harrison. “It mirrors the roots of ALL in Ohio. In many ways, Dawes and ALL are names that belonged together.”

The similar business philosophies and shared bedrock values have made the Dawes branches something of a microcosm of the greater ALL Family of Companies. “Everyone here knows that the name stands for integrity. Our shared goal is to honor the legacy while we continue to build on it and expand even further into the community.”

In demand
Within the past decade, there was an urban building boom in the region served by Dawes. New downtown high rises and extensive infrastructure construction and rebuilds were the order of the day. It went on for years, and Dawes equipment and manpower was there for much of it.

There are ebbs and flows to every market, and some of that type of work has slowed. Smaller apartment complexes, in the range of three to six stories, have taken off.  Sprawling data centers are keeping cranes of all sizes on high demand. T he power generation market has remained strong as providers work to catch up with population growth. “Many of these projects can be intense,” said Harrison. “Customers will need 30 cranes for nine months. It keeps all of our branches busy.”

Adapting to change
Name and reputation, of course, provide the foundation. What comes next is building on the legacy. It’s about what you’re going to do today.

Harrison came to Dawes from the world of finance. “A friend told me that Dawes was looking for a salesman. He thought I’d be good at it,” said Harrison. “I came on board wide-eyed and with a lot to learn about cranes. What I quickly discovered was that this was a place where hard work was recognized. Where it paid off. Promoting from within is a story you will hear across the ALL family.”

In just a few years’ time, Harrison had absorbed a wealth of information about the crane business and risen to the rank of manager. “I was blessed to be surrounded by people who had been here 10 or 20 years or more. Mechanics, field guys, people with a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge,” said Harrison. “Many have retired over the years. One day, I realized I was now one of the older, experienced guys.”

Staying ahead of the curve
“The industry has changed exponentially. It’s not even close to the same game,” said Harrison. “The technology and equipment has changed so much. It used to be that a crane mechanic might have gotten his start working on farm tractors. Now our technicians know more about computers than most people at MIT.”

It takes a lot of regular communication to keep such a large group moving in the same direction. “It used to be that each branch maybe had more of its own flavor,” said Harrison. “But the business has just gotten too big for that to be viable. We’ve taken our cues from the great job the ALL Family does in keeping all the branches on the same page.” The management team meets once a week. There are biweekly meetings with each department. Zoom is a useful tool for face-to-face meetings across multiple locations.

Another way to help ensure the continuation of a legacy is to be careful and strategic about hiring. The key is to find people who want a challenge and thrive in an environment in which every day is different. “This is an exciting industry. Yes, it’s hard work, but for the right person it’s also rewarding and fun.”

Dawes pairs up new hires with a mentor that guides them through their first several weeks on the job. They watch the right way to do a job. Their mentor takes an interest in them as a person, takes them to lunch, shows them the ropes. It eases the transition and gives the new person something to build on.

“When I started, our largest cranes were a 165-ton in Madison and 250-ton in Milwaukee,” said Harrison. “Now, we have multiple 550-ton cranes in our yards and access to much higher capacities from throughout the ALL Family. Dawes itself has more than 800 individual pieces of equipment across our branches and 185 employees.”

“This is more than a place to show up for a paycheck. People who last here believe in our mission and have pride in working for this company. It becomes something bigger than just a business. It’s family.”