The year was 1905, Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House and Reading Chain and Block began operations in a small factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. The new company designed and manufactured hand chain hoists for the emerging industrial market. As the industrial revolution progressed, Reading Chain and Block began manufacturing complete manual and electrically operated overhead cranes for industry throughout North and South America. Many of these cranes are still in use today.

In 1951, with a change in name and location, Reading Chain and Block became Reading Crane and Hoist Company and relocated to a much larger facility in Pottstown, Pennsylvania and continued to produce overhead cranes and hoists. 1962 brought new ownership to the company and the concentration was on engineering, designing and manufacturing massive steel mill duty cranes. In 1974, with the decline of the US steel industry, the Pottstown manufacturing facility was shut down and again the company name was changed. This time to Reading Crane and Engineering Company due to the high concentration on engineering services. These services included crane modernizations, capacity upgrades and runway surveys. New equipment remained a large part of the business by aligning with numerous original equipment manufacturers as a Dealer or Distributor.

In 1990 Reading Crane and Engineering Co. relocated back to Reading, Pennsylvania, built a new facility and again began building overhead cranes. With over a century under our belts we remain the leading privately held full service crane company in the Mid-Atlantic Region.