Fresh off of the Great Lakes shipping lanes, Morris G. Laramie identified the need for heavy construction equipment to support Detroit’s industrial growth. With the purchase of a Ford Model-T truck and a Bucyrus-Erie steam shovel, Morris G. Laramie and Son, Inc. began operations in 1917. Servicing automotive and heavy industrial construction projects allowed Laramie to expand his equipment fleet to include larger capacity equipment. Morris G. Laramie and Son, Inc. soon became known as Michigan’s premier crane, excavating, and trucking contractor.
Years later, while under direction of Morris’s son Gordon F. Laramie, Sr., the firm was further expanded to include draglines, pull shovels and bulldozers. When management passed to the subsequent generation (brothers Gordon F. Laramie Jr. and Don Laramie) the company was refined to its primary expertise. They sold their fleet of earthwork equipment and focused on the crane and specialized trucking services that they knew so well. Gordon F. Laramie had two children who both entered into the business, Linda Laramie Cook and current president Gordon F. Chip Laramie III. As president of the trucking company, Linda elevated the transport side of the business to new heights. Gordon F. Chip Laramie III being the president of the crane company, updated and expanded our equipment fleet to be one of the most modern and substantial in the country.
After Linda’s passing in 2002, Chip became the president of all Laramie companies. Under Chip’s direction, Laramie worked through market fluctuations and continued to make sound business decisions growing the company’s status as a leading nationwide crane rental and heavy haul contractor. Chip promoted Patrick Henry who was an accomplished crane operator with the company, to the position of equipment manager. Patrick supported the company’s endeavors with 45+ years of industry experience and made significant contributions prior to his retirement as vice president and general manager in 2016. The companies are now under the direction of Jeff Laramie who has assumed the position of vice president and general manager. With over 18 years of industry experience, he is now carrying the company into its fifth generation and continues our goal of service excellence.
