HIAB AS POP ART? IT IS WHEN IT’S FOR CHARITY

We thought we knew pretty much everything cool that’s associated with HIAB history, but clearly not. We ran across an article about a HIAB 102 truck crane that became an iconic piece of pop art and was auctioned for charity.

In 2002, HIAB’s parent company, Cargotec, invited Herman Brood, a well-known Dutch artist, to paint a HIAB truck crane during an international exhibition at the RAI Amsterdam complex. Ten years after it was painted, they auctioned it for charity to support War Child, an independent humanitarian organization that protects children from the effects of war by offering education and psychological and social support.

Herman Brood was born in the Netherlands in 1947. He was a musician (a Dutch rock ‘n’ roll star), actor, poet and an expressive modern painter, known for colourful, graffiti-inspired art that echoed pop art influences that merged 50s and 60s cultural trends, including comic books, films, and advertising, and became a popular personality at home and abroad. He died in 2001 at age 54.

The HIAB 102 truck-mounted crane of this era was a workhorse 9.3 tm manual crane designed for efficient loading and unloading. The modern HIAB X-CLX 102 adds 25 years of technological advancements and is extremely popular throughout Canada.

The crane was purchased at the 2012 auction by waste management company Afvalservice West and displayed at the Stedelijk (Amsterdam City) Museum. Putting the brilliantly creative HIAB pop art crane back in the spotlight in this way was a meaningful way for HIAB and Afvalservice to showcase their social responsibility.

Heavy equipment is never boring for us, but this certainly livened up the palette!