As of August 31, Nancy C. Caralla, coined “Lady Crane,” has officially closed the doors on Gulf Crane & Equipment, the company her father had founded in 1971 and which she had owned and operated since her father’s death in 2004.
It was not without a sense of sadness and fond memories that the decision was made to retire the family owned business and Caralla stated, “The time had arrived to completely move forward while keeping the solid foundation poured by my father, and carrying forth the business morals, dignity and integrity which Gulf Crane & Equipment was built upon.”
That is not to say that Caralla is out of the crane industry. After all, this is a woman who once said she had “cranes in her blood,” and Caralla will be the first to tell you that if you need a crane, crane advice, a crane operator, crane anything, she will certainly be available to help you out through Gulf Winds Renewable-Construction (GWR-C), the company Caralla founded in September 2011. GWR-C is an international company specializing in renewable energy construction projects and headquartered in New Port Richey, Fla., with satellite offices located in Durham, N.C., and Genoa, Italy.
Now Caralla, seeing increased interest and necessity in wind energy safety, has partnered with professional wind industry associates and formed the National Wind Technician Organization to give the growing number of professional wind technicians their own venue in which to find products, services and safety education tailored to their professional needs.
The National Wind Technician Organization is able to provide safety training services for all personnel involved in the process of building, maintaining, operating, and managing wind turbines and wind sites.
Scott Battles, National Wind Technician Organization’s northwest and midwest operations manager stated, “My father was an OSHA compliance officer. I did not realize that having him hammer safety into my head when I was young would be such a strong focus later in my life.”
Battles also is a professional wind technician and wind industry educator, who carries a “great interest in and passion for the safety of the wind industry professionals.” In his role as educator, Battles follows his father’s lead, preaching safety to his students every day.
Battles has certifications from FCC licenses to G.E. 1.5 wind turbines to Microwave which have been a surprisingly good mix of knowledge bases.
A solid and unique background in communication electronics, railway, wind turbines and wind farm construction enables Battles to provide professionals and students with first-hand knowledge, along with practical experience when discussing various aspects of products, service, and safety topics.
At the opposite side of the country Matthew Soto serves as National Wind Technician Organization’s southwest operations manager.
“We are certified to train individuals in the use of the Skylotec Milan rescue and evacuation devices. We can train you and your employees in harness inspection, basic rescue techniques and evacuation techniques all at your site or location. Membership to the National Wind Technician Organization will entitle members to a discount on equipment, for example, harnesses, rescue devices, etc.”
Soto has been in the wind industry for more than six years and comes to the National Wind Technician Organization with experience in operations and maintenance, commissioning, site construction, large corrective, recruitment, technical and safety training. Recently, Soto has been focusing on the safety aspect of training entry-level wind technicians in the use of fall protection and working at heights training and has spent a year-and-a-half as a technical instructor and safety trainer. Soto is certified in the following areas:
• Miller Fall Protection Competent Person
• Skylotec Competent Person (Milan A-024 and A-020)
• Siemens Level 2 Basic Harness Instructor
• Siemens Safety and Rescue Instructor, Basic Rescue and basic Evacuation
• ICM Personal Fall Protection Equipment Product Knowledge
Additional members of the National Wind Technician Organization team are:
Nancy C. Caralla, East Coast & International operations manager
Mike Kyes, ITT administrator
Paul Bosworth, UK division administrator
Tony DelMonaco, organization photographer
National Wind Technician Organization is preparing to open individual memberships for professional wind technicians, wind industry educators, wind industry safety professionals and construction professionals worldwide.
Memberships are expected to be available in September, featuring the National Wind Technician Organization “Turbine Card,” filled with tailored discounts from well-known nationwide vendors, franchises and companies only for National Wind Technician Organization members and handpicked by the organization. A few of our membership partners offering their tailored discounts are: La Quinta Inns & Suites, 1800flowers.com and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
The “Turbine Card” will be offered at the low one-year membership fee of $50.00.
Students will be offered a twenty-five percent discount off the yearly membership fee: $37.50. Student ID required.
Caralla has long proclaimed, “We’re ALL In It Together!” and the professionals in the wind industry are no exception.
For more information, visit www.nationalwindtech.org
E-mail: [email protected]
National Wind Technician Organization Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nationalwind.technicianorganization
And follow them on Twitter: @NationalWindTec
National Wind Technician Organization
St. Petersburg, Fla. 33708 (919) 201-1512.
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