Jackie O’Connell, President and CEO of IPS CRANES – formerly IPS Worldwide – in Vadnais Heights and Duluth, grew up on a farm and had an affinity for tractors and large equipment. As a young child, she was self-sufficient, had a creative imagination and was a problem-solver. She began attending college classes when she was in high school. At Augsburg College, she majored in International Business with a concentration in Japanese language.

The summer before her senior year in 1995, she interned for IPS, quickly impressed her boss and was offered a part-time position during the school year. Most likely, she would’ve progressed to working full-time days for IPS after graduation … except she received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Japan. After that, she worked for an import-export company which satisfied a desire for travelling abroad.

A year later, O’Connell began her ascent to the top of IPS, when the owner Tom Holly, founder of IPS, called her with an offer she couldn’t refuse … to return to IPS and eventually become his successor. In 2001, O’Connell worked on the company’s first major acquisition – purchasing the American and Ohio Locomotive Crane assets of Ohio Industries, which made IPS a full-line OEM manufacturer and service provider. O’Connell was instrumental in the growth of the company, leading the way for business development as well as acquisitions. By 2013, she was the President and CEO of IPS Worldwide.

O’Connell continued to build the locomotive and crawler crane business and expanded into new markets. In 2016, she launched a new business: IPS Metro: a Women Owned Business Enterprise certified company that manufactures a patent-pending mobile crane, relatively lightweight and emission-free, for the subway transit systems. In 2017, she acquired American and Ohio Locomotive Crane Company, solidifying IPS CRANES as the only OEM manufacturer for American and Ohio locomotive cranes and the industry’s broadest and deepest range of custom crane manufacturing, services and resources. In less than 20 years, O’Connell has grown IPS from three employees to nearly fifty employees.

O’Connell says, “Our employees at IPS CRANES Duluth were once apprentices; now, they’re running the shop – a full-service repair/rebuild facility for all types of track and crawler cranes. We offer career positions for painters, welders, mechanics, electricians, hydraulic specialists and others who may have been called in for emergency repairs or to be part of a big project.”

O’Connell describes herself as “resilient and enthusiastic, the champion of IPS, its brand and her team.” And, her greatest accomplishment: “Seizing the opportunity to become a custom crane manufacturer. We’ve positioned the company as the premier custom crane manufacturer for the crane industry. We’re able to differentiate the experience for our customers when it comes to building cranes, remanufacturing cranes and servicing cranes. IPS CRANES was selected by The World’s Greatest TV! show as the best of the best in the crane industry.”