The Manitowoc Co. board of directors has approved a plan to separate the company's crane and foodservice businesses into two independent, publicly-traded companies.  

Manitowoc anticipates making the separation through a tax-free spin-off of the foodservice business, and expects the spin-off to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

A talented group of crane operators with as much as 40 years of experience demonstrated stellar precision during the Southeast Regional CIC Crane Operator & Rigger Skills Competition in Rockingham, N.C., on Jan. 17. The scores for the top 10-12 operators were better than most of the best scores from previous regional events organized by Crane Institute Certification.