Heavy-Duty Deck Winches: The Driving Force Behind Maritime Muscle
E&K Equipment has been designing and manufacturing top-tier deck winch equipment for the marine industry since the mid-1980s. From keeping crane barges securely anchored during bridge construction projects to precisely positioning dredgers or construction barges for important channel-clearing operations, E&K Equipment's winches are behind some of the most critical maritime infrastructure work.
Based in Titusville, Pennsylvania, E&K Equipment has been working with John Deere engine distributor Bell Power Systems for over two decades to create powerful, turnkey marine engine packages customized for the bustling waterways and busy ports where its equipment operates.
A Family Maritime Legacy
E&K Equipment was founded in 1979 by Ken and Christy Humanic along with Christy's father, Ed Codori. The family-owned operation quickly became a leading supplier of hoisting and winching equipment, deck equipment, and attachments, as well as marine and construction equipment. As the company grew, so did the E&K Equipment team. Ken's daughter, Malissa, works as operations manager and his son, Jackson, has taken on the role of vice president.
"There are not a lot of people who do what we do for the marine and big crane industries," says Jackson. "Our winches are often out holding large barges in place when cranes are working or moving construction materials. Dredging would be another subcategory of our industry, which is mainly opening channels for ships."
Purpose-Built Marine Winches for the Golden State
Because of the company's unique offerings, E&K Equipment's solutions have spread far and wide beyond its headquarters in Pennsylvania. Its equipment is deployed across North America in applications like barge positioning, dredging, crane hoisting, and more.
With the help of Bell Power Systems, the company has been able to capitalize on California's EPA Final Tier 4 standards. California has adopted increasingly strict emissions standards that require more diesel-engine-powered equipment to meet EPA Final Tier 4 standards.
Bell Power Systems played a key role in powering E&K Equipment's Skagit RB-97 winches for California-based Pacific Maritime Group. A dredging company located in San Diego, Pacific Maritime Group needed a heavy-duty anchoring winch system that met California's emissions standards. Bell Power Systems knew that a John Deere 6068 Final Tier 4 engine would be up to the task.
"Bell Power helped us overcome engineering challenges like properly sizing the engine for the emissions equipment and redesigning the engine housing," says Jackson. "They put together a great team to make sure we got it right."
Bell Power Systems was able to leverage its engineering and engine expertise to make sure that the application was properly sized, which is critical when regulations are tightening.
"Engines have to be more carefully sized in order for the emissions equipment to work properly," says Rich McGovern, engine representative at Bell Power Systems. "We went through a lot of engineering meetings and discussions with them. Basically, we're helping customers revisit old philosophies about engine power and update those philosophies to view them through a Final Tier 4 lens as regulations continue to shift."
The result is a robust and effective winch solution that is ready to work in the highly demanding dredging and marine construction industry.
"Dredging is a high-stakes industry. If a dredge breaks down for even one day it can cause substantial profit losses, so designing equipment with the goal of minimizing mechanical issues is of the utmost importance," explains Malissa. "The environmental mandates in California add another layer of precision engineering that we were able to achieve with the help of Bell Power. The customer has told me that so far the winches have been performing with no problems and that the crew is extremely happy to be working with them."
Extreme Endurance: Plug-and-Play Power That Outworks the Rest
Aside from emissions compliance, a major factor in E&K Equipment's successful relationship with Bell Power Systems is the distributor's ability to provide complete, ready-to-install engine packages tailored to marine specs.
"The value-adds like the enclosures from Bell Power Systems have been very helpful for our world," says Jackson. "Getting a turnkey product we can put right on a machine is a huge time-saver and worth the cost."
In addition to being easy to integrate, the John Deere engine packages have to stand up to the perpetually brutal demands of the marine dredging industry.
"A year of operation is like three years on these dredging applications," says Jackson. "They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Overall, the John Deere engines have been reliable without major issues."
As the marine industry continues to evolve, E&K Equipment will keep pushing the boundaries of what their deck winches can do — and they'll rely on Bell Power Systems and John Deere engines to power that innovation. No matter how demanding the application, the two companies are lifting up entire industries, together.
