About Icon Group

The ICON Vision:   We will revolutionize the shoring industry by achieving new benchmarks of quality that exceed current industry standards through creativity, teamwork, and partnerships.

History:  In 1980 Brian Crandall managed a heavy highway construction company that installed water and sewer lines in New York City.  They used conventional shoring methods which resulted in high costs of labor and time.  Searching for alternatives, Brian visited projects in Germany and discovered a German shoring system called "Slide Rails".  The new system reduced total shoring costs by 40% over conventional sheeting for water and sewer lines, and it was obvious that there were many more applications for this equipment. 

Seeing this opportunity, Brian incorporated Icon Equipment Distributors in 1982 to provide shoring services to the contracting industry.  As an innovator for the industry, Icon was the first shoring distributor to receive engineering approval for the slide rail system from the City of New York, the NY/NJ Port Authority and dozens of Transportation Departments throughout the United States.  From the start, Icon developed a reputation as a company who provided safe shoring solutions for both small and large construction projects.  Even some of the most difficult excavations were able to be completed with ease due to the modularity of the system.

In 1986 ICON was approached by a contractor to design and submit plans to the City of New York for installing precast box culverts.  New ground was broken when Icon used an Icon designed "Super" slide rail system for the installation of 7,000 feet of culvert at a depth of 26 feet.  This was the first time the City had approved precast box culverts, and the results were impressive for the City and the contractor.  Considerable savings were made in job completion time and the labor and equipment costs dropped dramatically. 

ICON tackled their first International project in 1988 working with Harbert/Jones.   The project was a $100 million dollar sewer project involving 90,000 linear feet 32' deep in Cairo, Egypt.  The Icon team designed and supplied a trenching system, supplied site specific engineering, and trained employees in equipment use at the project site in Egypt.  The system was such a success that the project was completed well ahead of schedule. 

The 1990's brought growth to the organization with the opening of branch offices in several East Coast cities. Major projects were undertaken for the reconstruction of the Westside Highway in New York City. Systems were also designed and supplied for Washington Group International in Aswan, Egypt for the construction of water mains and sewers.  Many other major projects were completed in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, Cleveland, Boston, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. 

As the popularity of the system increased, the company grew out of it's facilities and in 1996 a fifteen acre office/factory complex was purchased for the design and manufacturing of a 100% American made slide rail system.  Based on ICONs prior construction experience, the newly designed system was strengthened for durability and ease of use in the field.  These ground breaking design improvements were an instant success. 

In 2002 ICON bought the Duralite product line of Washington Aluminum Company.  This purchase gave ICON a greater range of shoring solutions including lightweight aluminum boxes that can be put together by hand.   By providing factory-direct  pricing and delivery ICON is able to reduce distribution costs and pass greater savings to our customers.

In 2004 Icon became the national distributor and dealer for Bohrtec, Gmbh. Bohrtec is the worlds leading manufacturer of a guided auger boring system that utilizes pilot tube technology to install sewers directly on line and grade. The addition of the Bohrtec machines will enhance our ability to take on more interesting and challenging projects in the future.
 
Currently, the ICON Group serves over 1,600 clients across the U.S. and more than 6,000 slide rail projects have been completed to date. Built on site at Icon's manufacturing facilities, slide rail systems are rented and sold to contractors throughout the United States.  In addition to slide rail systems, the ICON Group provides steel and aluminum trench boxes, wire slings and lifting devices, hydraulic shoring, and road plates. 

The idea of a full service shoring company that provides a wide range of equipment, onsite field technicians, and site specific engineering has been a hallmark of the way Icon does business since it's inception. The Group continues to extend it's reach by improving customer service, expanding the rental fleet, and developing new systems to solve our clients shoring problems.