Enter the 2012 ESTA Awards

It is time to enter your company for the prestigious 2012 ESTA Awards of Excellence.

ESTA, the European Association of Abnormal Road Transport and Mobile Cranes, is a pan-European association for national trade associations representing mobile crane rental, heavy haulage and abnormal load transport companies.

The annual ESTA Awards of Excellence have developed into being today's most prestigious European event for all ESTA members, affiliated companies, end users and manufacturers working in heavy haulage, transport and the lifting industry. Cranes covered include wheeled mobiles, crawlers, knuckle boom loader cranes, other truck cranes and truck mounted access platforms.

Entries are invited for the categories as follows:

* Safety Award

* Transport job; under 120 tonnes

* Transport job; above 120 tonnes

* Lifting job; telescopic crane under 120 tonnes

* Lifting job; telescopic crane above 120 tonnes

* Lifting job; lattice boom crane

* Combined techniques; lifting and transport

* SPMT (self propelled modular transporter)

* Innovation or Development of the year; end user

* Innovation or Development of the year; manufacturer

* Gino Koster Award (Personality of the Year).

To be eligible for entry your company needs to be a member of an ESTA national association in Europe. Affiliate members of ESTA are also eligible for the innovation award. The Innovation award has two categories: manufacturers and end users.

Entries are actively encouraged from all eligible member companies in their national associations, large or small. Contributions would be particularly welcome from Germany and the United Kingdom as these countries are under represented. Entries from across the board have enjoyed success in previous rounds of awards.

Smaller companies should not feel that the contest is only for large operators. In 2010 a small company, Gunderlund, won the Safety award for a work at height rail system on the main boom. A year earlier another small company, JJ Kraner, won the Crane Job of the Year up to 100 tonnes.

Søren Jansen, ESTA general secretary and Wim Richie, ESTA Award juror co-ordinator, are available for information and other support required. They look forward to receiving the award entries that will reflect the high quality of innovative ideas and technical solutions used to perform the jobs. Projects must have been carried out between January and December 2011.

For the Gino Koster Award, formerly the Personality of the Year Award, suggestions are welcomed for potential candidates. It should be for a person who has dedicated their working life to the industry and achieved remarkable results that have helped the industry to grow and develop.

The ESTA 2012 dinner and awards party will be held on Thursday 19 April 2012 at the hotel Hilton Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France.

For more information visit www.khl.com/events/esta2012 and www.esta-eu.org/awards