Crane and Rigging Prep for Ashley County Mill and Timber Crews

The Crossett mill and why it matters for lifting

Georgia-Pacific took over the Crossett Lumber Company's assets in 1962. The site shrank in 2019 when GP closed its bleached board operation, but the company has kept investing in consumer tissue. In December 2024 it announced a $90 million project to add converting capacity for bath tissue, including Angel Soft, with about 50 new jobs and first production expected in 2026. GP said that would bring its spending at Crossett since 2019 past $250 million.

Inside a paper mill, lifts are rarely simple. Rolls, drive components and converting machinery go in through congested buildings; outage work runs around the clock on a fixed window; and loads often have to be set next to running equipment. Operators need solid load-chart habits, and riggers need to calculate center of gravity and sling angles on odd-shaped parts. We don't speak for Georgia-Pacific or its contractors, but those are the skills the exams test.

Timber, sawmills and the wood yard

A 2019 business profile put forest products at about 26 percent of county employment and named Barnes Companies in Hamburg and Bemis in Crossett among the larger employers after Georgia-Pacific.

Pine timber built this county, and logging, chip, and lumber operations still move material all over it. Knuckle-boom loaders, articulating cranes on trucks and service cranes keep that equipment running. If your job is mostly a truck-mounted knuckle boom, the articulating crane course is the closer fit; maintenance crews on service trucks should look at the service truck crane program.

Widening U.S. 82

U.S. 82 is the county's main east-west road, and it has been widened in stages. A federal highway report lists a widening of Highway 82 east of Crossett, from County Road 411 to Highway 425, with an estimated total cost of about $34.5 million. A March 2023 congressional funding request asked for money to widen the 20 miles between Hamburg and Montrose from two lanes to five. In March 2026 ARDOT held a public meeting in Hamburg on a proposed roundabout where Highways 82, 425 and 52 meet east of Crossett.

Widening jobs bring box culverts, bridge extensions, sign structures and utility relocations, each with crane picks next to live traffic. New lanes often sit on fresh fill that has not fully settled, so outrigger placement has to account for compaction and the edge of the work zone.

Weather and ground in the far south

• Long, humid summers: plan water, shade and earlier starts on heavy-rigging days
• Spring storm lines and tornado warnings: have a stop-work and boom-down plan before the sky turns
• Low, wet ground near the Ouachita and Saline river bottoms: check bearing capacity and use mats
• Occasional winter ice: inspect wire rope and outrigger pads before the first lift

Certification, without the guesswork

Arkansas has no state crane license. Private-sector sites answer to federal OSHA through the Little Rock Area Office, and the construction crane rule, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, calls for accredited operator certification plus an employer evaluation, along with qualified riggers and signal persons. Our requirements guide walks through the details.

You can sit the written test through Online Proctored Testing, at a test center or at an event. The hands-on practical always happens at an accredited practical site. From Crossett, Monroe and Shreveport in Louisiana and Little Rock are all realistic drives.