How Sky Climber pioneers suspended access solutions that prioritize innovation and safety
With a commitment to innovative suspended scaffold equipment and access solutions, Sky Climber provides reliable and tailored solutions that cater to the unique requirements of customers in a wide selection of industries like construction, maintenance, and infrastructure projects. To learn more about Sky Climber’s evolution, we sit down with Kelly Winkler, President and CEO, Chris Ogden, Vice President of Engineering and Operations, and Chad DiFranco, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
“Sky Climber is a global manufacturer of suspended scaffolding products serving a range of applications, such as construction, building maintenance, industrial, transportation, and power generation, as well as specialty applications like arenas, art installations, and civil engineering,” Chad begins. “Our product portfolio includes everything from temporary suspended scaffolding to permanent and custom engineered systems, all with a focus on pioneering innovative solutions that enhance both efficiency and safety when working at height.”
Kelly expands further: “We’re a global business with manufacturing operations in the US and Belgium but we sell in over 70 countries through our global distribution network. There are multiple companies within the Sky Climber umbrella, such as Sky Climber Access Solutions (Access Solutions) which offers equipment rental services at ten locations across the US, and Sky Climber Renewables, which was established in 2007 to focus on wind, solar, and battery energy storage projects.
“Our portfolio of companies helps us to seamlessly adapt to diverse market needs. However, each of these environments and markets brings a unique set of requirements and regulations. We implement rigorous testing procedures to ensure compliance, and we can tailor our solutions to meet local standards where required. With a fantastic team of engineering and technology experts based in Belgium, we’re able to collaborate and share experiences between Belgium and the US as we navigate regulations within specific regions and landscapes.”
Quality & safety
As the business celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2025, we ask Kelly what factors she considers crucial to such longevity and success. “Innovation is absolutely key,” she says. “Sky Climber is consistently introducing new and groundbreaking products like modular platforms, lightweight hoists, and advanced roof freight, which are contributing to new industry standards.”
Chris elaborates: “When it comes to innovation, we focus on making our products easier and safer to use, enabling our customers’ operations to be more efficient when using Sky Climber products. As Kelly mentioned, we’ve recently created a modular scaffolding system and integrated lightweight materials into our products to make them more durable, collaborating with our customers to implement changes that address their concerns or requirements.”
Continuing her reflections on the company’s longevity, Kelly says: “While we’re committed to quality, we’re also dedicated to ensuring that safety runs through the core of everything we do. Our product designs and manufacturing processes prioritize safety and reliability, supported by our rigorous factory training programs and our market-leading warranties.” 
On the topic of safety, Chris adds: “We’re also involved with industry standards associations, where we bring our knowledge and experience to help shape new or improved standards. These forums provide opportunities for us to identify ways to integrate solutions and learn from previous incidents to help operators avoid accidents before they happen. Some of our recent discussions include how to make products easier to use and reiterating the safety focus of rigging systems.”
Skilled workforce
Next, Kelly expands on Sky Climber’s approach to customer service. “Our customer-centric strategy forms the foundation of everything we do,” she says. “We tailor solutions to each client, providing rapid delivery and strong technical support for every project, whether it be a temporary application or a permanent installation. Our skilled workforce is essential to ensure we deliver this service, and we’re fortunate to have an incredible team that drives continuous improvement.
“Lastly, being a privately owned company enables us to make quick decisions and remain flexible in our strategies,” Kelly states. “This agility has shaped our company culture of being proactive and responsive, aligning our long-term strategy with the industry’s evolving demand without compromising our core values of quality, integrity, and service.”
Growth strategy
Turning to projects, Chris adds: “We strive to have the correct processes in place to successfully design, manage, and execute all kinds of projects, even those that include new product development. A great example of this is when we recently completed the Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona. This project combined our skills of designing a completely new custom solution with our existing and extensive project experience.
“The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a 6000-foot-high glass platform that provides expansive views,” he elaborates. “We had to leverage our knowledge of how suspended access can be done safely while also coordinating with other construction suppliers to ensure the project was completed on time and within budget.”
As our conversation closes, Chris and Kelly share their thoughts on the future of suspended access solutions and Sky Climber’s position within such industry trends. “We’re seeing increased demand for greater availability of data to help customers understand how to best utilize their equipment and drive value from their investment,” Chris says. “We’re positioning ourselves to leverage this demand moving forward; we’re constantly learning, and we currently have some trials underway around how to monitor certain aspects of our products. Rather than offering a single initiative, we want to be able to adapt our learning to specific customer needs.”
“We’re also implementing a new growth strategy for our renewables division, as this sector is particularly experiencing demand for new products that enhance operational safety, efficiency, and ergonomics,” Chad explains. “In the wind power industry, for instance, we’re developing a product that will lift technicians to their work up tower rather than them having to climb 300 feet. This will not only enhance efficiency but also create a more reasonable and appealing work environment for wind technicians, which is one of the fastest growing job markets in the US.”
Summarizing these ideas, Kelly concludes: “Looking forward, our priorities will remain similar; to expand our technical capabilities, enhance our global reach, and continue to lead with safety innovations. We’re also focused on expanding the footprint of our Access Solutions business by adding new dealers to the network, with an ambitious plan to add three locations per year over the next three years. Overall, we’ll continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in suspended access solutions to ensure we continuously meet customer needs both today and in the future.”