For Cameron Curbelo, Taking Care of Business Means Taking Care of People

When Industrial Inspection & Analysis (IIA) acquired Aerial & Crane Experts, Inc. (ACE) of Sonora, California, in May 2024, no one was more excited than ACE Vice President Cameron Curbelo, who saw opportunities everywhere.

“The size and reach of IIA, and the resources we would have access to as part of IIA, was exciting and eye opening to me,” says Cameron, now responsible for Inside Sales at IIA’s Sonora office.

“Prior to the acquisition, I would often have to do some serious shopping to figure out how to help a client with a particular problem. Now, I can likely find the service and expertise they need within IIA,” he says. “Working with IIA’s management groups to come up with plans to grow and improve the company … that’s all very exciting to me.”

Now part of IIA’s Lift Services group, the Cal-OSHA and Fed-OSHA Maritime accredited team in Sonora has decades of experience testing a wide range of lift equipment, including cranes, hoists, digger derricks, stevedoring gear, insulated aerials, rigging, fall protection systems and more.

Cameron’s career journey in the lift industry quickly took off after he joined a major California equipment services company in 2011. Starting in data entry, Cameron soon took on additional responsibilities, which ultimately led to the role of Operations Manager.

Leveraging that experience, he accepted a management role at Aerial & Crane Experts (ACE) in 2018, becoming involved with every aspect of the company — from marketing and human resources to operations and finance.

“When I stepped into the lift equipment world in 2011, I hardly knew what a crane was. These days, it’s a really interesting industry to be in—especially here in California, where we’re certifying the cranes that are building the high-speed rail systems throughout our state,” says Cameron.

In fact, interesting job sites are one of the things he likes best about his job.

“You really get to see some cool things in this line of work — things the public doesn’t typically see,” says Cameron. “I’ve worked on container cranes in San Francisco Bay, lift equipment inside a sugar processing plant, and the massive overhead cranes used in mountainside tunnels to support hydro projects.”

Thanks to a federal maritime accreditation (Fed-OSHA Maritime), the Sonora team is also qualified to inspect and certify lift equipment associated with maritime operations.

“Any work that is ship-to-shore or shore-to-ship needs to have federal maritime certifications,” explains Cameron. “We help a lot with barge cranes, lifting beams and spreader bars.”

Every day brings new sights, new challenges and new things to learn. And Cameron wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I enjoy the challenge of the job more than anything — doing the research to understand laws and regulations, how to test the equipment, what documentation is required, and things like that,” he says. “I enjoy having something tossed at me that I have never seen before.”

When he’s not meeting challenges head-on, he enjoys kicking back with his wife, young daughter and son at their home in historic Columbia, California. While his kids bring out Cameron’s softer side, his guitar brings out his passion for heavy metal music. The skilled guitarist has been playing since the age of 11, including on stage as part of death metal band NeuroButcher. (Fun fact: Cameron’s co-worker Matt Adams, an Operations Manager at IIA’s Sonora office, is also a bandmate. The two have been playing guitar together since sixth grade.)

From family man to manager to metalhead, the common thread in Cameron’s life is caring about people.

“I am a people person. I care deeply about my technicians and the other managers I interact with. I like to take care of people, and I very much think that comes from my mother,” says Cameron. “When I was a child, she worked in the District Attorney’s office as a victim witness advocate. She also worked as a probation officer for quite a while. It all centered around helping people, especially kids.”

Cameron’s caring nature has earned the loyalty of customers and employees alike, and fuels his commitment to safety.

“Safety is absolutely #1 — it’s always on my mind. We’re out there making sure equipment that other operators use every day is safe and effective, so nobody gets hurt. Our guys put their names on the line every day when they go out and do these inspections,” says Cameron.

“It’s important to me as a manager to make sure our people have the knowledge and support they need to do their job well. At the end of the day, it all boils down to the safety of the individuals operating the equipment. It’s a very, very important side of this business.”