Driving Insights for Hoosier Crane

Notre Dame MSBA Students Drive Insights for a Family-Owned Business

Joseph Thuente – Business Analytics Student at University of Notre Dame

When a group of Mendoza College of Business students set out to help Hoosier Crane Service Company—an industry leader in overhead and hoist equipment—they weren’t just learning about cranes. They were gaining hands-on experience in using advanced analytics to solve real-world business problems, all while sharpening skills they’ll apply to careers in sports and beyond.

Six students—ranging from Mendoza undergraduates to MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) candidates—collaborated with Hoosier Crane Service Company, a family-owned company based in Elkhart, Indiana. Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, the team engaged in weekly virtual meetings, diving deep into Hoosier Crane’s data to unlock growth opportunities and strengthen the company’s market presence.

Garrett Atkinson, an MSBA student, led the charge on clustering analysis, while undergraduate senior Joe Thuente used data modeling to identify key trends. As MSBA student Carlo Lopez Hernandez explained, “We looked at customer acquisition, retention, and future opportunities for expansion—offering data-driven suggestions to help the company move forward.”

Transforming Sales Data into Actionable Business Strategies

Working with over 40,000 transactions, the students faced challenges typical of analytics professionals: incomplete datasets. But MSBA-Sports Analytics (SA) student Vibha Naiknavare saw this as an opportunity. “We added variables to enhance our analysis, drawing on skills developed in sports analytics and applying them in a new context,” she said.

While most students had previously worked with subscription-based datasets, this project required a different approach. Lauren Beaudreau and Morgan Wolf both key contributors to the team, helped ensure the insights were practical and actionable.

The collaboration resulted in Hoosier Crane gaining a clearer picture of untapped growth areas, thanks to heat mapping and predictive analytics that had never been conducted before.

Paul Stout – Director of Inside Sales at Hoosier Crane Service Company

A Game-Changing Experience for Students and the Company

For Paul Stout, Director of Inside Sales at Hoosier Crane, the students’ work opened new doors. “Their analysis revealed areas we hadn’t considered,” said Stout. “When you’re focused on the day-to-day operations, it’s easy to miss growth opportunities. The students’ fresh perspective and data-driven insights have shown us there’s much more we can do.”

As Hoosier Crane looks to align the students’ findings with their broader marketing strategy, the company plans to use this momentum to explore potential website redesigns and target customer outreach more effectively.

A Winning Capstone: Preparing for Careers in Sports and Beyond

Chris Ambroziak – CFO at Hoosier Crane Service Company

The capstone project wasn’t just a milestone for the company; it also represented a fulfilling conclusion for the students, many of whom entered the program with little to no coding experience. “This project tied together everything we’ve learned,” said Garrett Atkinson. “The MSBA program teaches us that you don’t need to be a coding expert to excel—you just need the drive to apply what you know.”

For the MSBA-Sports Analytics students like Naiknavare, this project was a powerful reminder of how the analytical tools used in sports can apply to a variety of industries. As Thuente quipped, “After this project, I can tell you more than you’d ever want to know about box cranes, swing cranes, and overhead cranes. Who knew that understanding sports data could also help you understand the world of heavy equipment?”

Excited by the insights provided, CFO Chris Ambroziak said, “The students not only delivered immediate value but also left us with tools to keep analyzing new data long after the project ends.”

With real-world experience under their belts, Mendoza’s MSBA students are prepared to take on new challenges in the sports world and beyond—using data to shape the future wherever their careers may lead.

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