Liebherr Cranes Archives | Page 11 of 13

Liebherr builds rescue crane for German army

Liebherr has developed an armoured rescue crane for the German army to aid rescue and towing of the army’s new generation of vehicles.

Passenger protection was a high priority when the order for the G-BKF was placed, so Liebherr worked with Rheinmetall Defence to produce the armoured driver’s cab and armoured crane cab, which has been extended 250mm compared to the standard cab to provide storage space for personal protective equipment and integrate military communication equipment. The driver’s cab has a double-thickness steel bulkhead construction and the transparent armour offers ballistic protection, while the armoured crane cab is a composite build to reduce weight.

The G-BKF is mounted on a four-axle all-terrain crane chassis, using Liebherr’s own D946TI 544bhp engine. In towing mode, vehicles up to 16t can be mounted on the lift cradle, with two Rotzler Treibmatic winches mounted on the rear. A telescopic 20.9m boom can handle loads up to 20t.

Liebherr reports turnover boost for cranes business

The Liebherr Group’s tower crane and mobile crane divisions performed well in 2013, recording a turnover growth of 10.4% and 7.1%.

Liebherr’s annual results showed an increase in its cranes business, despite an overall 1.4% dip in group turnover to €8.96bn, which the firm explained as being partially due to reduced sales in the earthmoving and mining divisions. A 34% overall fall in group earnings to €364m was put down to a backdrop of “moderate economic progress”.

Liebherr’s tower crane turnover was €395.5m which the manufacturer said was due to an improved performance in Germany, Switzerland and Russia. Whilst its mobile division reported a €2.07bn turnover explained by the firm as being linked to growth in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. The maritime cranes division saw a small rise in turnover to €830.1m.

Western Europe was Liebherr’s strongest growth region with turnover up by 4.8% to €4.15bn. Eastern European business shrank by 13.2%, while the Middle East was steady at €306.5m. Significant increases were seen in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In America, Liebherr described business as positive, with turnover dipping only slightly to €1.47bn. Africa registered a 2.4% turnover rise to €606m, while the Far East/Australia region was 9.7% lower at €1.50bn.

Group investments in 2013 matched the previous year’s level at €830m, with the mobile cranes division investing €86.3m. The tower cranes division invested €73.2m with €71.1m invested in maritime cranes.

The company said that initial estimates for 2014 suggested its total turnover would be similar to 2013, with the total workforce expected to further increase.

Cranes to Morrow

Liebherr dealer and tower hire firm Morrow says it plans a major fleet expansion in 2014, with 56 cranes, worth around $70m, to be purchased or ordered this year, to meet growing demand in North America and Australasia.

At this year’s ConExpo Morrow made a major purchase, ordering close to half of its planned new cranes from Liebherr Group.

Horizontal jib EC-H models and luffing boom HC-L models were included in this order.

The rental firm said that beginning in late 2013 it had purchased a substantial number of Liebherr luffing boom cranes. These cranes were bought in order to fulfill the needs of its customers in high-density urban centres. Some of these cranes would be used for the first time in the Australian market.

Mammoet use Liebherr LR 13000’s PowerBoom

Mammoet has used the 3000t Liebherr LR 13000 crawler crane on the installation of legs of the 940t 87m long Aeolus jack-up vessel. The parallel boom of the LR 13000, referred to as PowerBoom was used for this for the first time on the job in Bremerhaven, Germany.

The vessel had been towed to Bremerhaven in order for the four jack-up legs to be installed. The job was the first time the LR 13000 had been equipped with the PowerBoom. This means the double lattice mast booms extend over a length of 48m in parallel to one another. The function is designed to give the crane greater stability and increase the load capacity by about 50% compared to the standard boom, out to a reach of about 35m.

The work on the jack-up vessel started with what the manufacturer described as the most technically challenging lift. The first leg had to be installed through the structure of the heavy-load crane on the “Aeolus”. Together with a floating crane, Matador 3, the LR 13000 lifted the steel tube off its transport barge, aligned it vertically and transferred it all the way across. With its 65t hook block and fastening equipment the crawler crane was lifting a gross load of more than 1000t at a reach of 23m.

Using large pulley blocks, the pipe was turned into the correct position whilst being lowered. Mammoet had a hydraulic fastening system developed especially for this order. Once the stilts had been installed, the “spud cans” were fitted; these huge feet were intended to allow the working vessel to stand securely on the seabed later on. These elements weigh 180t and were lowered onto the base of the dock basin before the ship was positioned over them. Industrial divers then secured the feet to the bottom ends of the pipes using fastening equipment pulled upwards by the crawler crane through the jack-up legs.

Mammoet crawler installs legs on ship

Mammoet has used its LR13000 to install four platform legs on Van Oord’s newest wind turbine installation vessel, the Aeolus.

The crane was assembled at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany. Four 87m long steel platform legs each weighing 920t already settled into their jacking position on the 139m long and 38m wide vessel.

For the job Mammoet designed, fabricated and delivered tailor-made top lifting tools and a tailing frame to ensure that the legs, that have no lifting points could be hoisted securely.

In addition to the platform legs, Mammoet also installed four spudcans, using a special engineering method. The method involved placing the partly rigged spudcans on the seabed, moving the Aeolus over it and connecting the spudcan with the leg with the use of cranes and divers.

LR1300 crawler’s complex cement lift

Indian firm Bhoir Group used its 300t Liebherr LR 1300 crawler crane to complete a complex lift at a cement plant in Chattisgarh, India. The crane was hoisted 8.3t with an 86m main boom, 89m luffing jib and derrick with 50t of suspended counterweight. The lift was carried out at a radius of 53m and the load was placed at a height of 118m.

The rental firm said that without the LR 1300 a bigger crane would have been needed to execute the lift, thus requiring more space and causing higher costs. The Bhoir Group has four LR 1300 crawler cranes and has used them for several high-rise and heavy lift erections.

The manufacturer said that it believes that the main boom and luffing jib combinations available on the LR 1300 made the crane a one of a kind when it came to work in power plants, steel plants, cement plants, petrochemical plants and all other types of erection works. The crane can be fitted with a maximum of 98m of main boom, a maximum of 113m of luffing jib and various fixed jibs including windmill fixed jibs of 7m and 8m.