Borger Crane Hire and Rigging Services recently took delivery of its first Liebherr LG 1750. As soon as commissioning was completed it headed straight to a New South Wales wind farm. Shawn Borger, General Manager at Borger Crane Hire is particuarly pleased with the latest addition to the fleet.
“This crane is the ultimate for the wind farm sector, and with the extra lifting capacity and boom length it will enable Borger Crane Hire to work on the larger taller turbines – featuring increased hub weights that are being installed on wind farms today,” he said.
More powerful and stable in the wind – that is a rough summary of the main benefits that Liebherr has delivered for its customers in the form of its innovative SX2 and SX3 boom systems for crawler and lattice boom cranes. The reinforced booms are particularly helpful for wind power crane operations. The SX3 version delivers a major increase in lifting capacity of 20 per cent and significantly higher wind tolerance compared to the conventional SX version.
“This crane with its SX3 boom enables us to increase our capacities, so that we can also erect these very large turbines. Its 165 metre of main boom and 12 metre jib gives us a lifting capacity of 127 tonnes. That is really enormous,” said Shawn.
Boom reinforcement makes working in higher wind speeds possible
While the lower section of the lattice boom has been extended to a width of six metres, the boom system upgrades are not simply Liebherr’s reaction to an ongoing increase in the weights of components and hoist heights for erecting wind turbines. The 28 or 42 metre boom reinforcement (which is also fully compatible with the Liebherr LR 1750/2 crawler crane) delivers significantly greater rigidity in the boom design and therefore results in less crane downtime due to wind.
The earlier systems used on the LG 1750 were calculated on the basis of a maximum wind speed of nine metres per second. The SX system now allows work to continue in wind speeds of up to ten, or in some cases even 11.2 metres per second. This is not only a major benefit for cranes working in wind farms, but is certainly a big plus for them.
The 8-axle LG 1750 is viewed by many crane businesses as the ‘go to’ crane for the wind energy industry in the 750-tonne class. The LG 1750 lattice boom mobile crane offers the flexibility of a 750 tonne crawler crane combined with the mobility of a high-speed truck crane. It thus combines the advantages of both crane types in one concept. For the LG 1750, Liebherr uses the crane slewing platform and boom system of the LR 1750 crawler crane as well as an eight-axle chassis of the latest design with speed-dependent rear-axle steering. The lattice boom mobile crane is therefore ideal for fast assembly operations in wind power, industrial construction or infrastructure. The chassis travels to the construction site with all four outriggers at a total weight of 96 tonnes. If required, the outriggers of the LG 1750 can be removed, thus reducing the weight to 48 tonnes.
Liebherr also offers a wide range of special wind power boom systems for the LG 1750, which are optimised for smaller and medium-sized turbines as well as for the latest generation of wind turbines with tower heights of more than 160 metres.
The LG 1750 is powered by an eight cylinder, water-cooled, 868 horsepower Mercedes Benz engine. This engine will finish any job with ease and easily manoeuvre around the jobsite.
The transmission system is a ZF TC-TRONIC automatic transimission with 12 forward speed and two backward.
The suspension system is an all axle system with hydropneumatic suspension. It has automatic leveling control, limiting the shift of weight from one axle to another, therefore limiting the amount of maintenance required. The suspension is also able to be hydraulically blocked. The steering system of the LG 1750 is a ZF semi-integral power steering two circuit system, with a hydraulic servo mechanism.
The brake system is made up of a service brake, an all-wheel servo brake, an exhaust pipe retarded, and hand brake acting on the 3rd, 6th and 8th axle. By including this many brakes, the Liebherr team makes sure that even if one fails, it is easily possible to stop the crane in a different way, limiting potentially dangerous situations.
Liebherr is dedicated to safety. For this reason, there are many features on the LG 1750 to combat dangerous situations. These features include a hoist limit switch, safety valves to prohibit hose and pipe rupture, a drum switch limit, a wind speed gauge, an inclination indicator and an aircraft warning control light.
Shawn says that while the Liebherr LG 1750 is a significant investment for the business, it also allows Borger to keep providing its clients with an ever-increasing fleet of high-tech cranes.
“Although this crane went straight to a wind farm project, it is designed to be equally comfortable on the large infrastructure projects where it could be lifting large bridge beams or Tunnel Boring Machines,” he said.
“As we are seeing, these infrastructure projects are demanding much faster construction times which means larger components, leading to fewer but heavier lifts, with larger capacity cranes.
“The Liebherr LG 1750 is an investment in the work we have today and the projects we will be tendering for and winning in the future. This crane enables Borger Crane Hire to provide our clients with a whole package of lifting solutions, whatever the size of the project,” said Shawn.
He goes on to discuss the Liebherr product in the fleet and why his operational team likes the brand.
“Renewing and reinvigorating our fleet is a continual process and we will always assess what is available from the crane OEMs and purchase what we see as being the best solution for our clients and our business at the time.
“The Liebherr LG 1750 is a fairly unique purchase for us as there really isn’t another crane quite like on the market. It combines the mobility of a large capacity all terrain with the lifting capacity of a large lattice boom crawler.
“When we get up into the larger capacity all terrains, we tend to lean towards the Liebherr brand. One of the reasons for this is that our operators are very comfortable with the LICCON crane control system which enables them to move easily between various capacity cranes,” said Shawn.
The LICCON3 crane control system has future-oriented power. Thanks to its completely new software and programming language as well as the faster data bus, significantly more memory and higher computer performance, the control system can be further developed more quickly in the future. This may be the case, for example, with complex applications such as VarioBase which require high performance data.
One thing was important in the development: Crane operators who already work with Liebherr cranes should quickly get to grips with the new control system. In this way, the new was combined with the tried and tested. The information on the displays has been revised and even simplified. At the same time, familiar features such as the BTT remote control terminal have remained. So anyone who has previously operated one of the LICCON2 cranes, will quickly find their way around.
All LICCON3 cranes are prepared for telematics and fleet management as standard. Via the MyLiebherr customer portal, registered customers can view, monitor and evaluate all relevant data of their Liebherr mobile cranes – and even pass it on as an operational report if they wish.
Another feature of the Liebherr brand which impresses Shawn are the enhanced safety features and performance provided by Liebherr’s VarioBase. With the space available on many construction sites often constricted, it is frequently impossible to extend all the outriggers of the mobile crane evenly.
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VarioBase from Liebherr allows the crane to be used safely and flexibly in these difficult conditions. The increased safety and ease of use take the strain off the crane driver who can concentrate fully on the hoist. The enhanced range and lifting capacity means that the system’s capacity has also been improved. VarioBase enables work to be carried out safely in constricted areas. The maximum lifting capacities are calculated individually and precisely for every situation. This ensures safe working practice with any chosen support base.
“Crane technology is developing at a rapid rate and as a leading crane hire company and lifting partner of choice, we need to ensure we are investing in the right cranes. A key part of our purchasing decisions is the service and support we receive from the crane manufacturer.
“We have an excellent relationship with local Liebherr teams, and this has been developing over the last 20 years. The product support and service is excellent and they continue to invest locally in this side of the business. We also know the teams very well in Germany and they keep us informed regarding new product developments which they think might interest us.
“We believe the arrival of the Liebherr LG 1750 heralds a new phase for Borger Crane Hire and Rigging Services and our teams are excited to welcome the crane into our fleet,” said Shawn.
