German crane manufacturing company Liebherr have received an order from privately owned Canadian crane contractor GUAY for three new LR 1700.1 crawler cranes.
Planning to use the new cranes predominantly in wind farms, Guay is attempting to meet the growing demands for lifting capacity and hoisting height required in the construction of wind turbines, with Executive Vice-President of Guay Guillaume Gagnon citing the “need to invest in larger crawler cranes” as wind turbines get larger.
“We are seeing a strong increase in demand for new wind farms in our market”, said Gagnon. “The government is investing large sums in green energy to meet the growing demand”.
The three 700-tonne cranes – now the most powerful Liebherr crawlers amongst Guay’s fleet – will deliver the highest hoisting heights in the Canadian crane specialist’s fleet and will additionally be used in industry and for construction work.
“We will now be able to erect wind turbines up to 165 metres in height, and the maximum hook height of 196 metres will enable us to work on tall buildings”, Gagnon added.
Combining the transportability of the 600-tonne crawler crane class with the performance of lattice boom cranes in the 750-tonne class, the LR 1700.1 machines also adopt the latest Liebherr technology VarioTray and V-Frame.
VarioTray – a small counterweight frame that can efficiently be unbolted – and V-Frame – a hydraulically adjustable folding frame allowing the ballast radius to be adjusted between 13 and 21 metres – allow for Guay to increase “capacity and flexibility” on all the work they need and ensure for a more efficient process when handling counterweights for long boom configurations.
“We chose the LR 1700-1.0 to be able to provide our customers with a state-of-the-art crane for their future wind projects”, said Gagnon. “After completing our research, the high lifting capacity and small footprint proved to be the perfect combination for us.”
Guay, who have been working with Liebherr for “a long time”, are one of the largest privately owned crane companies in Canada and North America, operating in more than 20 outlets in Quebec, employing around 625 people and operating over 500 cranes of various types.
“We like the fact that Liebherr continually creates innovations that drive the industry forward”, continued Gagnon. “The LR 1700-1.0 is the latest model in this crawler crane class and it will also meet the requirements of the future thanks to its state-of-the-art crane technology.”