European crane hire company, MSG Krandienst, has completed a series of dual lifts with its Liebherr cranes to lift an 84-tonne lock gate into place on the Gambsheim Rhine lock.
- Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest news from Australasia’s lifting industry.
- Don’t miss a lift and subscribe to our monthly magazine.
- Download our latest digital magazine to catch up on the biggest news and developments in the crane industry.
Constructed in 1974, the 50-year-old weir is being renovated over a four-year period. After undergoing repairs for the past ten months, the lock gate at France’s Gambsheim Rhine lock – one of Europe’s most important waterways due to the near 100 ships sailing through daily from all over the continent – was ready to be reinstalled. According to Project Manager, Christian Spreuer, the surrounding works made conditions extra difficult.
“Due to the ongoing renovation work, we had very little space available for our cranes,” he said. “That was the crux of this job.”
Operating in a constricted working area and having to operate with a significant distance between the cranes and the gate’s final assembly place, MSG deployed its Liebherr LTM1450-8.1 and LTM 1650-8.1 to complete the job. Because of the constricted conditions, a complex lift ensued, beginning with the vehicles needing to be placed right next to each other; then, after the steel gate was erected by two smaller auxiliary cranes, the Liebherr cranes took over the job, rotating the 84-tonne gate by 180 degrees, guiding the gate in a wide arc around the 450-tonne Liebherr which required the LTM 1650-8.1 lifting over the smaller mobile crane, making full use of its 42m-long lattice jib on the extended telescopic mast. For Spreuer, the operation was enhanced by his “favourite…indispensable” tool, LICCON.
“I planned this lifting operation here at the lock with the help of the LICCON work planner,” he said. “It lets you see which exact load capacity values are available any point for this crane with this configuration.”
The Gambsheim Rhine lock renovation is expected to be completed in 2026.
READ MORE:
- Liebherr’s newest crane revealed.
- “Powerful and innovative” Liebherr crane purchased by Mexican crane hire company.
- Advanced Cranes deploys Liebherrs on LXRP dual lifts.
