In June, the best of Liebherr’s innovation was displayed to the world. The ‘Consistently Innovative’ themed Customer Day impressed 1,500 customers from around the world – including a contingent of 80 from Australia and New Zealand.
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Various technologies were demonstrated live to guests at Liebherr’s Innovation Park, set up in the town of Ehingen in south west Germany. The Customer Day included opportunities for visitors to get hands-on with various new cranes and systems.
Game changing-Liebherr LR 12500-1.0
With the slogan “Game changer for tomorrow’s energy” and a lifting capacity of 2,500 tonnes, one of the key exhibits on display was the LR 12500-1.0.
The design of the slewing platform and the main boom sets new standards, as the uniquely wide main boom gives the crane the stability of a PowerBoom.
Liebherr calls its new boom construction the HighPerformanceBoom. Despite the enormous capacity of the crawler and the size of its individual components, Liebherr has managed to deliver it with a unique, practical concept for its economical transport.
The demand from the market for large crawler cranes is growing, for example in the petrochemicals industry and with port handling involving enormous components for offshore applications.
Driven by the energy revolution, part weights are increasing all the time, particularly when handling components for offshore wind turbines.
With its enormous lifting capacities and unique transport concept, Liebherr’s LR12500-1.0. has been designed as an economical crawler crane for global projects.
Maximum capacity with HighPerformanceBoom
The key to high lifting capacities are wide lattice booms.
The solutions to date have been a double boom like the PowerBoom or the widespread SX systems. However, the Liebherr designers chose a completely different path in the design process for the LR 12500-1.0 – the wide, powerful HighPerfomanceBoom is introduced into the turntable in an optimised way. This is made possible by a special superstructure front section, which is transported on a low-bed trailer at a width of 4 metres.
The slewing platform is supplemented by a 3.5 metre wide rear section which is also home to the two power units. Two Liebherr 6-cylinder in-line engines deliver a total of 800kW/1088hp.
They have a redundant design to increase the crane’s availability. There is no separate power pack. The two main hoist winches are also on this rear section.
Image: Prime Creative Media
Smart solutions for economical transport
The intermediate sections of the HighPerfomanceBoom each measure 10 metres in length and are reduced to an economical transport size by a refined mechanism. A separate device stabilises the lattice section during the erection process on site.
The chain is removed and transported in containers for transporting the crawler carriers, each of which weigh around 150 tonnes. The remaining chain girder is divided and moved on two low loaders.
The 25 tonne ballast slabs are identical to those used on the LR 13000. They have the same dimensions of a 20 foot container to ensure they can be transported particularly economically and can be loaded using a spreader.
The LR12500-1.0 is designed for a transport width of 3.5 metres. Only two components of the new 2,500 tonne crane have a transport width of 4 metres.
Modular boom system
The maximum hook height of around 200 metres is achieved by the new LR 12500-1.0 using a 100 metre main boom and a 108 metre luffing jib. Installed with a short length, the luffing jib also acts as a particularly powerful WV jib. The “vessel lifter” is ideal for the erection of long columns in petrochemical plants.
While the maximum length of the HighPerformanceBoom is 110 metres, it can be extended to a 155 metre boom using parts of the luffing jib.
The ballast pallet on the derrick boom of the LR 13000 acts as suspended ballast. If the crane has to operate without suspended ballast in constricted conditions, it can also operate without derrick ballast in what is known as a B0 version.
New option for the LR 12500-1.1: SPMT as a ballast wagon
The purpose of a ballast wagon is to allow a crawler crane with derrick ballast to drive on a construction site regardless of whether it has a load on the hook or not.
The crane carries as much ballast as it needs for the heaviest lift during the current job. This allows faster and more efficient working, as there is no need to stack and unstack counterweight plates, unlike with suspended ballast.
This also means that an auxiliary crane is not required. However, as a ballast wagon is not used very often, it would be helpful if its components could also be used for other types of work. Liebherr’s solution: using SPMTs as a ballast wagon.
This concept is not new, as Liebherr has already tried similar solutions with other crane models. However, SPMTs (Self- Propelled Modular Transporters) have never been controlled directly by the crane until now.
Previously, separate personnel had to communicate with the crane operator and control the SPMT so that it followed the crane’s movements.
Therefore, a solution had to be developed that made it possible to move the SPMT via the crane’s control system, just like a standard ballast wagon.
Development process
In close cooperation with the global crane and heavy-duty company Sarens and the heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer Kamag, Liebherr pushed ahead with the implementation of the concept.
Kamag developed a special control box to ensure communication between the crane and the SPMTs so that the crawler crane can control the movements of the heavy goods vehicles. One helpful aspect of this was the fact that Liebherr’s LICCON control system and the Kamag control system have a similar basic structure. Sarens has already placed
an order. The LR 12500-1.0 uses 36 SPMT axles consisting of six 6-axle units. This means that 1,400 tonnes of derrick ballast can be operated with a ballast radius of 25, 30 and 35 metres.
The all new Liebherr LTM 14006.1
Liebherr unveiled the world’s most powerful 6-axle crane on the market: the all new LTM 1400-6.1.
The 400-tonner has a 70-metre telescopic boom and is characterised by clever yet simple set-up processes. The LTM 1400-6.1 is now the smallest crane with Y-guying, making it the perfect introduction to this boom technology with its enormous increase in lifting capacity.
The new all- rounder is extremely flexible and economical thanks to a wide range of equipment, a highly functional modular boom kit and the familiar Liebherr technologies.
Driver assistance systems for increased safety on the road
In accordance with EU Regulation 2019/2144, driver assistance systems will ensure greater road safety in future.
Accordingly, multiple information systems will also help drivers of Liebherr mobile cranes to navigate areas that are difficult to see, for example on the passenger side of the crane, as well as behind or directly in front of the vehicle.
These systems are designed to significantly increase safety, especially for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
The new LTM 1300-6.4 and LTM 1400-6.1 cranes come equipped with these assistance systems as standard. These technologies will gradually be made available for all other mobile crane models in the Liebherr portfolio by mid-2026.
Remotedrive for LICCON3 crane
Following the consistently enthusiastic response from crane operators to the RemoteDrive wireless remote control on the Liebherr LTC 1050-3.1 compact crane, the company will also equip the LTM 1100-5.3 and LTM 1110-5.2 mobile cranes with this option by the end of 2024.
The RemoteDrive wireless remote control not only allows the superstructure to be operated – the crane can also be driven completely remotely via the wireless remote control.
This is a big plus in cramped working conditions, as the crane driver can position themselves directly at the narrowest point and manoeuvre the crane with a clear view of the obstruction.
What customers had to say
Frank Zammit from Two Way Cranes and his family had this to say:
“I was so impressed with everything about the Liebherr Customer Day. The theme of the day was “Consistently Innovative’, and this is hundred per cent accurate,” Frank said.
“This was my first Customer Day and I was blown away. Tom Borovina from Liebherr was there three years ago and he wondered how Liebherr was going to top that display. Well, they did, and it will be Liebherr for Two Ways going forward.
“I was also super impressed with drone display and how they made musical instruments from parts of the crane, the amount of new technology on display was flawless,” said Frank.
Image: Prime Creative Media
Nichole said this.
“The whole production surrounding the Customer Day was amazing. Photos and videos can’t do it justice, you had to see the crane display to believe it. Liebherr catered for 1,500 people on site, so the planning had to be meticulous.
“There were no boundaries as far as the cranes were concerned. You could get in some and operate them and others you could get in and have a look. You could actually get down and into the engine room of the large lattice boom crawler which was fascinating,” said Nichole.
“The theme of the day was ‘Consistently Innovative’ and Liebherr certainly lived up to that promise,” she said.
Image: Prime Creative Media
Jackson was impressed with everything he saw.
“The Customer Day was amazing, I’ve never seen so many new and varied cranes. I am in Year 10 at the moment, and I am looking to leave school. Andrew Esquilant, General Manager Mobile Cranes for Liebherr Australia has arranged for me to have two weeks work experience in the Liebherr workshop at Erskine Park. I want to understand how cranes really work.
“I was really impressed with the Liebherr factory tour, I simply didn’t know how much went into the design, engineering and manufacturing of cranes. It was a real eye opener. Hopefully, I can learn a lot from my Liebherr work experience and bring my knowledge into the family business at some stage,” said Jackson.
Xavier was front and central on the factory tour.
“I was really interested to see how much work goes into the design and manufacturing of the cranes and the amount of information the tour guide provided was amazing. It was crazy to see how many stages the cranes go through, including the welding shop and paint shop and then to see how each crane is individually tested on the testing ground was really impressive,” he said.
“The crane display was awesome, and it was next level when they remotely drove the crane out onto the fly section. When I get to work with Mum, Dad, Andre and Jackson in the family business we will only be buying one brand of crane, and that is Liebherr,” said Xavier.
Image: Prime Creative Media
Ryan Melrose, General Manager, Melrose Cranes and Rigging and wife Jessica provide their impressions of the Liebherr Customer Day.
“I expected the Customer Day to be special and to have a lot of moving parts, but it was even more of a spectacle than I had imagined. The number of large machines on display demonstrating how Liebherr is embracing the theme of the day “Continuous Innovation”, showed me they are committed to designing, engineering and manufacturing inconceivable products,” said Ryan.
“Seeing a 2,500t capacity crawler up front and personal confirmed to me how far they are pushing innovation. The physical size of the crane was incredible. The displays were impressive and a crane on top of a jib section lifted in the air isn’t something you see every day,” said Ryan.
“It was clear that Liebherr never stop with their approach to innovation and the investment across the vast array of cranes is continual. The new 400 looks fantastic in the way it is designed and built, including plenty of Australian input, and includes features we need in a six axle crane for our roads.
“Innovation was everywhere throughout the day and right through and into the night-time entertainment where we saw drones replace fireworks in a stunning display. I have never seen anything like that, and I can see the world will be replacing fireworks displays with drone shows in the future. It was a wonderfully creative idea by Liebherr,” he said.
Jessica Melrose is relatively new to the crane sector and didn’t know what to expect from the Liebherr Customer Day.
“The whole week has really been six star in terms of the service and organisation provided by Liebherr, they have thought
of everything. I’m blown away by the level of customer service, and I can see how that translates to the crane business.
“The factory tour was incredible, watching the guys working alongside state of the art manufacturing robotics and automation was really cool. I was also impressed at how the Liebherr repair workshop can take an older crane, completely strip it down and rebuild it so it looks and operates as though it was brand new. That was amazing,” said Jess.
“Like Ryan, I thought the drone show was unbelievable, like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and we certainly saw the future of fireworks right there. It made me feel that the Liebherr organisation is really forward-thinking in every way. You don’t have to know much about cranes to see how committed Liebherr is to their product and their customers,” she said.
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