In June 2009, the Liebherr Group celebrated 60 years of operation and also marked 40 years in the crane manufacturing business. The company invited close to 3,000 customers from around the world to spend time at its mobile crane plant in Ehingen, Germany. The objective was clear – to strengthen client relationships and the theme was no surprise: “40 years of mobile cranes from Ehingen. Always you and us together.”

Apart from a walk-through of Liebherr’s sophisticated and newly expanded facility, guests were also shown the new LTR 11200 telescopic crawler and the LTM 1350-6.1 six-axle all terrain crane. Liebherr also displayed some components of a soon-to-be-manufactured 3,000t crawler which is still on the drawing board. This massive LTR 13000 may roll out of Ehingen after 24 months or so. However there was no release date mentioned.

The LTR 11200 tele-crawler features a 100m telescopic boom and a narrow 4.8m track width allowing it to manoeuvre, fully loaded, between wind power units. An optional extra is hydraulic steering assistance for optimised cornering. The six-cylinder Liebherr turbo diesel engine delivers 270 kW. Both crane and outrigger operations are possible by remote control. This crane has been derived from the nine-axle LTM 11200-9.1 all-terrain crane and mounted on crawler track assemblies from the LTR 1350-1.

Liebherr is positioning its 60t LTF 1060-4.1 as an economical alternative to the taxi crane. It has a 40m telescopic boom weighs a total of 42t with a 10.2t counterweight and has a 16m long double swing-away jib. Some main modules for the slewing platform and boom have been adopted from the three-axle LTM 1055-3.1. The same slewing platform with a separate crane drive is installed in the LTR 1060 telescopic boom crawler. Maximum radius for the LTF 1060-4.1 is 48m, tip height is 56m and the four-axle chassis with low weight per axle allows it to meet road regulations in many countries.

The LTM 1350-6.1 is the most powerful six-axle crane in its class and features a 70m telescopic boom, 78m luffing fly jib, 42m fixed jib and a Y-telescopic boom suspension. The carrier is powered by a Liebherr eight-cylinder turbo diesel engine generating 450 kW. The crane has a Liebherr four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with an output of 180 kW. The maximum travel speed is 80 km/h and weight is 72t.

Last year Liebherr launched the new 600t LR 1600/2 crawler crane which has been optimised for heavy transport. “It has already proved to be a best-seller, with fifteen already delivered and 25 more on order,” said Christoph Kleiner, general manager, Liebherr-Werk Ehingen.

The Ehingen plant recently saw the erection of a new crawl er crane assembly building. This increased the indoor working area of the plant by 20,000m² to a total of 184,000m². The new building can output 150 cranes a year with a single shift of 110 workers.

The new building embodies Liebherr’s new thinking with regards to the handling of steel work during the production process. “The core element is a U-shaped assembly line with a clear, well defined direction of movement,” explains Hubert Hummel, general manager, Liebherr-Werk Ehingen. “This reorganisation process was needed because of the trend toward cranes with heavier individual elements, in some cases weighing up to 60t.”

The company has also planned a couple of exciting introductions at bauma show next year. Under development is the three-axle LTC 1045-3.1 which can take on jobs typi cally done by telescopic boom crawlers and also handle specific compact crane tasks. The LTC 1045-3.1 combines the advantages a two-cab crane during road travel and crane operation but has a single cab that can be repositioned for travel and road handling.

The LR 13000, also on the drawing board, is capable of moving on its own to a construction site with its sus pended ballast despite an enormous lifting capacity of 3,000t. It travels like a much smaller crawler, with the load suspended from the hook and is targeted at power stations, refineries, heavy construction and large scale industrial projects where large loads need to be lifted. The concrete ballast slabs weighing 25t, of which the crane needs 1,850t, are cast in a size that fits into a 20- foot container for easy transport.

This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of the LICCON (Liebherr Computer Control) system. In 1989, LICCON 1 consisted of three basic components – CPU, power supply and monitor – and could handle and track crane movements. It was the first time a CRT monitor had been supplied as a standard feature on a construction machine. “When we exhibited this at the bauma show in 1989, the industry viewed this with the greatest scepticism,” recalled Erwin Morath a senior design engineer with Liebherr-Werk Ehingen. “Yet today, it’s difficult to imagine a freely programmable graphic display not being included on every mobile and crawler crane.”

There are over 300 micro processors in a crane and Liebherr continued with its development to make additional forms of visualisation possible. The new LICCON 2 features a radio remote control system allowing the crane operator to carry out outrigger support functions and hook and block folding fly jib attachment.

If a radio link is available, a Liebherr service expert in Ehingen can perform or observe all testing and service functions in direct dialogue with the crane operator or mechanic. “This technology is not easy to copy and is largely independent of the component supply industry,” adds Morath.

Visitors were also treated to a drive-by parade of Liebherr cranes with the oldest one built in 1961 and still operational.