New Cranes

A new double boom system to increase the lifting capacity of lattice boom cranes has been launched by Liebherr in Germany. Capacity can be increased by more than 50% “with relatively little effort,” the manufacturer said.

At the beginning of July a convoy of low-loaders pulled out of the Liebherr plant at Ehingen in Germany, carrying the components of an LR 11350 crawler crane. The destination was the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain. That was where the new crane, owned by Usabiaga, made its first lift.

US crane manufacturer Shuttlelift has a new series of double-beam mobile gantry cranes. The rubber-tyred DB Series is available in six models, from the 60,000 pound (27 tonne) capacity DB 30 to the 400,000 pound (181 tonne) capacity DB 200. The 140,000 pound (63.5 tonne) capacity DB 70, in standard configuration, has a hook height of 25 feet (7.62 metres). Its clear span is 35 feet (10.67 m) and it is has a 27 foot (8.23 m) wheelbase.

The first unit has now been delivered to German based crane company Mayer headquartered in the town of Burgberg in the south of the country. The company put the crane straight to work on a difficult and complicated job, replacing the starting ramps of one of the two ski jumps in Oberstdorf in the Bavarian Alps.

Liebherr has introduced a new efficient, low emission mobile harbour crane, the LHM 550, following its successful test and evaluation trials at the port of Odense in Denmark, where it is still working on routine port handling duties. The Liebherr LHM 550 has been designed for all types of general cargo, containers and bulk commodities with its 74 metre lifting height and 150 tonne capacity.

Crane and engine manufacturers have been faced with a range of choices and challenges concerning current and future engine emission laws. At the start of 2011, substantially-reduced emission limits came into force for off-road diesel engine manufacturers.

Palfinger, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, has introduced two new 20-metric-ton class models, the PK 23502 and the PK 26002-EH. The PK 23502 knuckleboom crane, capable of tilting upwards 15° degrees (Power Link Plus), enables maximum movement geometry and broadens the type of work the crane can do.

Linden Comansa’s LCL Series of luffing jib cranes will be completed in September, with the launch of a fourth model, the LCL 165. In just more than a year, the Spanish manufacturer has completely renewed its range of luffers. The LCL 190 crane was presented at Bauma 2010, while the LCL 280 and LCL 310 were launched in March 2011.

Babcock and ZPMC commissioned the new 1,000 tonne gantry crane today at the Rosyth dockyard in Scotland. The 90 metre high 120 metre span crane lifted a mere 150 tonne load today in front of 1,200 people to kick off the formal load testing programme.

Liebherr Ehingen has installed a new highly efficient, environmentally friendly paint system for large crane components. The aim of the investment is to apply a top quality paint finish to large components in a continuous process -economically. Liebherr says that the installation includes the largest capacity paint conveyor system in the world, in that it can handle individual items of up to 50 tonnes in weight.