Liebherr Delivers Third LR11000 Crawler Crane to MAXIKraft

MAXIKraft has taken delivery of another Liebherr LR 11000. The new crawler crane is now the third of this type to join the group of companies’ crane fleet. MAXIKraft appreciates the highly flexible nature of the 1,000t machine from the Liebherr factory in Ehingen. At Dünfus wind farm, a few kilometres north of Cochem, it assembled a Vestas 5.6 MW wind turbine during its first deployment. It had to lift components weighing up to 100t to a height of 170m.

“With its special configurations, the LR 11000 offers enormous lifting capacities for wind power assemblies. But it also offers flexible deployment options for other applications,” says company owner Maik Kanitzky, justifying the investment in what is now the third Liebherr 1,000-tonne machine. MAXIKraft uses several large lattice boom cranes made in Ehingen.

Among them are LG 1750, LR 1700-1.0, LR 1800-1.0 and LR 11000 type cranes. Steffen Lehmann manages the deployment of the large cranes at MAXIKraft. He elaborates: “For us, the highly flexible set-up versions and boom combinations of the Liebherr lattice boom cranes are the decisive factor. Having permanent control of all parameters of a lift is important. Our drivers rate the LICCON2 control system positively. On three large screens, it provides real-time information about load, winch pull, boom position, round pressure, centre of gravity, and many other parameters – plus the extreme sensitivity of the equipment when driving, luffing, and turning.”

The first deployment of the brand new LR 11000 took the 1,000t machine to Dünfus wind farm, where MAXIKraft had been commissioned to assemble a Vestas 5.6 MW wind turbine. The V150-5.6 MW has a rotor diameter of 150m, a hub height of 169m, and a total height of 244m. This makes it one of the most powerful wind turbines in Germany. The heaviest part is the gondola, which weighs around 100t.

On 19 April, crane driver Marco G. was able to lift the gondola onto the tower with a special yoke after it had been approved by the site manager. It was estimated to take around two hours. Important argument for the deployment of crawler cranes: After picking up the gondola, the crane had to travel about 20m on excavator mats to reach the assembly position. For the Dünfus deployment, MAXIKraft configured the LR 11000, powered by a Liebherr 8-cylinder 500 kW engine, in the SL10DF2BV set-up version with a 162m main boom, 21m lattice type fixed jib and 42m derrick boom. The crane is equipped with six winches as standard. These move two hook blocks, the luffing gear for the main boom and luffing jib as well as the V-frame for ballast positioning.

Immediately after assembly of the last rotor blade, the 1,000t machine was dismantled and will travel with more than 50 trucks to the next site. The compact dimensions of the components are particularly advantageous here. The massive expansion of wind power will “gift” the large blue/silver MAXIKraft crawler cranes many more spectacular deployments.

Source Liebherr