INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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DECEMBER 2013
HEAVY LIFTING
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position counterweight system.
“The 31000’s four crawler
concept was born out of the
need to make shipping as
easy as possible, as was the
segmented carbody and the
single main boom (as opposed
to a twin boom),” explains
Maloney. “Similarly, the VPC
counterweight minimises the
volume of counterweight as it
automatically adjusts, balancing
the rear moment needed to
offset the forward moment
caused by the load and radius.”
For the offshore heavy lift
sector, Liebherr-Werk Nenzing
has developed the TCC 14000-
400, a combined offshore and
mobile harbour crane with a
maximum under hook height of
68 m. The crane can be fixed on
a floating installation barge or
used as an offshore crane under
offshore conditions.
“As an offshore crane it is able to lift
heavy loads up to a maximum of 400
tonnes at an outreach of 21 m; at an
outreach of 70 m the crane is still able
to hoist 91 tonnes,” a company
spokesperson explains.
In addition to this, the undercarriage of
the crane has a central X-shaped structure
to which four outriggers are mounted.
“This allows the TCC 14000-400 D
Litronic to operate onshore as a mobile
harbour crane,” Tobias Froehlich, strategic
marketing communications at Liebherr-
Werk Nenzing adds. “This makes it ideal
for customers with demand for both heavy
lift cargo handling in ports and floating
solutions for typical offshore applications,
the 9-axle LTM 1750-9.1 can be driven on
public roads with a complete telescopic
boom. It has a lifting capacity of 750 tonnes
and is designed for short setup times.
“The power train for the crane
superstructure, comprising the engine and
the hydraulics as well as a ballast device, is
transported separately to the site, mounted
on the crane by the crane itself and
connected using quick-release couplings,”
Wolfgang Beringer, Liebherr Werk
Ehingen, adds. Also from Liebherr is the
3,000 tonne LR 13000, which is currently
the strongest crane in Liebherr’s range.
The largest model from Manitowoc
is the 2,300 tonne capacity model 31000
crawler crane, which has a variable
like the construction of oil platforms or
the installation of wind power stations in
the sea.”
Beating competition
Although there are jobs out there in the
lifting sector (and there are plenty of
them and more to come as the energy
sector grows) the number of young people
joining the profession is simply not
meeting demand. “The combined effect
of the recession and the simple fact that
young adults are not as inclined to seek
jobs in the trades, as they did a generation
ago, has left many companies like ours
constantly looking for new talent to help
us keep growing,” Mikut says. This issue is
being felt more and more by lifting service
and equipment providers. Of course, as
the energy sectors continue to grow and
the requirement for heavy lift equipment
continues to increase, the need for a new
generation of operators and workers has
never been so important.
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Liebherr's 3,000 tonne capacity
LR 13000 lattice boom crawler
