Liebherr has unveiled its latest crawler crane for the global market, the LR 12500-1.0 with a capacity of 2,500 t, which complements the company’s portfolio of lattice boom cranes between the 1,350-t LR 11350 and 3,000-t LR 13000.
This new model meets the growing demand for large crawler cranes, especially in the petrochemicals industry and port handling involving enormous components for offshore applications, said Liebherr.
To achieve high lifting capacities, the current solution has been a double boom like the PowerBoom or the widespread SX systems. Liebherr adopts a completely different solution for the LR 12500-1.0 by introducing ‘HighPerfomanceBoom’. It features a special superstructure front section, which can be transported on a low-bed trailer at a width of 4 m.
The slewing platform is supplemented by a 3.5-m-wide rear section, which hosts the two power units. Both Liebherr six-cylinder in-line engines deliver a total of 800 kW. They have a redundant design to increase the crane’s availability, and there is no separate power pack. The two main hoist winches are also on this rear section.
The intermediate sections of the HighPerfomanceBoom measure 10 m in length and are reduced to an economical transport size by an improved 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 weighs around 150 t. The remaining chain girder is divided and moved on two low loaders.
The 25-t ballast slabs are identical to those on the LR 13000. They have the same dimensions of a 20-ft container to ensure they can be transported economically and can be loaded using a spreader.
The LR 12500-1.0 is designed with a transport width of 3.5 m. Only two components of the crane have a transport width of 4 m.
The maximum hook height of around 200 m is achieved with a 100-m main boom and a 108-m luffing jib. Installed with a short length, the luffing jib also acts as a powerful WV jib. The ‘vessel lifter’ is ideal for the erection of long columns in petrochemical plants.
The maximum 110-m HighPerformanceBoom can be extended to a 155-m boom using parts of the luffing jib. The ballast pallet on the derrick boom of the LR 13000 serves 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, explained Liebherr. This principle has also been adopted from the LR 13000. The suspended ballast is infinitely adjusted with the derrick boom. The ballast radius can be extended to the maximum radius with a rigid guide.
Sarens orders the first unit
The Belgian crane and heavy haulage contractor Sarens has ordered the first unit of the new LR 12500-1.0. The company will primarily be using the crane in the renewables industry, such as for handling offshore wind turbines.
“The high lifting capacity of the LR 12500-1.0 is the outstanding feature for us. The new crane will enable us to close the gap between our crawler and ringer cranes,” said managing director Carl Sarens.
“We are particularly focusing on jobs in renewables for the new 2,500-t crane. Handling offshore wind turbines at ports is also becoming a much more important business segment and the weight of components continues to rise.”
With its lifting capacity, the new 2,500-t crawler crane has also been designed to cover future requirements. According to Liebherr, interest in the new LR 12500-1.0 is correspondingly high.
