Bigge Orders Liebherr Crawlers to Meet Customer Demand

Enlarge Image Bigge Crane & Rigging has ordered 12 Liebherr crawlers for delivery next year.

August 20, 2008 • A Liebherr LR 1200 SX crawler crane on hire from Bigge Crane & Rigging of San Leandro, Calif., is erecting steelwork on a new paper mill for the San Francisco Chronicle. This 275-ton capacity crane is one of more than 25 Liebherr LR series crawlers owned by Bigge. The company has been so impressed by the performance of the Liebherr crawler cranes, and the demand for them from customers, that it has ordered 12 more for delivery next year.

“We've seen no downturn in demand for mid-size and larger crawlers,” said Joe Nelms, Bigge's vice president in charge of crane rental. As well as renting directly to customers in California and West Coast states from its various regional locations, Bigge also rents to other crane houses nationwide. “Demand for our Liebherrs in particular is as strong as it's ever been, such is their reputation.”

 

“Our customers are learning that the Liebherr crawler cranes are simply more powerful, more efficient and more cost-effective than anything else on the market,” Nelms added. “They have also shown themselves to be bullet-proof reliable.”

 

Nelms said that the Liebherr crawlers are also highly productive. “The LR 1200 SX, for example, has a fuel efficiency of just 0.0373 gallons per hour per horsepower, which we reckon makes it as much as 25 percent more fuel efficient than the Cummins or Caterpillar engines used by other crane manufacturers,” he said. “At 219 gallons, its fuel tank is bigger than other machines in its class. So running costs are lower, and you don't have to stop to fuel up so often.”

 

“Couple this with a faster hoisting speed, faster travel speed and faster slewing speed than other crane in its class, over the course of a job it all adds up to more productivity for the contractor,” he said.

 

Bigge's Liebherr crawler fleet includes the models LR 1160, LR1200, LR 1200 SX, LR 1300 and LR 1400. Ordered for delivery next year are six units of the LR 1200 SX and six of the LR 1300.