Northwest Crane to Receive Liebherr Crawlers

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Northwest Crane Service will receive three Liebherr crawlers in 2008.

September 12, 2007 • Northwest Crane Service, Woodward, Okla., recently announced that it is scheduled to receive the first Liebherr LR 1600/2 and the first two Liebherr LR 1400/2-W crawler cranes for North America. All three crawlers are currently available for contract.

The Liebherr LR 1400/2-W crawler crane is the first machine of this kind in North America. It features an SF2 boom configuration ideal for erection of 2-megawatt turbines on 262-foot towers. It requires no luffing jib, derrick, or super lift attachments for boom tip heights up to 341 feet. The machine can travel fully rigged between turbine locations, and the narrow track width of 15.9 feet significantly reduces the cost of road construction and can reduce the environmental impact of jobsites.

“There's been a demand for the narrow track machines as the wind developers are looking for ways to build the wind farms with less environmental impact,” said Ingo Schiller, executive vice president of sales for Liebherr. “The narrow track allows you to build only a 16-foot road instead of a 33-foot road, so you can move the crane around in some areas where you couldn't before and also with less damage than before.” Being able to build a smaller road saves the contractor a “tremendous amount of money,” according to Schiller.

The LR 1600/2 is equipped with SLF boom configuration for the erection of wind turbines. Its unique design requires no luffing jib, derrick, or super lift attachments to reach boom tip heights up to almost 394 feet.

Schiller said the LR 1600 will be displayed at ConExpo in March 2008 and will be delivered to Northwest Crane Service from there. The narrow-track 1400/2-W will be available for delivery in May.

Click here to view videos of the Liebherr LR 1400/2-W.