Western Crane & Rigging Adds Liebherr LTM 1100-5.3 to Fleet

Western Crane & Rigging, Inc., a Kentucky-based crane service provider, has expanded its fleet with the delivery of a Liebherr LTM 1100-5.3 mobile crane. The five-axle crane is the first Liebherr mobile crane added to the company’s fleet and marks the beginning of a broader equipment investment involving the manufacturer.

Family-owned and operated since 1987, Western Crane & Rigging provides crane, rigging, lifting and millwright services nationwide, along with steel fabrication for industrial, commercial and infrastructure projects. The company cited increasing demand for data center construction as a factor in its decision to invest in equipment suited to those applications.

“We chose Liebherr because of the unmatched quality of their machines and the level of customer service their team consistently provides,” noted J. David Fields, co-owner of Western Crane & Rigging, Inc.

The delivery of the LTM 1100-5.3 is the first of three Liebherr cranes ordered by the company. Two additional units — a Liebherr LTR 1220 telescopic crawler crane and an LR 1400 SX crawler crane — are scheduled for delivery in the coming months.

As a second-generation family business, the fleet addition represents a milestone for Western Crane & Rigging. According to Co-Owner Jessica F. Holcombe, the purchase was supported by both the company’s internal team and its experience working with Liebherr.

“We have a wonderful team behind us that has helped to make this investment possible,” stated Holcombe. “And Liebherr’s reliability, attention to detail and commitment to supporting customers made our decision an easy one.”

In conjunction with the crane purchases, members of Western Crane & Rigging’s leadership team and company founders visited Liebherr manufacturing facilities at Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH and Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH, where the cranes were produced.

“Visiting the factories was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for my parents,” said Holcombe. “After all their years of hard work for the business, it was great for them to see it all firsthand.”

The LTM 1100-5.3 mobile crane is designed for road mobility and jobsite flexibility. The crane features a telescopic boom and can carry up to 37,250 pounds (16.9 metric tons) of ballast on public roads. It is also the second crane in Liebherr’s product lineup equipped with the LICCON3 crane control system, which supports integrated crane operation and system management.