4 minutes - magazine 02 | 2025
The “cranosaurus” from Hambach
The Hambach open-cast mine harbours a cranosaurus: a very old creature that, with almost 30 years of hard work behind it, puts many things in the shade. It comes from the Cretaceous period of crane development, a surviving relic of bygone days. It seems indefatigable though, with the wear and tear of time seeming to pass it by unharmed. This antique appears to have supernatural powers, still moving its powerful yet nimble frame to this day.
A third crane life
We’re sure you know what we’re talking about already – yes, it’s the LTL 1160. A rough-terrain crane that Liebherr built only once and which has been the most powerful tyre-mounted rough-terrain crane in the world for 30 years. “The LTL 1160 is an incredible machine and we’re immensely proud of the tremendous service it has performed for us up to this day,” says Matthias Wasel, Managing Director of Wasel GmbH.
At its maiden delivery in 1997, Rheinbraun, a subsidiary of RWE AG, took over the LTL 1160 rough-terrain crane from Liebherr. Since this time, the unique crane has been in constant use.
Of course, this length of service would be impossible without good and attentive care – especially on the part of the owner, but also in cooperation with ourselves as the crane’s developer and manufacturer. In 2024, the LTL 1160 spent a few months at our plant branch in Oberhausen having surpassed 26,000 hours of chassis operation and 40,000 hours of superstructure operation. “For the second time, we carried out a general overhaul of the LTL 1160 at our plant. It was a huge challenge, one that ensured great collaboration on this unusual project,” reports Walter Rutenberg, Head of Workshop Administration at the Liebherr plant branch in Oberhausen.
Handover of the newly refurbished LTL 1160 (from left to right): Arber Haxhija (Wasel), Gerd Spankowski (Liebherr), Matthias Wasel, Christopher Neuhaus and Jan Tuckermann (Wasel) at the symbolic handover of the keys at the Hambach open-cast mining project.
The rough-terrain crane’s first general overhaul was carried out in 2011. Both times, the crane was completely dismantled. Components such as motors, cylinders and gears were refurbished and repaired, electrical cables and hoses were replaced and finally the giant crane was returned to Wasel with a brand new coat of paint. Matthias Wasel explains: “The LTL 1160 carries out really important work for us in our open-cast mining operations and you can’t compare it with a standard crane. We’re grateful that the second general overhaul of this special crane was possible and that this unique creature can continue to deliver faithful service.”
Dismantled down to the skeleton: the specialists from Liebherr completely dismantled the all-terrain crane for the general overhaul.
The LTL 1160 was developed as the largest model in the Liebherr LTL rough-terrain crane series at that time. Its development involved close cooperation between Rheinbraun as the operator of the open-cast mining project, Wasel as the crane owners and Liebherr. The LTL 1160 was first sold to Rheinbraun in 1997. Wasel finally took over the second-hand crane in 2004.
Despite technical advances, the LTL 1160 remains at the top of its game when it comes to all-terrain mobility and load capacity.
Matthias Wasel recalls the development processes involved: “The close cooperation produced a crane that was able to handle the specific requirements and loads of open-cast mining. The lifting capacity parameters in some cases match those of a crane from the 250-tonne class. It crosses terrain with its full balance and, despite the rough conditions, handles open-cast mining incredibly well. This really demonstrates the crane’s superb quality.”
Clean as a whistle: every detail of the LTL 1160 is finely scrubbed.
Gerd Spankowski, head of the Liebherr plant branch in Oberhausen, who has known the crane for many years, confirms this: “In open-cast mining, the working environment is generally dirty and wet – so itʼs no easy place to work. The LTL 1160 moves around in this environment with a full ballast and a total weight of 121 tonnes.
Final assembly: the final assembly of the LTL 1160 after its general overhaul in 2024 took place on site at the Hambach open-cast mine.
The machine regularly has to travel from the top to the very bottom layer, crossing countless metres of altitude in the process. This really demonstrates in particular the robustness of the motor and its gears. And it’s precisely this robustness, the powerful performance and most importantly its reliability that make this crane unbeatable overall.”
This article was published in the UpLoad magazine 02 | 2025.
