Three new Liebherr LTM 1160-5.2 mobile cranes for Bracht

The three new LTM 1160-5.2 cranes will expand the Bracht Group's fleet and are stationed at Erwitte, Duisburg and Paderborn. Bracht uses many cranes in the class between 130 tonnes and 160 tonnes in wind farms. Over the last few months demand has risen in this industry and additional cranes were needed in the Bracht fleet to meet this demand. This led to the decision to purchase three new 160-tonne machines. The Liebherr LTM 1160-5.2 cranes will mainly be used for routine jobs. Dirk Bracht explains: "A crane with maximum flexibility is always important for routine work. The VarioBase® variable supporting base from Liebherr delivers this flexibility to a tee. It also significantly enhances safety levels."

One of the first crane jobs for the third LTM 1160-5.2 was unloading a new timber saw in Warstein-Hirschberg (Sauerland). The 8-tonne saw had to be unloaded with a radius of 31 meter. To do this job the crane was ballasted with 34 tonnes and the boom was extended to 40 meter.

The LTM 1160-5.2 features a 62 meter telescopic boom and can reach heights of up to 99 meter and radii of up to 78 meter with lattice extensions. VarioBallast® is a new feature on Liebherr cranes. The LTM 1160-5.2 can be operated with two different ballast radii: 5.23 meter or 4.73 meter. Liebherr has designed a solution to adjust the ballast radius particularly quickly and easily. The ballast radius is reduced by 500 millimetre using standard mechanically adjusted ballasting cylinders. This solution is a major benefit of the LTM 1160-5.2 for use in constricted conditions.

But it was not just the technical benefits of the LTM 1160-5.2 which led to the company selecting it as its crane of choice. Dirk Bracht continues: "The general features of Liebherr cranes include high product quality, excellent service and very good resale of used machines."

Franz Bracht Kran-Vermietung GmbH based in Erwitte has been in business since 1964 and employs 580 people. Its fleet includes 750 vehicle units with 220 mobile cranes in the lifting capacity classes from 7 tonnes to 1600 tonnes.

The company has 12 sites in North Rhine-Westphalia and is a competent and reliable partner to wind turbine manufacturers as well as customers in the reinforced concrete construction and civil engineering, industrial buildings, major industry and petrochemicals sectors as well as many other industries. Quality and safety are always the focal points. The machines are not only used throughout Germany but also in other European and non-European countries.