Installation vessels are the ideal tool for the construction of offshore wind farms. The “Aeolus” is one of these powerful installation ships. It is equipped with gigantic steel legs with which it can lift itself above the surface of the sea. This means that it can operate in a stable position even in water depths of 45 metres, regardless of the sea conditions. The “Aeolus” is equipped with a powerful crane that lifts loads of 900 tonnes at a radius of 30 metres. However, the workboat can also be used as a pure floating crane for lifting work in harbour facilities without the use of jack-up legs. Over ten years ago, the huge steel pipes were installed by a Liebherr LR 13000 crawler crane.

In the spring of 2014, the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven was the arena for the European premiere of the largest conventional crawler crane in the world. The first Liebherr LR 13000 crawler crane was used on a truly exceptional project. A newly built installation vessel for the assembly of offshore wind turbines was fitted with four huge jack-up legs. The imposing steel tubes with a length of 87 metres had to be lowered into the ship’s hydraulic lifting system from above. To cope with these loads of almost 1,000 tonnes gross weight, the giant crane was set up with its PowerBoom for the first time. In this configuration, the lattice boom runs parallel over a length of 48 metres in a double design. This gives the large crane a high level of stability and enables it to increase its lifting capacity by an incredible 50 per cent compared to the standard boom, up to a radius of 35 metres.

The globally operating heavy load and crane specialists from the Dutch company Mammoet had brought their almost-new LR 13000 back to Germany from its first use in the USA for this operation. Four weeks were originally planned for the assembly of the crane with the PowerBoom, but after just twelve days the crawler crane with its 65 tonne hook block was already towering into the sky and ready for use. “It can be set up like a larger LR 11350,” commented crane operator Jouke Bruin on the set-up work at the time.

The Liebherr LR 1500 crawler crane from Australian crane contractor Titan Cranes played a key role in the relocation of a 170-year-old oak tree, the Heritage Oak of the New Zealand parliament. Due to the construction of a new building, the listed tree had to be moved by around 30 metres. The LR 1500 was the ideal choice for this demanding project, as the tree and its root ball weighed around 120 tonnes. The planning of the relocation was complex and required the expertise of specialists to ensure that the tree was not damaged during the lifting process. Thanks to the performance of the LR 1500 with derrick and suspended ballast, the tree was lifted and moved to its new location in a single lift. This reduced the time the tree was suspended in the air and minimised the risk of damage.

The new Svinesund bridge connects the two countries and is also used as a border crossing on the E6 motorway between Gothenburg and Oslo. A Liebherr LR 1750 crawler crane was used to assemble parts of the mighty bridge segments. For over two months, the crane provided its strength on the construction site at Idefjord.

Months earlier, platforms had been blasted out of the rocks on which the heavy-duty crane was to be positioned high above the fjord for its operation. On the Norwegian side of the new bridge structure, the crane stood on the steeply sloping cliff edge 45 metres above sea level. At this point, the machine also had to cope with the most demanding lifting operations in terms of load and radius. The set up configuration of the LR 1750 with its 49-metre main boom and 70-metre luffing jib offered an impressive sight.

But the pulled loads were also impressive. The steel bridge segments had a length of 26.5 metres, were six metres in width and four metres in height. The crawler crane had to lift a gross load of up to 80 tonnes and position it over the fjord with a radius of up to 90 metres.

After several renovations and extensions, the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, which is almost 80 years old, was completely redesigned in 2019: It now has an ultra-modern design with a hydraulically adjustable roof construction, retractable hybrid turf and new shopping, business and leisure functions. Today, LEDs can be used to illuminate the front in a wide range of scenarios in the evening hours. The stadium now has space for more than 78,000 spectators.

There were more than twenty Liebherr mobile and crawler cranes with lifting capacities from 40 to 1,200 tonnes on site. The crawler crane triple chain with an LR 1800-1.0 from Eurogruas 2000 and an LR 1600/2 and an LR 1600/2-W from Grúas Aguilar provided a particularly strong performance. These cranes were on site permanently from June to October 2020, performing a wide range of lifting operations.

The heavy loads, large radii and tight spaces next to the arterial road Paseo de la Castellana posed major challenges for the cranes and teams – which were overcome thanks to a cohesive team effort and a great deal of team spirit.

The Arena of Verona is the best-preserved Roman amphitheatre in the world. It was built in the first century AD to host gladiator games and contests. With a height of around 24 metres, the opera circular is the largest surviving ancient amphitheatre after the Colosseum in Rome and the Oval of Capua. With its excellent acoustics, the arena has established itself as a concert venue – from opera to rock. Since 1913, the famous Verdi opera “Aida” alone has been performed on more than 670 evenings. In 2019, an MK 140 ensured that the season could take place without any problems.