Flexible and economical: Krösche takes delivery of three further Liebherr LTF 1045-4.1 truck-mounted cranes

Managing Director Joachim Ruthe explains: “We’ve been exclusively using truck-mounted cranes in our fleet for around 35 years. The flexibility we get from comprehensive road permits is key for us. The LTF 1045-4.1 is the perfect example of this, because with five tonnes of ballast, its gross weight is still just 33 tonnes. So it's the ideal machine for assembling prefabricated wooden houses.”

Economical taxi cranes

The main areas of use for the new 45-tonners will be prefabricated wooden constructions for detached and semi-detached homes, as well as commercial prefabricated wood construction. “Around 90% of all industrially producing German prefabricated house manufacturers commission Krösche to provide cranes for the assembly of their prefabricated houses. The great flexibility in terms of deployment planning is supported by the long-term driving permit, which facilitates cost-effective operation in the smaller crane class. The lorry driver’s cabin of the truck chassis also offers the crane driver the opportunity to stay overnight on site, removing the need for admin around hotel bookings. In light of the growing importance of CO2 reduction, the LTF 1045-3.1 will increasingly take centre stage in the future with its twin-engine concept and low fuel consumption during drive mode”, says Ruthe.

Truck-mounted telescopic cranes are economical alternatives in the taxi crane class for crane contractors who often cover long distances as a standard truck consumes less fuel than a similar all-terrain crane due to its design. Using a standard truck as the crane chassis also means lower costs for tyres and other wearing parts as they are mass produced.

The LTF 1045-4.1 crane attains hook heights of up to 44 metres and radii of up to 42 metres with its 35-metre telescopic boom and folding jib. With its maximum ballast of nine tonnes, the gross weight of the 45-tonne crane is just 38 tonnes. The axle loads on the front axles are less than nine tonnes and less than ten tonnes on the rear axles.

Long-term partnership

Krösche-Kran Service GmbH has been a loyal Liebherr customer for over 40 years and has made a major contribution to the development of the current LTF series. Ruthe explains: “Liebherr's aftersales service, with its ready availability of service engineers and spare parts, is of crucial importance for our concept.” Over the last 20 years, Krösche has been one of the largest purchasers of LTF cranes from Liebherr.

Currently, Krösche has a total of 30 cranes, of which 70% are Liebherr LTF models. With 50 employees, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. Its roots extend as far back as 1899, when August Krösche founded a blacksmith’s shop in Holzminden. The company is entirely family-owned and has specialised in prefabricated wood construction for detached homes as well as commercial prefabricated wood construction.