since 2021

Liebherr researches and develops solutions in the fields of digitalisation and alternative drives, helping to shape technological advances in many industries. The Group has continued to grow by virtue of making regular investments in its production facilities and its global sales and service network.

Liebherr places great emphasis on openness to technology. That’s where eco-friendly energy sources, including the alternative fuel HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oils), play an important role. HVO is obtained from used cooking oil, leftover fat, waste fats and vegetable oil and can power combustion engines either in pure form or as an additive to fossil-derived diesel. Most of the Group’s construction machines, cranes and mining machinery can already be fuelled with HVO, making them virtually carbon-neutral in their operation. With the aim of providing low-emission solutions to suit the application, Liebherr is continuing to research further alternative drive concepts.

Liebherr produces its largest ever main bearing for tunnel boring machines (TBMs), taking tunnel construction to a new dimension. The roller connection weighs 44 tonnes and has a diameter of nearly 8 metres. Used in the drill head of a TBM, it helps to bore a tunnel approximately the height of a six-storey building. The main bearing is being put into action in one of the world’s largest tunnel boring machines in the south of China, where a large-scale infrastructure project is being rolled out.

In the concrete technology product segment, a new production plant commences operations: Liebherr-Concrete Technology Marica EOOD in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) supplies Liebherr-Mischtechnik GmbH in Bad Schussenried (Germany) with pre-assemblies and steel constructions for truck mixers. In Austria, new logistics centres are under construction in Telfs and Bischofshofen, and building work starts on a new sales centre for construction machines in Puch/Urstein. In Dettingen (Germany), Liebherr adds a new office and repair facility to expand its sales and service infrastructure for construction machines. Liebherr also invests in China. A new head office is built in Shanghai and construction work begins for a new components plant at the Dalian site.

The new LTM 1110-5.2 mobile crane combines the strengths of its predecessor, the LTM 1110-5.1, with a new cab, gearboxes and the next generation of Liebherr crane control: LICCON3. These new additions are complemented by an all-new crane design conceived with telematics and fleet management in mind, setting the benchmark for the future of Liebherr’s all-terrain series. Liebherr developed the LICCON control system for mobile cranes as early as 1989, followed by LICCON2 in 2007. The LICCON3 brings with it new software and programming language, an ultra-fast data bus, significantly more memory capacity and high computing power as well as improved security tools.

Two Liebherr mobile cranes replace three rotor blades of a wind turbine at the Experimental Cener-Alaiz wind power test park in Navarra, Spain. Working in tandem with painstaking precision, the LTM 1750-9.1 and LTM 1650-8.1 replaced the 64.5-metre long rotor blades with new ones measuring 71.5 metres across.

In Wiesbaden (Germany), the demolition of the Salzbachtal bridge constitutes a major operation for Liebherr earthmoving machinery. A total of 23 machines crush 15,000 m³ of demolition material from the former 300-metre bridge and transport it away – the work takes almost a month.

Two 220-tonne mobile cranes from Liebherr also face a unique challenge in Brazil. In a tandem lift, they position the arms on the new ’Cristo Protetor‘ statue in the city of Encantado. At a height of 43 metres, the new installation is even taller than the famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro.

In Minnevika (Norway), a Liebherr LRH 600 piling rig lays the deep foundations for Norway’s longest railway bridge. A total of 20 bridge piers with 280 sleeved friction piles are positioned in water 12–14 metres deep. An HS 895 HD cable excavator is used as the carrier.

Liebherr presents around 100 exhibits on a show ground spanning 15,000 m² at the world’s most important exhibition for the construction and mining industry. In keeping with the motto ‘On your site’, the group of companies shows that Liebherr is always on its customers’ side, wherever they are – whether on the construction site itself with high-quality machines or by providing tailored advice, global services and fully comprehensive solution concepts. At the booth, visitors can discover numerous innovations and advancements in the fields of construction machinery, cranes, material handling, mining and components. This also includes digital solutions and assistance systems, which will be presented in technology pavilions and at machinery exhibitions, among other events. The presentation of the R9 XX H₂, Liebherr’s first hydraulic excavator to be powered by a hydrogen engine, marks a major milestone for the company. It even wins the climate protection category of the 2022 Bauma Innovation Award.

Conventional foam insulation is old news: Liebherr is the only manufacturer in the world to use a vacuum in conjunction with perlite to insulate its appliances. Thanks to its very low thermal conductivity and vacuum properties, the lava stone perlite ensures the best possible energy efficiency in a more compact design. Consequently, the new BluRoX models offer 25 % more space for food and reduce power consumption by up to 20 %. And the lava stone is itself a sustainable design choice, since the naturally renewable raw material can be reused without any problems. The first vacuum perlite models appearing under the name BluRoX appear on the market as early as 2023.

The new repair branch in Ehingen-Berg marks the start of a large-scale plant expansion at the Ehingen (Germany) site in order to continue to meet the high demand for mobile and crawler cranes.

The Löwen Hotel Montafon in Schruns (Austria) is also growing. New rooms, a music and dance club and a meeting area are available from March to give guests an even more exceptional stay.

In September, Liebherr opens a new repair workshop for heat exchangers in Singapore, serving the aerospace and transportation systems segment.

In December, the service and sales activities in France are merged in a newly founded company, Liebherr Distribution et Services France SAS, based in Niederhergheim. This means that customers’ needs can be met even more efficiently and quickly.

December also sees Liebherr-Components Kirchdorf GmbH break ground for a new hydraulic cylinder plant in Oberopfingen (Germany).

In 2022, Liebherr is involved in many more important projects the world over. For example, a Liebherr compact crane returned the 1.5-tonne ‘Mònica’ bell to its rightful home, 40 metres up in La Seu Vella Cathedral in Lérida (Catalonia). After a hiatus of eight years, the bell can finally toll once again.

In Switzerland, a Liebherr LR 11000 crawler crane takes on a very special challenge: as the strongest crawler crane in the country, it is deployed to replace a 100-year-old railway bridge. Despite the limited space for the crane, it is successfully used to install the 176-tonne bridge near St. Moritz (in the Canton of Graubünden) at an altitude of 2,000 metres in the Alps.

Four Liebherr high-top cranes are called upon for the construction of Germany’s third-highest railway bridge near Ulm: a 280 EC-H 12 Litronic, two 280 EC-H 16 Litronics and a 630 EC-H 40 Litronic. The bridge spans the Filstal valley over a length of around 500 metres, stands 85 metres high and shortens travel times between Ulm and Stuttgart.

More than 2,000 cranes in one calendar year – the Liebherr plant in Ehingen (Germany) sets a new record. The magical number of 2,000 is inscribed on an LTM 1070-4.2 that is destined for longstanding customer MAXIKraft, a crane and heavy goods logistics company. The handover takes place in Ehingen with all employees present for a celebration of this impressive milestone together with those who made it possible.

Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH marks a historic milestone in 2023 in partnership with Eve Air Mobility. Liebherr will in future be supplying electromechanical actuators (EMAs) for the flight control system of the Eve eVTOL. The EMAs with fully built-in electronics will be integrated into the eVTOL aircraft for actuation of its aileron, elevator and rudder. The actuators are among the first in the world to be used for primary flight control. Eve’s specific requirements were taken into consideration early on in the development phase and then fulfilled in every subsequent phase of research and development. The electronic technology, especially the fly-by-wire actuators, improve the ease of maintenance, reliability and manoeuvrability of future aircraft.

In a mine in Western Australia, Liebherr begins the validation testing process for four autonomous T 264 mining trucks. After the extensive internal validation testing process at Liebherr’s Mining Technology Development Center in the USA, the use of the mining trucks in the mine represents the starting point of one of the next pivotal stages. This step underscores the endeavours of Liebherr-Mining to speed up the development of a new autonomous product for the mining industry.

In 2023, Liebherr invests just over €1 billion in its production sites and global sales and service network. Company premises and production sites are undergoing expansion works at the Campsas site (France), in the Liebherr plant in Ehingen, at Liebherr-Logistics GmbH in Oberopfingen (Germany) and at Liebherr Mining Equipment in Newport News (USA). In Schüttorf (Germany), a new subsidiary for sales, maintenance, repairs and leasing of earthmoving machinery is under construction. At the Biberach site (Germany), a new administration building is being constructed for Liebherr-Purchasing Services GmbH and Liebherr-International Deutschland GmbH. 2023 sees opening ceremonies celebrated for two new sites: Liebherr-Logistics GmbH puts another distribution centre into operation in Born, in the Netherlands. And in Taverny, Liebherr Distribution et Services France SAS opens its tenth site in France.

Whether deep underwater, high above it or on the shores – Liebherr proves itself in ambitious operations in 2023. For several years, two Liebherr 357 HC-L luffing jib cranes have been playing their part in the construction of the 1915Çanakkale Bridge in Türkiye. Disassembling the crane involves the use of another Liebherr crane – 318 metres up in the air and at wind speeds of up to 40 km/h. On Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, too, conditions are also challenging as new mooring piles are erected for the shipping industry. Here, the LB 30 drilling rig is put through a real test of stamina, drilling a minimum of six metres into the rock underwater – and rises to the challenge. Another large-scale project gets underway on another body of water: on Lake Reschen (Italy), a portion of the highway is being relocated into the lake itself, out of the path of falling rocks and landslides. This major three-year project involves some 60 earthmoving machines, many of which are Liebherr models. For instance, the TA 230 Litronic dump trucks are instrumental in the process of backfilling a dam for the subsequent highway.