Material handling technology

The positive dynamics from the 2022 business year continued in the material handling technology segment. Better availability on the procurement markets enabled growth to surpass the previous year in 2023.

Liebherr also benefited from global market developments and recorded revenue growth in almost every sales region for material handling technology, with significant increases in some cases. The revenue growth in the Africa, Near and Middle East region can be attributed to the Algerian market. Liebherr also achieved significant revenue growth in the Central and South America region, driven by Brazil. North America also saw very positive development, due in particular to the USA and Canada. Encouraging growth, including in Germany and France, resulted in an increase in revenue in the EU, whereas the non-EU countries recorded a decline in revenue overall, despite positive trends in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Growth in Indonesia, India and New Zealand also led to an increase in revenue in the Asia and Oceania sales region.

Expansion and further development of the product portfolio was a key focus in the 2023 business year. At Ligna, Liebherr presented the new L 580 LogHandler XPower® special wheel loader and the new LH 26 M Timber Litronic timber handling machine. The renewed model of the L 580 from generation 6.2 combines the numerous familiar benefits of the XPower® wheel loaders with design adaptations for timber handling. Thanks to a swivel arm optimised for visibility, a wood grapple with improved filling and a modified lift arm, more cubic metres of timber can be moved per second, thus increasing productivity. The new LH 26 M Timber Litronic is ideal for use in confined spaces and offers maximum performance with extremely low fuel consumption. Another highlight was the delivery of the first LH 80 M High Rise Industry electric material handling machine. In addition to the electric drive concept, the impressive machine offers a special frequency converter, which enables simple adaptation to all common power grids around the world, for instance.

In the area of attachments, Liebherr introduced the GMZ 180B clamshell. Liebherr’s largest clamshell to date, it weighs 8.5 t and guarantees rapid loading and unloading due to its 16 m³ capacity. The Baugewerbe trade journal also awarded the Liebherr GMM 50-5 multi-tine grab its readers’ choice prize for 2023 Product of the Year.

Liebherr expanded its digital offering with the MyGuide for Earthmoving app. The app enables users to contact Liebherr sales and service partners directly, provides a direct interface with the product configurator for material handling machines and brings together all the product information and news from the material handling sector.

Demand seems to have reached a temporary peak in 2023. The global economic situation is having a cooling effect, which is, in turn, affecting market growth in the material handling sector. Liebherr is therefore cautiously optimistic about the 2024 business year in the material handling segment.