Heavy load specialist August Alborn purchases Liebherr LTM 1160-5.2 mobile crane

The new LTM 1160-5.2 will be supplied to a company where hoisting and transporting extremely heavy goods is standard procedure. August Alborn has won several awards for particularly tricky heavy haulage and assembly projects. It may therefore come as something of a surprise that the Liebherr 180 tonne mobile crane is now the largest crane in the company’s fleet: “We are not a classic crane hire company. We are a small, very specialised company with rather a small fleet, but with more than 1000 tonnes of steel in the yard. Everything is bespoke. We repeatedly push the envelope,” explains company owner Helmut Alborn.

August Alborn uses hydraulic lifting frames to hoist loads weighing up to 1440 tonnes. The term “standard” is not in the company’s vocabulary. Every job is different. Individual solutions are required. To construct frames tailored to the situation, August Alborn mainly uses its own crane fleet, which currently comprises ten mobile cranes.

The new LTM 1160-5.2 is an exception which will be used for a special project. Herbert Laumann, one of the first 2019 Chamber of Industry and Trade-approved mobile crane drivers, and is the fleet manager at the company, explains: “This project requires a heavy load to be handled. That is why we decided to buy the 180 tonne crane. The VarioBallast® variable ballast radius and VarioBallast® variable support base were also major criteria behind the decision”. Helmut Alborn continues: “And we also considered the future and ordered the crane with a removable telescopic boom. For jobs that need speed and great flexibility, it is very helpful if the crane can be reduced to a gross weight of less than 40 tonnes”. The word “standard” is also not in the company’s vocabulary when it comes to buying cranes.

It is also remarkable that the decision to invest in the company’s largest crane was actually taken during the coronavirus shutdown. Uta Alborn, who, among other things, is responsible for basic and advanced training for the company’s 30-strong workforce, comments: “Our company is more than 128 years old and has survived two world wars. We think long term. We also employed two apprentices despite the coronavirus. Basic and advanced training are one of our main priorities whatever the situation”.