• The second job for MaxiKraft’s new LR 11000 
• Crane girder repurposed as a weather guard  
• LR 11000 crawler crane proves its worth in constricted conditions 

Immediately after completing its first job erecting a wind turbine, a new Liebherr LR 11000  crawler crane owned by crane and heavy haulage contractor MaxiKraft had the opportunity to show its capabilities at a steel casting plant. The 1000-tonne crawler crane installed a 200-tonne crane girder, which had been completely repurposed, at ThyssenKrupp in Duisburg.  

After its very first job erecting a wind turbine in southern Brandenburg, the Liebherr LR 11000 was transported around 600 kilometres to Duisburg by more than 30 heavy haulage vehicles. A 200-tonne crane girder for a former casting gantry crane measuring 40 metres in length had to be installed at a ThyssenKrupp steel casting plant. These girders are designed to transport hot liquid steel inside the plant. 

In constricted space conditions, the LR 11000 had to be set up with 50 tonnes of central ballast, 170  tonnes of slewing platform ballast and 320 tonnes of derrick ballast within four days in its SL11DBV  configuration with a 102-metre main boom and a 42-metre derrick boom. The hoist was completed on a Saturday so that the crane could then be dismantled again on Monday and the steel plant could quickly restart operations. 

LR 11000 – powerful and compact 

Crane operator Marcel Kallwass is full of praise for both the crane and his team: “The delivery of the crane components was a logistical master class. Things were very tight, particularly when setting up the crane. But everything actually went very well. The LR 11000 is a fantastic crane. I’ve operated them all,  from the LR 1600/2 to the LR 11350 and also large machines from other manufacturers.”  

An SPMT module vehicle manoeuvred the colossal steel component from the preparation area to the crane where the LR 11000 picked it up on four giant shackles and then delicately placed the 200 tons at its assembly position at a lofty height. The 1000-tonne crane even had to move a few metres with the massive load on its hook. Thick excavator mats had been put in a position especially to distribute the load.

The old crane girder has been modified for its new purpose as a weather guard. Over the next few months, a mobile safety wall will be attached to it to provide the open building which houses the extrusion casting system with better protection from wind and rain.