10.10.2011

Liebherr unveils Power Boom

Liebherr has unveiled its new Power Boom that it says significantly increases long boom and jib lift capacities, while using very few non-standard components.

The company says that it will become an option on its larger crawler cranes and is currently testing it on the 1,350 tonne LR11350.
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The Liebherr LR11350 with 150 metres of Power Boom on test at Ehingen

The Power Boom, designed initially as a superlift type device for the 3,000 tonne LR13000, comprises two main unique components – a butt-section/base boom adapter – the Lower P-Adapter - that converts the single pivot point into a twin boom configuration and a top adapter – the Upper P-Adapter - that converts the twin booms back to a single boom for the tip. All the other boom sections are simply standard intermediate boom sections.
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The Power boom base- or 'Lower Power Boom Adapter'

Liebherr says that in some parts of the load chart improvements exceed 50 percent on both the main boom and on luffing jib, due to the greater torsional stiffness. And the best bit is that the gains are also open to those who have already purchased a crane as the Power Boom can be retrofitted.
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The Upper Power Boom Adpater

Another option with this design is that buyers can buy one set of Power Boom adapters for use over two or more cranes, or they can purchase them later should a job require the stronger boom.
The company says that the Power Boom will play a major role in the future developments of its new cranes and is just part of a whole range of measures being implemented to optimise lifting capacities and to extend the application spectrum of various models, such as in the area of wind turbine assembly with cranes in the 600 to 750-tonne range.
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Most of the other components are standard intermediate boom sections

Vertikal Comment

This looks like a very practical and well thought out product line extension that could allow the LR11350 to take on work that might otherwise have been the domain of 2,000 tonne units, or the specialist lifting machines from ALE and Mammoet etc...

We have in the past discussed how serial crane manufacturers could counter the trend at the top of the market for such companies to build their own devices to achieve high long boom capacities. This type of development, along with the Terex’s twin boom efforts are cost effective ways that the mainstream manufacturers can add real value and provide cost effective alternatives to custom built devices.