27.05.2025

700 tonner for Hack

German crane company Hack Schwerlastservice has taken delivery of a 700 tonne Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1, which takes over as its flagship unit.

Key elements in the decision to go with this unit included performance, compact dimensions and possibly most important of all a short lead time.
The eight axle crane is not brand new, thus the rapid delivery, it features a basic four section 54 metre boom which converts to a six section 80 metre boom when required. A 90 metre luffing jib is also available. Other features include the VarioBallast hydraulically variable counterweight system, Stage V diesels and Variobase variable outrigger set up and monitoring.

The crane went straight out on its first job, in Wetzlar North of Frankfurt, removing an old 50 metre long by four metres wide pedestrian bridge over the River Lahn. The 1906 bridge will be replaced by a new one.

The crane was rigged with the four section boom and 155 tonnes of ballast to lift the 27.5 tonnes bridge at a radius of 35.8 metres. The LTM 1650-8.1’s capacity in this configuration was 42 tonnes, thus plenty of spare capacity in hand.

Crane operator Gerhard Mees said: “We set the LTM 1650-8.1 up in a short space of time and the lifting operations turned out to be extremely simple. The crane is as strong as an ox, but its controls are as sensitive as a racehorse.”

Udo Hack said: “The Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 is the market's most compact and powerful 700 tonne mobile crane on eight axles. Since we currently have a high demand for work that it can handle, we wanted to take delivery without delay. However, the long lead time for a new crane would have precluded us from a number of jobs. Fortunately, Liebherr was able to offer us a young, used LTM 1650-8.1 with only a few operating hours and kilometres on the clock, which was delivered very promptly. Liebherr plant had fully inspected the crane, and we are able to proudly say that we made exactly the right decision.”

“The LTM 1650-8.1 is a universal crane with a wide range of boom configurations. This is why it is so well suited to a lot of the work now coming through, such as road and rail road bridges, heavy lifting work in harbours such as ship loading or precast concrete parts, as well as the construction, dismantling and maintenance of wind power plants."

Founded in 1959 by Werner Hack and his wife Apollonia, Hack Schwerlastservice operates from branches in Düsseldorf, Eifel, Westerwald and Frankfurt, with a fleet that includes tower cranes, articulated loader cranes and 36 All Terrains as well as a fleet of aerial work platforms and heavy haulage vehicles. Its work includes heavy recovery services, industrial moving and installation.

The company remains family owned and is managed by the second generation siblings Irene, Werner Jnr and Udo Hack.