South Africa-headquartered Allied Crane Hire has taken delivery of the first 700-tonne capacity Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane in Africa.
The milestone marked yet another ‘first’ in the history of the company, having previously been the first in sub-Saharan Africa to receive an LTM 1110-5.1, an LTM 1150-5.3 and an LTM 1230-5.1. “The goal, however, is not necessarily to always be the first recipient of every new model,” explained André Engelbrecht, general manager Africa at Allied Crane Hire. “In most cases, these new models become available at exactly the moment we were looking for a crane that fits certain job requirements, which is an important criterion in every procurement decision.”
Now discontinued by Liebherr, Allied Crane Hire had previously relied on the LTM 1500-8.1 mobile crane, which had a 500-tonne lifting capacity. With increasing demands from customers within the mining, wind, petrochemical and construction industries, Allied Crane Hire’s new model offers a 200-tonne upgrade on its predecessor.
Customers can buy two different telescope boom lengths and alter them easily by replacing sections of the telescopes, with the LTM 1650-8.1 available in lengths of 54 m and 80 m. As well as being equipped with Liebherr’s VarioBallast and VarioBase, the crane comes with the new NK System, a hinged luffing jib assembly system designed to reduce the space needed to erect long luffing jibs in confined spaces.
Well ahead of the handover, the crane was already pre-booked for a lift for a well-known South African mining company. The very next week after its delivery, the LTM 1650-8.1 was deployed to lift a heat exchanger weighing in at 70 tonnes. The crane handled the task comfortably with 125 tonnes of counterweight, at a radius of 15 to 16 m.
Engelbrecht added: “The crane has performed beyond expectations. We have been particularly impressed by the quick assembly time and the functionality of the crane as a whole.”
