A new Liebherr LR 1700 1.0 crawler crane was delivered to Ainscough’s Leyland depot in Lancashire on 30th October.
It is the first crane of this model in the UK.
The 700-tonne class crane is the fifth and biggest lattice boom crawler crane in Ainscough’s fleet. Ainscough’s private equity owners are not at this stage looking to take on the major players in the crawler crane market – Weldex has more than 100 crawlers – but they do want to strengthen its expanding projects division and seek broader opportunities within the heavy lift market.
Most of Ainscough’s 400+ crane fleet is wheeled all-terrain telescopic boom mobile cranes.
The other crawler crane models in Ainscough’s fleet are the Liebherr LR 1300 (300 tonnes), Terex Demag CC 2500-1 (500 tonnes) and CC 2800-1 (600 tonnes).
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According to Liebherr, the LR 1700-1.0 offers users a combination of lower transport costs more associated with 600-tonne class cranes but with the lifting performance of 750-tonne lattice boom models. Designed and manufactured around the physical dimensions of the smaller LR 1600/2, the LR 1700-1.0 shares many of the components of the smaller crane but has higher lifting capacities of up to 15% thanks to a redesigned static structure.
Ainscough Crane Hire chief executive Peter Gibbs said: “The Liebherr LR-1700 1.0 represents the latest design technology within the heavy crane industry and by adding one to our fleet it will give us the flexibility to undertake a wider range of projects with a single crane.”
Heavy cranes operations director Andrew Spink added: ““It really is a unique crane – the lifts it can achieve will really allow for the team to flex our expertise in planning and execution. The crane itself opens a number of doors for us, and the investment in what is a UK-first was really a no-brainer.”
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