LR 1700-1.0 Crawler Crane Replaces LR 1600/2 in Liebherr Lineup

Last LR 1600/2 leaves Liebherr factory in Ehingen, Germany.

Nov. 11, 2021 - The 660-USt LR 1600/2 crawler crane is being removed from the Liebherr crawler crane product line after 223 of them have been delivered to customers in the past 13 years.

Its successor, the LR 1700-1.0 has already been launched. 

 

LR 1600/2 Big in Wind Power 

The LR 1600/2 was originally designed as a crane for wind power. The first one was delivered in summer 2008.

In addition to the standard version, a version with a narrow crawler stance, known as the LR 1600/2-W, was also marketed successfully for a decade. The main feature of this version was that it could travel along narrow roads on wind farms considerably more easily than the standard version. The narrow track version accounted for around one-quarter of all LR 1600/2 cranes worldwide.

Initially, the LR 1600/2 was delivered in its SL4DFB configuration, designed for wind turbines with a hub height of 426.5’ to 442.9’.

In this configuration, the crane had a main boom of 452.7’ and a fixed jib of 39.4’. That was the benchmark for turbines with a hub height of 442.9’.

LR 1600/2 at work

Over the next few years, however, the size of wind turbines increased dramatically up to hub heights of 492.1’ or more. That altered the requirements for the crane. Liebherr continually modified the crane’s lifting capacities and hoisting heights with the SL10 and SL13 versions to meet the new requirements.

The LR 1600/2 also shined in industrial and infrastructure projects, often equipped with a ballast wagon or suspended ballast.

Over the years, Liebherr unveiled more innovations for its crawler cranes, such as the B2 guide and VarioTray for suspended ballast, which eliminates the complicated stacking and unstacking of ballast slabs by simply disconnecting a whole ballast pallet. 

 

Successor, LR 1700-1.0, Already in the Field 

The final LR 1600/2 was delivered to van Adrighem at the end of October.

Its successor, the 770-USt LR 1700-1.0, is already in the field, with the first unit delivered in June of 2021.

The LR 1700-1.0 meets the industry’s need for more height and capacity than the LR 1600/2 could provide. New wind turbines require that loads of 110 USt be lifted to hub heights of 541.3’. The new LR 1700-1.0 is designed to meet those requirements.