New Liebherr Tower Crane Helps Build 597’ High-Rise in Burnaby, B.C.
Aug. 9, 2022 – A Liebherr 280 HC-L configured for 26.4-USt capacity is helping build the 597’ tall Hillside East Tower 1 in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
The skyscraper is part of a neighbourhood development project that is putting up several buildings in the Brentwood district to accommodate residential and retail units as well as cafés and restaurants.
At the same time, a Liebherr 355 HC-L 16/32 Litronic is working to erect the 466’ tall Hillside East Tower 2.
Two skyscrapers adjacent to the Hillside East Towers have already been completed. They were also successfully erected with the help of two Liebherr 280 HC-Ls.
“The 280 HC-L is an extremely reliable and responsive crane. It’s by far the best I’ve worked with in my 25-year professional career,” says crane operator Richard Out.
Two technologies impress him especially much: Micromove and level luffing, each activated with the push of a button.
Those functions have helped him, for example, to place concrete formwork panels with millimetre precision.
Out also likes the unrestricted view of loads from inside the modern LiCAB crane operator’s cab, which also features an ergonomic control stand.
High Performance
HC-L series cranes are designed for use on tall buildings. They’re easy to assemble on tight sites and feature Liebherr-made high-performance drives.
To ensure the appropriate capacity, the cranes also offer straightforward load-hook re-reeving from one- to two-line operation.
The level luffing function makes work easier for the crane operator and ensures safe and efficient operation. When level luffing is activated and the jib is raised or lowered, the control system automatically readjusts the hoist unit so the load hook travels along a horizontal path.
The 280 HC-L crane climbs up the building just like its 355 HC-L neighbour. The construction site’s layout proved a challenge in that respect.
Both cranes could only be assembled in one place, as site operations would have been disrupted otherwise. Liebherr's Tower Crane Solutions project department, together with Cambie Forming Ltd, developed an optimal climbing process to minimize loadings on the building and the crane guy wires. Despite the challenges, only six guy wires were needed to safely climb the cranes to the great heights.
Collaboration to Count On
Cambie Forming Ltd. appreciates the crane’s combination of high-performance equipment and comprehensive services. “We’ve owned Liebherr products for more than 15 years and have complete confidence in their reliability, quality of manufacturing, and usability, as well as Liebherr’s customer service,” says managing director Peter Betz.
Purchasing the new 280 HC-L for the construction project in Burnaby has paid off. “As far as we are concerned, 280 HC-L cranes have the best lifting and luffing speeds out there, they also offer impressive lifting capacities and are flexible when it comes to assembly,” said Betz.
The new 280 HC-L’s current job is expected to last until November. The 355 HC-L is scheduled to be disassembled in October.
The project’s general contractor, Cambie Forming Ltd., is based in Vancouver and is a long-standing Liebherr customer.
In addition to HC-L series cranes, the company also has top-slewing cranes from Liebherr’s HC, EC-B and EC-H series in its portfolio.
