Liebherr delivers first ever LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane

Switzerland-headquartered crane manufacturer Liebherr has “delivered” its first ever LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane to heavy lifting specialist Mammoet.

Featuring a customised black and red colour scheme, the new mobile crane rolled off Liebherr’s production line in Ehingen, Germany, but was delivered to Netherlands-based heavy lifting specialist Mammoet via a virtual handover as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking during the online exchange, Jan Kleijn, COO at Mammoet, said, “We are delighted to take delivery of the first ever LTM 1650-8.1 from Liebherr. The performance, mobility and economy of this new crane model will enrich our fleet, giving Mammoet the flexibility to gradually replace our 500 and 700-tonners with this new Liebherr 8-axle crane. The crane handover is also a sign of the strong, long term relationship between our two companies, which are leaders in their respective industries.”

The successor to Liebherr’s LTM 1500-8.1 model, the LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane was first unveiled at the Bauma construction equipment exhibition in Germany in 2019. The model has a lifting capacity of 700 tonnes (772 US tons) and can be supplied with telescopic booms of either 54 or 80 metres (177 or 262 feet) long. It also has the VarioBase variable support function for increased performance when working above the outriggers.

Peter van Oostrom, director global projects and assets at Mammoet, said, “The main highlights of the new crane include the simple, fast setup and dismantling of the rear support box. It also has standard ballast slabs, which are compatible with other Liebherr cranes, ranging from 350 to 1,200 tonne models. That increases the flexibility of our fleet and is extremely cost-efficient.”

Christoph Kleiner, managing director sales at Liebherr, said, “We have designed a worthy successor to the LTM 1500-8.1. We also appreciate feedback from crane operations and the advice that we received from Mammoet to enable us to extract the maximum from eight axles. Close collaboration with our customers in our product development process is extremely important to us.”