Liebherr HS 8100.1 at work on Florida clamshell operation

Brance Diversified, a dredge and marine construction company, utilized their new Liebherr HS 8100.1 for a clamshell operation on St. John’s River in Jacksonville, FL.

Brance Diversified purchased both the dredging and lighting packages to equip their crawler crane so that it could work from dawn to dusk.

Brance Diversified, a dredge and marine construction company, actively works on projects preserving Florida’s waterways and wetlands. The company recently relied on a Liebherr’s crawler crane to efficiently work on one of these large-scale operations.

The company utilized its new 110-ton capacity Liebherr HS 8100.1 duty cycle crawler crane for the marine operation. This crawler crane was specifically designed for this type of work.

For more than two months, Brance Diversified used the crane, working from a barge, to dredge 50,000 cubic yards of sand and silt. The company chose to use this particular crane to complete the job due to its reliability, excellent clamshell barge charts and efficient production.

“We chose the HS 8100.1 because of its powerful 523 hp engine, 61,800 pounds of line pull winches, low noise emission and low fuel consumption” said Brance Diversified’s President Lance Young.

Working on a barge, the 110-ton capacity Liebherr HS 8100.1 dredged the waterway using a clamshell. More than 50,000 cubic yards of sand and silt were loaded onto a dump barge and hauled away.

The hydraulic crawler crane has a Liebherr diesel engine which complies with Tier 4Final regulations supporting Brance Diversified’s mission of being an environmentally safe company.

The crane was rigged using Liebherr’s GrabMatic System, which assists operators in clamshell projects. It visually aids the operator with optimized grab closing including level cutting, and the system shows the machine’s inclination up to 4 degrees on the operator’s monitor, as well as records cycles and turnover.

“This is a powerful machine specifically designed for duty cycle work like clamshell, grapple and dragline.” -Wolfgang Herzog, Vice President, Liebherr USA Crawler Cranes and Deep Foundation Machines

“These systems increase safety, minimize rope wear and significantly increase turnover/production, allowing our customers to dredge larger projects faster and more efficiently,” said Wolfgang Herzog, vice president of sales for the southeast and Caribbean for Liebherr USA Crawler Cranes and Deep Foundation Machines. “This is a powerful machine specifically designed for duty cycle work like clamshell, grapple and dragline.”

To work as many hours as possible, Brance Diversified also added a lighting package for dusk/night work. The crawler crane operated for 10 to 12 hours a day throughout various light conditions. For the most part, the crane handled sand and silt, as well as the salt water.

“Reliability and production definitely meet and exceed our expectations,” said Young.