The 400-tonne capacity LR 1400 SX machine is being used by its owner, Full Tilt Crane Services, to lift concrete tilt-up panels that form the walls of a new film studio for Electric Owl Studios in the US city of Atlanta, Georgia.
Tilt-up construction – a technique popular in the US but rarely encountered in Europe – entails casting reinforced concrete panels horizontally on-site and then lifting them vertically into position.
The panels used for this project were made by Full Tilt’s parent company Martin Concrete Construction.
Full Tilt bought the crane from Liebherr’s factory in Nenzing, Austria, which developed the machine in response to a growing demand for projects of this kind, where components are getting bigger and heavier.
The largest tilt-up panel on this job has a height of approximately 34 metres: “You’re not going to be able to do that in the precast market,” said Full Tilt Crane Services’ managing director Jason Richardson.
The LR 1400 SX, launched in November 2021, is a general-purpose lift crane designed for rapid assembly and ease of transport. In travel mode the crane weighs no more than 46 tonnes.
“The self-assembly system of the crane is very important to us,” said Richardson. “We don’t need an assist crane. Right now, we can fully assembly our LR 1400 SX in under 12 hours.”
Full Tilt Crane Services frequently moves from site to site, often completing projects within one to two weeks. The fact that the LR 1400 SX can be moved quickly is a great advantage for the company, explains Richardson.
Platform and railings remain attached to the superstructure during transport and only need to be folded down. The self-assembly system, the boom sections, counterweight, crawlers and hoist winches can be easily assembled and disassembled without the need for an auxiliary crane.
The crane can lift, lower and secure its own 150-tonne rear counterweight without assistance. The counterweight itself is modular and can be equipped with 5-tonne or 10-tonne counterweight slabs, depending on requirements.
Having expressed satisfaction with its new Liebherr machine, Full Tilt Crane Services has now ordered a second LR 1400 SX. “Our expectations from the first one met everything we were looking for. It’s a great machine,” said Richardson.
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