Würzburg’s lock gate replaced by Liebherr mobile cranes

Würzburger Kranverleih und Bergungsdienst GmbH recently used three Liebherr mobile cranes to replace the old lock gate with a new one.

To get as close as possible to the lock gate, an LTM 1220-5.1 weighing 60 tons was hoisted into the empty lock chamber by an LTM 1130-5.1 and an LTM 1100/2 with a radius of 10 meter. Before this was possible, approx. 15 million liters of water had to be pumped out of the lock chamber.

The old gate was removed in three sections, loaded on to a low loader and is to be reassembled so that it is available in an emergency. The new gate was also delivered in three sections and assembled in the lock by the LTM 1220-5.1. The heaviest component weighed 24 tons. The work took a total of around 2 weeks to complete, with some of it being completed at night so as not to disturb river traffic for too long.

Conditions in the lock were very constricted and hoisting the crane in and out was extremely intricate. However, this method was much more economical for this work than the use of a crane operating from outside the lock because at least a 700-ton class crane would have had to be used as a result of the large radius which would then have been required.

Würzburger Kranverleih employs 25 people and operates 12 mobile cranes with load capacities ranging from 30 to 220 ton, 12. The company’s fleet also includes a Liebherr MK 63 mobile crane. The company has also ordered a Liebherr LTF 1045-4.1 truck-mounted crane. “This crane will be used for steel erection work and will have to cover plenty of distance between jobs. That is why we decided on the economical LTF crane”, explained company owner Ibrahim Kücükdag. The family-run company was founded in 1994 with members of its second generation already working in it.