Takeover of the new LTM 1160-5.2 in Ehingen: From left to right: Andreas Mahlke, Timm Wortmann (all August Alborn GmbH & Co. KG).

• August Alborn purchases LTM 1160-5.2 for hoisting heavy loads

• VarioBallast® and VarioBase® were important factors behind the decision

• August Alborn specialises in individual hoisting and transport solutions for very heavy loads

August Alborn GmbH & Co. KG has taken delivery of a new Liebherr LTM 1160-5.2 mobile crane. The specialist heavy hoisting and haulage contractor purchased the 180 tonne crane for projects involving the handling and assembling of heavy components and large machines. This work features unit weights of up to 65 tonnes. The LTM 1160-5.2 is now the company’s largest crane and largest single investment.

The new LTM 1160-5.2 will be supplied to a company where hoisting and transporting extremely heavy goods is standard procedure. August Alborn has won several awards for particularly tricky heavy haulage and assembly projects. It may therefore come as something of a surprise that the Liebherr 180 tonne mobile crane is now the largest crane in the company’s fleet: “We are not a classic crane hire company. We are a small, very specialised company with rather a small fleet, but with more than 1000 tonnes of steel in the yard. Everything is bespoke. We repeatedly push the envelope,” explains company owner Helmut Alborn.

August Alborn uses hydraulic lifting frames to hoist loads weighing up to 1440 tonnes. The term “standard” is not in the company’s vocabulary. Every job is different. Individual solutions are required. To construct frames tailored to the situation, August Alborn mainly uses its own crane fleet, which currently comprises ten mobile cranes.

Handover of key in Dortmund: From left to right.: Frederike V. Alborn, Helmut Alborn, Uta C. Alborn (all August Alborn GmbH & Co. KG), Christoph Neumann (Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH).

The new LTM 1160-5.2 is an exception which will be used for a special project. Herbert Laumann, one of the first 2019 Chamber of Industry and Trade-approved mobile crane drivers, and is the fleet manager at the company, explains: “This project requires a heavy load to be handled. That is why we decided to buy the 180 tonne crane. The VarioBallast® variable ballast radius and VarioBallast® variable support base were also major criteria behind the decision”. Helmut Alborn continues: “And we also considered the future and ordered the crane with a removable telescopic boom. For jobs that need speed and great flexibility, it is very helpful if the crane can be reduced to a gross weight of less than 40 tonnes”. The word “standard” is also not in the company’s vocabulary when it comes to buying cranes.

It is also remarkable that the decision to invest in the company’s largest crane was actually taken during the coronavirus shutdown. Uta Alborn, who, among other things, is responsible for basic and advanced training for the company’s 30-strong workforce, comments: “Our company is more than 128 years old and has survived two world wars. We think long term. We also employed two apprentices despite the coronavirus. Basic and advanced training are one of our main priorities whatever the situation”.