The whole thing is made possible by the new, more powerful SL8F2 boom system, which Liebherr has developed in collaboration with Buckner for the LR 11000 crawler crane. This system is so powerful that it can hoist the completely assembled generator – the eighth version of the SL boom with the second version of the fixed F jib delivers a lifting capacity of 253 tonnes with a hook height of 114 metres, enough to hoist the 230 tonnes made up of the complete generator and load handling equipment up to the hub height of 108 metres. Another advantage is that assembling the nacelle with the drivetrain and hub on the ground is easier and safer than at high altitude.

The configuration of the LR 11000 with SL8F2 for modern wind turbines on towers around 100 metres high is particularly economical because the crane can operate without a derrick system. This saves crane contractors logistics work and set-up time because fewer parts have to be transported and erected.

Buckner completed the first Nordex Delta 4000 generator to be installed with a single hoist at a wind farm in Northern Oklahoma in the centre of the United States. The LR 11000 was set up with the 108 metre SL boom and 12 metre fixed jib. 130 tonnes of central ballast, 250 tonnes of slewing platform ballast and a further 80 tonnes on the slewing platform extension provided the required stability to hoist the gross load of 230 tonnes to a hook height of 114 metres. This successful premiere will mean that this assembly process will now become standard procedure for this particular wind turbine. Five of 17 LR 11000 cranes, which Buckner is now operating in the USA, feature this new boom system.