New Liebherr crane at work on Canadian skyscraper

A new Liebherr luffing jib crane is out on its first job in Burnaby, Canada. A 56-story residential tower is being erected there as part of a development project. Experts from Tower Crane Solutions have provided climbing concept support.

The Liebherr 280 HC-L 12/24 Litronic crane offers an impressive maximum lifting capacity of up to 24 tons.

“The 280 HC-L is an extremely reliable and responsive crane. It’s by far the best crane I’ve worked with in my 25-year professional career,” said crane operator Richard Out.

The 280 HC-L in the version with its maximum 27-ton load capacity is helping to build Hillside East Tower 1 to a final height of 597 feet. The skyscraper is part of a neighbourhood development project in the city Burnaby in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Several buildings are being constructed in the Brentwood district to accommodate residential and retail units as well as cafés and restaurants. At the same time, a Liebherr 355 HC-L 16/32 Litronic is working on Hillside East Tower 2. The building is to be 466 feet high. Two further skyscrapers, directly adjacent to the Hillside East Towers, have now been completed. These were also successfully erected with the help of two Liebherr 280 HC-Ls.

A 280 HC-L and a 355 HC-L from Liebherr are helping to build two residential towers in Burnaby, Canada.

HC-L series cranes are optimally designed for use on tall buildings, the company said. They’re easy to assemble on tight construction sites and feature in-house manufactured high-performance drives. To ensure the appropriate handling capacity, the cranes also offer load hook re-reeving from one to two-line operation. The level luffing function makes work easier for the crane operator and ensures safe and efficient operation on site. When the jib moves, the control system automatically readjusts the hoist unit so that the load hook travels along a horizontal path.

An optimal climbing process is also important for safety and efficiency on the construction site. The 280 HC-L crane climbs up the building just like its 355 HC-L neighbour. The construction site’s layout proved a challenge in this respect.

The luffing jib cranes climb external to the building. Liebherr’s Tower Crane Solutions project department assisted with the concept.

Both cranes could only be assembled in one place, as site operations would have been disrupted otherwise. Liebherr’s Tower Crane Solutions project department, together with Cambie Forming Ltd, developed an optimal climbing process to minimize the loads on the building and the crane guy wires. 

“As far as we are concerned, 280 HC-L cranes have the best lifting and luffing speeds out there, they also offer impressive lifting capacities and are flexible when it comes to assembly,” said managing director Peter Betz.

The new 280 HC-L’s current job is expected to last until November this year. The 355 HC-L is scheduled to be disassembled in October.