Borger Cranes and Rigging

BORGER’S CONTINUED STRATEGY OF GROWTH

Embracing Innovation is a key factor to succeeding in the crane hire business. The Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 exemplifies this approach from Borger Cranes. The past 18 months have seen Borger Crane Hire and Rigging Services continue a trajectory of strong growth with the Queensland expansion is gathering momentum and new cranes being added to the fleet.

IT IS WELL OVER A YEAR SINCE THE

business expanded into Queensland with the purchase of Kelly Green Crane Hire and there have been numerous additions to the crane fleet including the Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 all terrain, the first of its kind in the country. Borger’s general manager, Shawn Borger provides insights into the growth strategy and elaborates on the latest additions.

“The major strategy has been the expansion into Queensland market. On the whole this development has been excellent, probably better than expected, but there is still a lot of work to do. We have certainly established significant footprints in the Brisbane and Sunshine Coast markets and both operations have been extremely busy. Mind you, this was probably always going to be the way when you are trying to bring in new business whilst servicing your existing customer base.

“The business is certainly growing in Queensland. We started out with approximately 20 cranes across the depots, and we now have 30. I can see the fleet continuing to grow with the recent announcement that Brisbane will be hosting 2032 Olympics. No doubt there will be even more infrastructure and construction required in preparation for the Olympic Games,” said Borger.

Recruiting the right calibre

of personnel has also been a key contributor to the progress being made says Borger.

“We’ve been careful to retain and recruit the right personnel to suit the culture and nature of our business. Most have been hand-picked to help create a great team atmosphere and a positive working environment. The keys to our success so far, is the result of teamwork and having the correct capacity cranes available.

“From what I have seen, I would say the Queensland market appears to be getting stronger day by the day. Fortunately, we are not in any one industry sector. We are working across various sectors including infrastructure, construction, mining and renewables including wind farm installations and servicing. We are across numerous sectors because when a particular industry shows signs of slowing down, we move our cranes and crews around to help in other growth industries.

“Right now, the infrastructure sector is particularly buoyant as is the resources, and we are securing our fair share of work in these areas. The renewable energy sector is set to boom in Queensland, and we have some interesting equipment coming to service the expected increases in demand. We will always stay ahead of the game by investing in the right technology,” said Borger.

Borger switches his attention to the New South Wales operations confirming they are consistently busy.

“Our Sydney and Newcastle operations have also been performing well. In 2020, we purchased a number of new cranes for these operations to keep up with the number of projects we could see in the pipeline and the fleets are being well utilised. Like most crane businesses, the infrastructure sector has kept our fleet busy, especially the larger cranes and we can certainly see this being the case over the next 12 to 24 months.

“The renewables sector in New South Wales is also busy and we’ve seen our Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1 well utilised in the construction and maintenance of wind farms, throughout the state. We have the ability to move cranes between operations and we have what we call ‘The Big Crane Schedule.’ This enables our supervisors to examine the availability of cranes up and down the East Coast. A crane can’t be in two places, so we watch the timing of projects very closely to ensure we have the right cranes available for the right projects,” he said.

Recently, there have been several additions to the Borger Crane fleet including the Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1. Borger explains the reasoning behind some of the additions.

“We purchased of the Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 mainly to update our 500t capacity cranes with the new technology and increased capacity. The LTM 1650 will be based Sydney and we have moved one of our 500t capacity cranes into Brisbane full time. We thought carefully about the addition of a 650t capacity crane. It doesn’t really compliment the LTM 1750 because they are two very different cranes.

“That said, the 750 can work as a 650 to cover the work when the 650 is busy on another project. Obviously, the LTM 1650 cannot lift to the capacities of the 750 but we recently had a job in Brisbane where the 500t capacity crane was not strong enough and the 750 was too big to fit on site. The 650 was the answer and it went very well on a difficult site, it’s a great crane,” he said.

The Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 is designed to deliver maximum performance. The eight 8-axle all terrain is designed to deliver maximum flexibility and fast set-up times. The LTM 1650-8.1 travels with an axle load of 12 tonnes complete with its 54 metre telescopic boom and the front supports. To minimise the set-up time, however, the rear supports are installed as complete support box in a single hoist and connected using quick-release couplings. As with all new developments over the last few years, Liebherr can offer the LTM 1650-8.1 with a very wide range of transport weights and axle load versions to ensure cost-effective global mobility for axle loads both above and below 12 tonnes.

As with its predecessor, the LTM 1500-8.1, which dominated the large telescopic crane class for 20 years, Liebherr can supply the new crane with two telescopic boom lengths – 54 metres or 80 metres. Customers can also buy both lengths and change them easily by replacing telescope section 3 and roller head with telescope sections 3 to 5.

In keeping with the concept to deliver the ultimate crane on eight axles, the load capacity increases compared to its predecessor, are between 15 and 50 percent depending on whether the telescopic boom includes guying or not. The standard VarioBase® variable support base delivers additional increases in performance in the zone above the supports.

The designers used the time-tested technology from the LTM 1500-8.1 for the Y-guying of the new LTM 1650-8.1 – although they upgraded the single-rope system to achieve better performance, the benefit of easy handling was retained. The experts from Ehingen focused on achieving an easy, fast and safe set-up process during the design process.

A range of lattice booms enables it to work efficiently in a wide range of applications. With a fixed lattice boom from 6 to 62 metres in length, the telescopic boom can be extended particularly easily and quickly. It is attached at an angle of 0°, 10°, 20° or 40°. As an option, the fixed boom can be adjusted between 0° and 38°. The luffing lattice boom with a length of 21 to 91 metres delivers maximum height, radius and performance. Both lattice booms can be attached to the 54 metre and the 80 metre telescopic boom.

High performance normally requires a large ballast radius. But often there is simply not enough space on sites. This means the ballast radius must be as small as possible. Liebherr meets this challenge with its VarioBallast® innovation. The LTM 1650-8.1 has the time-tested system from the LTM 14508.1 – the ballast radius can be infinitely adjusted using a simple hydraulic slewing mechanism – on the LTM 16508.1 between 6.3 and 8.4 metres.

The Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 is designed to deliver maximum performance.

The new Liebherr 8-axle crane operates with a maximum ballast of 155 tonnes. To enhance economy, the ballast plates are compatible with the slabs from the LTM 1350-6.1, LTM 1400-7.1, LTM 1450-8.1, Liebherr’s 9-axle mobile cranes and the LR 1350/1 crawler crane. This means that all large LTM cranes have standard ballast slabs, a massive step forwards in logistics for crane operators.

An eight-cylinder Liebherr diesel engine in the undercarriage which develops 505 kW / 687 bhp and torque of 3,160 Nm provides the LTM 1650-8.1 with all the power it needs. The engine satisfies the new stage V emissions directive and can also be built to comply with the regulations which apply in countries outside of Europe, for example Tier 4f for the USA or stage III for low regulated countries.

The power is transferred to the crane axles using the innovative 12-speed ZF TraXon Torque gearbox. A torque converter enhances manoeuvring and starting. ECOdrive is a new feature. The additional eco mode delivers enhanced drive properties which both save fuel and reduce noise. Meanwhile, Hillstart Aid makes starting on gradients easier. The intarder, a zero wear hydrodynamic brake integrated in the gearbox, acts as a retarder. In addition a Telma eddy current brake is standard.

The Liebherr single-engine concept has now proven itself in over 800 cranes and also features on the new LTM 1650-8.1. The superstructure is powered by a mechanical shaft. Gear shafts are routed from the distributor gear in the substructure via two mitre gears through the centre of the slewing ring to the pump distributor gear in the superstructure.

A mechanical shaft ensures a particularly high efficiency level and low engine speeds in the chassis engine provide sufficient power for crane work. This ensures the economy of the new concept in terms of fuel consumption. The benefits of not having a separate superstructure engine include reduced maintenance work and lower weight. The lower weight can be used for loadbearing components, thus increasing the crane’s load capacity. In ECOmode the complete pump drive can be disconnected automatically when the engine is idling and then reconnected by the intelligent controller in a matter of seconds when it is required.

“The LTM 1650-8.1 will take over all the work of the 500t crane as it has more capacity which customers prefer, and it can fit into better positions with the vario counterweight. It will be a great crane for infrastructure projects.

“Liebherr delivered the crane in early July, and we didn’t have time to get it registered. We had to get it straight on to site where it was booked out for the first six weeks and then we had a job for it in Brisbane straight after that. It hasn’t got home yet. That is a good start to a new crane,” said Borger.

Embracing innovation and new technology is a key reason why Borger Cranes and Rigging continues to

experience success says Borger.

“In my opinion, innovation is a key factor to succeeding in the crane hire business. I had put our name on the LTM 1650-8.1 when it was first released in bauma in 2019 and it is the first of its kind in the country. If we feel a crane will change the market, we want it in our fleet. Take the Franna AT40, 40t capacity pick and carry. We bought five straight away because we could see the potential impact this would have on the market.

“We have also ordered a 150t capacity Liebherr, the LTM 1150-5.3 for the same reason and we will be one of the first to have this model as well. New technology and innovation definitely provides our business with a competitive edge for the business and as we say, there is no use watching the rest of the market,” said Borger.

New purchases of all terrains have not been limited to Liebherrs. Borger Cranes has excellent relationships with

Borger Cranes like to shape the market. The Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 all terrain is the first of its kind in the country. all the major OEM’s says Borger.

“We work closely with various OEM’s because we understand each manufacturer has their points of difference. We have a good relationship with Grove and over the last three years we’ve purchased two 250t all terrains and eight 150t Grove all terrains.

“The 150t Groves have been easier to register but Liebherr recently addressed this issue with rego. We already had a couple of 250t Groves in the fleet, we’ve been happy with the performance and we felt it would be easier to run the same gear. When you are working with the various OEMs, someone is going to be disappointed at some stage. How do we manage these relationships? Keep them keen I say,” said Borger.

Support vehicles for the new cranes are always front of mind says Borger.

“The LTM 1650 requires dedicated support vehicles. We have an escort vehicle which carries some light gear and we have some approximately nine new trailers coming from TRT for the crane. There are also more trailers coming from TRT for the new cranes,” he said.

“It is a busy time. We are delighted with the way the teams are performing and this is reflected in high levels of customer satisfaction. There is a lot of work in the pipeline across both New South Wales and Queensland and the acquisition of the new cranes and equipment means we are in a position to tender for multiple, large projects with the confidence we have the capacity to deliver.

“Borger Cranes and Rigging does not follow the market. We like to shape the market and we are not afraid to embrace the latest innovations and technology and to let our customers know what we are doing. Many of our major projects are critical pieces of infrastructure and the lifts are getting bigger and more complex requiring the very latest technology the crane OEMs can offer. The LTM 1650 is a great example of this strategy. We ordered it two years ago, it’s the first in the country, and it has immediately proved to be a significant asset for our business,” said Borger.