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Apr. 27, 2023 - Canadian crane contractor Guay has ordered three Liebherr LR 1700-1.0 lattice-boom crawler cranes for its extensive fleet of lifting equipment.
One of the 770-USt crawler cranes has been ordered with a narrow track chassis.
Guay plans to use this crane in particular in wind farms.
Guay is adding the three big cranes to meet growing demand for the lifting capacity and hoisting height to erect wind turbines.
The 770-USt cranes will be the most powerful Liebherr crawler cranes in the company's fleet. Economical transportation was an important reason Guay decided to buy the new LR 1700-1.0 cranes.
"We are seeing a strong increase in demand for new wind farms in our market,” said Guillaume Gagnon, executive vice president of Guay. “The government is investing large sums in green energy to meet the growing demand. We need to invest in larger crawler cranes as wind turbines get heavier and taller.”
The new Liebherr cranes will reinforce the Canadian crane specialist's fleet and deliver the highest hoisting heights in the fleet.
Guay plans to use the 770-USt models in wind farms, but they will also be used in industry and for construction work. "We will now be able to erect wind turbines up to 165 meters (541’) in height and the maximum hook height of 196 meters (643’) will enable us to work on tall buildings," Gagnon added. "We chose the LR 1700-1.0 to be able to provide customers with a state-of-the-art crane for their future wind projects.”
Gagnon explained that research showed Guay that the LR 1700-1.0 delivered the perfect combination of high lifting capacity and small footprint the company needs.
He also noted that LR 1700-1.0 costs less to transport than larger cranes, thanks to the sizes and weights of its components.
Economical Transport, Innovative Technology
The LR 1700-1.0 combines the economical transport costs of a 660-USt crawler crane with the performance of an 825-USt and all the innovations featured in Liebherr’s crawler crane developments from the last few years, such as VarioTray and V-Frame.
VarioTray is a small counterweight frame that can be unbolted quickly and easily, as needed. It eliminates the need for stacking and unstacking of counterweights.
The V-frame ballast system is a hydraulically adjustable folding frame that enables the ballast radius of the LR 1700-1.0 to be adjusted anywhere between 42.7’ and 68.9’. It eliminates the need for a rigid ballast guide for working at long radii.
Gagnon continued, "The V-Frame increases the crane’s capacity and flexibility to do all the work we have planned. VarioTray saves us time when working on wind power projects because we only need a lot of counterweight to erect long boom configurations.”
He added that the LR 1700-1.0’s state-of-the-art technology will meet Guay’s requirements long into the future.
One of the largest privately owned crane companies in North America, Guay has more than 20 locations Quebec, more than 500 cranes in capacities of up to 3,300-USt, and about 625 employees.
