Liebherr Self-Erectors
“ The crane just does it,” Watson said.“ You shut off the lower engine, switch to the generator for the upper 480-volt system, and it self-levels and erects itself. You just pull the trigger. It’ s incredibly efficient.”
The MK63’ s air-cooled Deutz diesel generator keeps things quiet and compact, and it can also be plugged into shore power for near-silent operation— a big advantage for urban or noise-sensitive projects.
Early Adopters
While E-Built is one of the early adopters of Liebherr’ s smaller mobile construction cranes, Ideal Crane Rental in Wisconsin and SL Chasse Steel in New Hampshire are among the first U. S. companies to take delivery of MK 73-3.1, MK 88-4.1 and MK 140-5.1 models.
For Robert Kalhagen, president of Ideal Crane Rental, Inc., it’ s been a decade in the making.“ We first saw the MK series in action over ten years ago,” Kalhagen recalled.“ We’ ve been eager to utilize this type of crane in the United States ever since.”
Ideal ordered one of each model as soon as Liebherr opened the U. S. market in 2024.“ Tasks that previously required a larger crane with multiple counterweights and jib extensions can now be managed with a crane that carries its own counterweights and can be set up in a fraction of the time,” Kalhagen explained.
Ideal’ s cranes are scheduled for a diverse range of projects— from HVAC and roofing work to steel erection, solar installation and infrastructure upgrades. Their largest model, the MK 140-5.1, has a reach of more than 200 feet and a hook height of up to 309 feet, and it’ s fully operational in less than 30 minutes.
In New England, SL Chasse Steel, based in Hudson, New Hampshire, took delivery of its own Liebherr MK 88-4.1 to serve mid-rise projects in space-constrained areas of the state and in Massachusetts.
“ The MK 88-4.1 has excep-
The current Liebherr MK series now available in the United States includes the MK 73-3.1E, MK 88-4.1E, MK 120-5.1E and MK 140-5.1E models. All are hybrid-powered and can operate silently when connected to site power, an increasingly important advantage for sustainable, lowimpact construction in populated areas.
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