In the Black Hills of South Dakota, a large memorial depicting Oglala warrior, Crazy Horse, has been under construction since 1948. Crazy Horse, a renowned war leader of the Oglala band of Lakota Sioux, defended his homeland and played a crucial role as settlers expanded westward into Native American territories, including during significant battles such as the Powder River Campaign, Red Cloud’ s War and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Today, the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation( CHMF) is continuing the work on the Crazy Horse Memorial, a 501( c)( 3) educational and humanitarian project. And to advance the world’ s largest mountain carving honoring Crazy Horse they have been collaborating with Liebherr USA, Co. and Morrow Equipment Company.
While progress on the Crazy Horse Mountain carving continues to be made daily as carvers focus on refining details, sculpting presents multiple large-scale
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obstacles. For example, one of the primary challenges facing the project is and always has been limited accessibility.
Methods used in the past include a combination of road development, carving work benches and working from ropes. Additionally, the site requires immense heavy equipment, including large construction machinery and a recently acquired 15,000-pound robotic arm, which will assist with sculpting.
Ideal Solution
Moving large equipment to many parts of the work site had been challenging at least or nearly impossible. Then, in 2023, Caleb Ziolkowski, chief mountain officer of CHMF, engaged in a conversation with Morrow Equipment Company to discuss the scale and ambition of this monumental project. Inspired by the vision, Morrow recognized that the Liebherr 1000 EC-H 40 top-slewing tower crane was the ideal solution to transform material accessibility on
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The Liebherr 1000 EC-H 40 top-slewing tower crane on the Crazy Horse Memorial jobsite is handling high lifting capacities. The crane at the mountain site has a more than 262-foot jib and offers a more than 213-foot hook height.
this massive mountain carving jobsite.
“ I originally met Caleb Ziolkowski at ConExpo 2023 and discussed the possibility of using a tower crane to complete the Crazy Horse Memorial,” said Peter Juhren, president of Morrow Equipment Company.“ I visited the site to see the monument firsthand and to discuss the crane that would be needed. Utilizing the Liebherr 1000 EC-H 40 top slewing tower crane, the crew on the site can now handle materials faster and utilize higher lifting capacities essential for this large-scale project.”
The Liebherr 1000 EC-H 40 top-slewing tower crane is ideal for large construction sites handling high lifting capacities and can be adapted to the individual requirements of the crane operator and project. Equipped with multiple intelligent assistance systems and with a slim, modular
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All photos courtesty of © Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation |
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October 2025 • www. cranehotline. com |