每日吃瓜

Before the crane could be assembled at Liebherr, it was disassembled and transported from Aschaffenburg to Bad Waldsee on two lorries, a 350-km journey. On-site, Stephan Keim and a team of Liebherr mechanics reassembled the crane within two days. Visitors can now admire the crane as an industrial monument at the Tower Crane Centre site. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited that this part of Liebherr history has returned to us. Over the years, many historical construction machines have been taken out of service and scrapped. It鈥檚 important to us to preserve our history and Stephan Keim has made an important contribution to that,鈥� says Michael Goll, Head of Global Communication & Organizational Development at Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH. 

It took over four years to breathe new life into the Form 30A/35 鈥� from its discovery to the finishing touches. The restoration alone took about a year to complete: 鈥淭he crane was dilapidated when I acquired it,鈥� says Stephan Keim. The account manager hadn鈥檛 restored a machine of that size until then. The crane, constructed in July 1969, was completely rusty and many of its components were badly damaged or broken. 鈥淐hanging the screws of the ring gear alone took a whole day. They are very difficult to reach.鈥� The bolts, too, were rusty and beyond use, however, they were of good substance. They were polished, galvanised and reused wherever it was possible. The whole crane was sandblasted and repainted. Stephan Keim changed every single screw. Furthermore, the rope pulley bearing and restored the control cabinet as well as the ropes and wiring. 

Overall, the tinkerer was able to buy and include numerous original and spare parts that Liebherr still has in stock. Liebherr also provided 120 litres of the original yellow varnish. 鈥淏ut the driver鈥檚 cabin posed a big challenge. It had rusted completely, and the metal sheets were full of holes. It was beyond repair,鈥� says Stephan Keim. Supported by his locksmith, he replicated the metal sheets, accurate to the millimetre, so that they were indistinguishable from the original. Today, the crane has a UVV (accident prevention regulation) test badge and is once again fully operational. 

The Liebherr Form 30A/35 was produced from 1962 until the mid-seventies. It was one of the most widely built medium-sized cranes of its time. Liebherr constructed around 3,000 models. Erecting cranes with needle jibs were the common models at the time. Until, in the mid-seventies, a new, fully modified type of cranes entered the market. They were easier to transport and more cost-efficient than the models that were common at the time. Although it gradually vanished from construction sites, the Form 30A/35 marked the beginning of a new era in crane construction: it was the first of its kind constructed with tubular and hollow profiles instead of the previously used L-profiles. In a modernized form, this construction method is still being used in all Liebherr tower cranes today.