WORLD NEWS
According to a report released
by American Equipment
Manufacturers (AEM), total sales
of farm tractors rose 14.4% in August
compared to this time a year ago,
while US sales of self-propelled
combines grew 23.4%. Meanwhile,
year-to-date growth in US sales
growth figures for total US sales of
two-wheel-drive tractors topped 8%,
under 40-HP tractors gained 10.5%,
40–100HP tractors grew 2.5%, and
100-plus tractors increased 7%.
However, Canadian retail sales
of tractors and combines did not
fare quite as well. Total sales of farm
reached 24% for combines and
13% for four-wheel-drive tractors. tractors dropped 9.5%, while sales of
In addition, August year-to-date 41.8% in August compared to last year.
self-propelled combines plummeted
According to Tahir Tellioglu, chairman
of the Buildings Contractors
Confederation of Turkey (BCCT), the
slowdown of the country’s construction
sector comes on top of a deepening
currency crisis, which has seen the
Turkish lira lose 40% of its value against
the dollar this year. Many construction
companies are selling products below cost
and are struggling to pay foreign-currency
debts. “70% of all private construction
Mikel Ibarrondo (Ibarrondo) (on left) and Tobias Böhler (Liebherr Ibérica) shake hands at the crane hand over.
The crane in Spain …
Spanish Ibarrondo Group has
purchased a Liebherr LG 1750
for erecting wind turbines. The
new crane features the SL20F2
boom system, which is designed
for the low-cost erection of
www.plantonline.co.za
heavy equipment on wind
turbine towers up to 100 metres
in height. The elimination of a
derrick system means fast set-up,
easy manoeuvring from one wind
power generator to the next,
and a reduction in the number of
transport units.
The new crane makes Ibarrondo
a pioneer in Spain: it is the first
one with the new boom system
based on the Liebherr SX system
work has stopped or slowed down,” said
Tellioglu. As large infrastructure projects
are cancelled or delayed, the cement
industry is likely to become sucked into
the situation. Turkey’s backlog of unsold
houses has already swelled to around 2m,
reports the Wall Street Journal.
Domestic cement prices have risen
80% since January 2017, because of the
fall in the value of the Turkish lira, says
the BCCT.
with boom sections 3.5m wide.
Only one additional component is
required for the extension from
the SX system to the SL20F2 and
can be used for both the LR 1750/2
crawler crane and for the LG 1750
mobile crane. A conscious decision
was made to eliminate the derrick
system to improve economy.
At a hook height of 113 metres, it
has a lifting capacity of 140 tonnes,
20% more than similar cranes
without a derrick system, making
it well-suited for current and also
future wind turbine generations on
towers measuring up to 100 metres
in height. The new boom system
is not just limited to wind turbines,
however, as a 400-tonne head for
hoisting heavy loads can be installed
instead of the lattice fly jib. During
its first five months in service, the
new crane will work on a wind farm
where it will use its full capacity.
Ibarrondo will also use the crane in
industry, chemical plants, and other
construction projects, and therefore
decided to invest straight away with
the first delivery in extending the
crane with a derrick, the new ‘Vario
Tray’ suspended ballast pallet and
the SX boom with a boom length of
144 metres (SXD4F2B), so that the
crane would be suitable for covering
a wide range of work in the future.
NOVEMBER 2018
9