Manfred Brandl never thought that he would see this machine again one day. Yet the two are connected by a story that changed Liebherr. Why? Well, Liebherr-Werk Nenzing (Austria), where Manfred Brandl started as a production worker and left as managing director four decades later, very nearly developed completely differently and would almost certainly still be building ship cranes today: if it hadn’t been for this duty cycle crawler crane, which carried out lifting work in a gravel pit close to Bonn (Germany) day in, day out – rusty but steadfast, 40 years after it was built. It was discovered in 2014. The then sales manager for duty cycle and crawler cranes for Germany examined it himself and reported something unbelievable to his colleagues in Nenzing: he had the forefather of construction machine production in Nenzing in front of him – the prototype of the duty cycle crawler crane HS 870 with the serial number 181001. For Manfred Brandl, this reunion would become unforgettable.

Jürgen Grass, Head of Assembly, has had to face more than one challenge in 35 years of working in construction machine development. Yet hardly any was as special as this one. He will probably always remember the homecoming of the HS 870 duty cycle crawler crane. That was in February 2018: “I can still see it before my eyes. Its condition was good, considering the circumstances. The motor and hydraulics were still working flawlessly. Nevertheless, time had left its mark on our first duty cycle crawler crane. In its 40 years of service, the machine wasn’t exactly handled delicately.” One thing was clear. If this part of Liebherr history was to be saved, more than just a fresh coat of paint would be needed.

But how do you restore a machine that established a whole era? “Since we are specialised in building new machines at Nenzing, we repeatedly had to decide just how much we wanted to restore. We wanted to preserve its character, of course. It was really hard for us not to make this vintage duty cycle crawler crane look as perfect as a new machine.”

In the analogue years 1979 and 1980, neither Manfred Brandl nor his colleagues would have guessed that their work was to go down as a turning point in Liebherr history. It all began when the German construction machine manufacturer Menck went bankrupt. At the same time, many different contractors approached Hans Liebherr Jr, asking whether his company could also build duty cycle crawler cranes. The company founder’s son bought the bankrupt manufacturer’s construction plans. After careful consideration, they decided to build a duty cycle crawler crane in Nenzing. And Manfred Brandl became part of the group that built it. He remembers that, initially, the prototype wasn’t popular with everyone: “We were a ship crane factory and had little to do with construction machines. The duty cycle crawler crane was a completely different product and did not really fit into the production portfolio. A few were grumbling behind closed doors.”

In spite of the naysayers, it was to be a duty cycle crawler crane, and by no means simply a Menck machine under a new name. The first Liebherr duty cycle crawler crane was to have a diesel-hydraulic drive and an electronic control system. A world’s first to be presented at Bauma 1980. However, there were only 18 months left until then. “At first, things were frantic,” says Manfred Brandl. “After all, we didn’t even know how a duty cycle crawler crane worked and to some extent, we had to define completely new manufacturing processes.” Equipped with the construction drawings of the Menck model M 750, the design engineers went to the drawing board and drafted a machine unknown to them, with novel hydraulics and a new drive system. “We mechanical fitters in production received the construction plans pretty quickly and we got started. It was only during construction that we noticed that Menck’s construction drawings were incomplete. There was a hitch in every corner.” As a group, they worked together to find the mistakes – not unlike today’s agile way of working – and together they found solutions for all the problems. “Building ship cranes is a project business. You can blindly rely on others. And that’s the only reason why we managed to build the HS 870 at maximum speed.” They even worked on their duty cycle crawler crane on the weekends – as a truly committed team.

When Manfred Brandl thinks back today, he fondly remembers the assembly, the production of the covers and the tests on the test bench. And a very particular component: that darn band brake! Without a band brake, there’s no rope winch, no rope and definitely no working duty cycle crawler crane. “I would never have thought that a small, inconspicuous component could drive us to the brink of despair. As simple as it looked, as complex was its construction.” Every time they thought they had finally found the solution for the brake, a new problem arose. Some versions saw the metal getting too hot when braking, with others, the metal simply broke or the rivets fell out. Nothing worked. “We even dreamt about it. However, when Bauma came, we had it figured out. Our motto prevailed: nothing’s impossible.”

In April 1980, the whole group that had created Liebherr’s first duty cycle crawler crane was invited to Bauma in Munich (Germany). The prototype was not only expected to meet high standards in terms of workmanship and functionality: it also had to be visually appealing. “We cleaned and polished the machine until in the end it was presented to the world like a made-up bride on the Liebherr stand.” The group from Nenzing stood around their machine with proudly swollen chests, watched the hustle and bustle, held conversations and could hardly believe just how much praise they got. “At Bauma all the reputable construction machine manufacturers of the world present their products but our HS 870 caught the eye of the expert exhibition visitors. It was a world sensation.”

When Bauma ended, the prototype was directly handed over to its new owner Bilfinger Berger and was in active service on various construction sites for various owners all over Europe: until it was rediscovered in Bonn, 40 years later.