Annual Report 2021
Deep foundation machines industry on course for growth
After getting off to a rocky start at the beginning of last year, the global market for deep foundation machines experienced a significant recovery starting in the spring. However, growth in all markets was impacted by shortages of raw materials and components and supply chain bottlenecks.
The Liebherr deep foundation machines product segment performed in line with the industry trend, with increased turnover across all sales regions. In the European Union, the product segment’s core market, Liebherr recorded extremely pleasing growth, driven in particular by positive developments in Italy and Germany. While the North America region was significantly influenced by an increase in Canada, the US market showed the potential for further growth in the years ahead. Central and South America also developed dynamically, followed by Africa and the Near and Middle East. Liebherr also made gains in Asia and Oceania as well as in the non-EU countries, especially the United Kingdom and Turkey.
Living up to its promise of shaping long-term industry trends, Liebherr is a driving force behind the electrification and digitalisation of construction machinery.
New technologies for better performance and fewer emissions
Liebherr unveiled numerous new products in the duty cycle crawler cranes and deep foundation machines product areas. These included the first HS 8300.2, currently the largest duty cycle crawler crane in the world, with a lifting capacity of 300 tonnes. This second-generation duty cycle crawler crane features two main winches, each with 700 kN of rope pull force, as well as an optimised boom, and can be equipped with the innovative hybrid drive Pactronic® to increase performance. The battery-powered drilling rigs of the unplugged series significantly reduce construction site noise in urban and densely populated areas. Another highlight was an expansion in the range of slurry wall cutters. Liebherr delivered six LSC 8-18 slurry wall cutters over the course of the year for critical infrastructure and energy sector construction projects around the world. For the cutter wheel drives of these machines, Liebherr offered a new, usagebased contract model called 4C-Power, which enables customers to precisely plan maintenance and repair costs. Research and development activities focused on expanding electrification throughout the equipment portfolio. With the delivery of the first electrically powered HS 8100.1 E duty cycle crawler crane to the port of Le Havre (France), Liebherr helped reach another milestone on the path towards emissions-free construction machinery.
Liebherr expects a slight increase in turnover in the deep foundation machines product segment in 2022. The current geopolitical situation makes it impossible to reliable assess the economic prospects for the year ahead.