In our own back yard
From demolition to groundwork and crane lifts, Liebherr equipment plays an integral role in every phase of the upgrade and expansion project at Liebherr’s mining truck manufacturing facility in Hampton Roads.
Commitment to the United States
The Newport News location has played a crucial role in fulfilling the growing demand for Liebherr products both locally and globally since Liebherr’s expansion to North America in 1970. Newport News, recognized as one of the seven cities within Hampton Roads, offers a strategic position as a port city with access to intermodal shipping routes and a bustling economic environment.
The manufacturing plant is dedicated to produce Liebherr’s range of diesel electric mining trucks handling payloads of up to 400 USt. These large machines are partly assembled, tested, and certified at the Newport News plant. Complete assembly is then carried out at mines all over the world.
In response to the global demand for mining trucks, Liebherr has partnered with several Hampton Road’s contractors to begin expansion of the production facilities. Due to the range of applications required for the project, Liebherr machines have been the choice of equipment to handle the diverse and demanding tasks in the different phases. From specialized demolition machines to heavy lift mobile cranes and a variety of earthmoving equipment, the current demolition and construction plans are projected to be completed by the end of 2025.
To kick off this large-scale project, the plant annex needed to be torn down to make room for the new 80,000 ft2 addition. Turnkey demolition provider, East Coast Demolition, brought in their Liebherr R 936 Compact crawler excavator to sort, pick, load out, and process all steel, debris and other materials removed.
“The biggest challenge is performing demolition next to a live plant and the active construction work that is happening around the demo site,” noted Ricky Webb, COO of East Coast Demolition. “The Liebherr R 936 Compact crawler excavator is a smooth and balanced machine equipped with the demolition guarding and protection making it safe to run in a high-risk environment.”
The Liebherr R 936 Compact crawler excavator is a smooth and balanced machine equipped with the demolition guarding and protection making it safe to run in a high-risk environment.
Demo days
The R 936 Compact crawler excavator is easy to maneuver and operate, allowing for a safer working environment for East Coast Demolition project sites. With its tight radius, this machine is especially well suited for job sites with many other moving machines. For example, the crawler excavator had to operate around multiple drill rigs, cranes, and earthmoving equipment assisting with the demo and construction of the facilities.
Setting the standard
Once most of the demo is done, three main structural trusses weighing 30,000 lbs. each had to be removed from the back of the production plant. Due to the precise coordination and crucial movements to complete a safe demolition, Prillaman’s Crane and Rigging, Inc. was brought in and utilized a Liebherr LTM 1090-4.2 mobile crane and an LTM 1250-5.1 mobile crane. These mobile cranes provided a flexible and agile solution to assist with heavy lifting.
Prillaman noted the high-quality cranes and longstanding relationship with Liebherr aided in their decision to continually use Liebherr products. On a daily basis, Prillaman uses Liebherr LTMs on various crane, rigging, and heavy haul projects including building ships, mining trucks, ac units, trains and more.
Valuable assets
To create additional storage and a rainwater retention pond, essential earthmoving, utilities, and stonework was carried out across 8 acres of land. The bulk of the dirt work was carried out by Hampton Roads construction contractor, C.A. Barrs.
The company had multiple machines on site including an R 926 crawler excavator and an R 946 crawler excavator to dig the retention pond, as well as a PR 716 crawler dozer with trimble grading to clear the 8 acres for additional storage of machines.
“We are doing all the dirt and utility work, so we have a Trimble GPS Liebherr 946 digging the pond and loading dump trucks and a Liebherr 716 dozer with Trimble grading the pond and stone on site,” said Cole Barrs, foreman of C.A. Barrs. “The equipment is fast and accurate with Trimble GPS making our job easier.”
The Liebherr earthmoving range offers an extensive variety of high-quality machines made with in-house components developed and manufactured by Liebherr. Among these are the entire drive and control technology, diesel engines and a variety of components for hydraulics, gearboxes, and electronic systems.
“We feel that our machines are a great value and have served our company very well,” noted Steve Barrs, president of C.A. Barrs.
C.A. Barrs also noted a main piece of criteria in purchasing their excavators was not only the good value of the machine, but the support and follow up of Liebherr USA, Co.'s sales team. Understanding the importance of reliable, real-time customer service, Liebherr USA offers an extensive Earthmoving and Material Handling Technology sales and service network that covers the entire country. This provides rapid support from Liebherr experts to keep customers' machines running efficiently and effectively with little downtime.
Forward thinking
This expansion is more than just a construction project; it is a cornerstone of Liebherr Mining Equipment's strategic vision, laying a stronger foundation for the many ambitious projects anticipated in the future.
“We’re thankful for the partnerships with the cities of Hampton and Newport News and the Commonwealth of Virginia that have greatly enriched our operations and enabled Liebherr Mininge Equipment to bring 175 new jobs and investment to the region,” noted Cort Reiser, managing director of Liebherr Mining Equipment Newport News Co.
