Closing the gap in Leipzig: Richter takes delivery of a Liebherr LTM 1250-5.1 mobile crane

Company founder and owner Matthias Richter personally attended the handover of the LTM 1250-5.1 at the Liebherr manufacturing plant in Ehingen. "The LTM 1250-5.1 closes the gap between our LTM 1160-5.2 and our LTM 1450-8.1. We can now offer a crane in every segment. We deliberately opted for the 250-tonne crane because it's very powerful and also has a very powerful hydraulically adjustable lattice jib, ideal for erecting electricity pylons, for example."

The LTM 1250-5.1 is based on the concept of extracting the maximum lifting capacity from the available weight of a 5-axle mobile crane. VarioBallast® enables it to deliver maximum lifting capacities with a large ballast radius, making it perfect for use on constricted sites with a small ballast radius. And it achieves this by quickly adjusting the ballast in seconds.

All ten mobile cranes at Richter Kran und Schwerlast GmbH are from Liebherr. "We are very satisfied with the cranes and we appreciate their standardised controls. This allows us to deploy our crane drivers flexibly on all crane types, from 50-tonne to 750-tonne models. Innovative technology supports us on the construction site. For example, we now order the pulley head camera with all cranes. This system improves visibility and therefore precision during assembly and safety during use. We simply feel well looked after by Liebherr," says Richter.

From building materials transport to full-service provider

Matthias Richter founded the company in 2007 as a "one-man business" in Grimma with a lorry-mounted loading crane. More and bigger cranes were soon added. Initially, the company focussed on transporting building materials. In 2016, Richter purchased its first Liebherr crane, an LTF 1060-4.1 telescopic truck-mounted crane: "We use this crane throughout Germany to construct the foundations for wind turbines, for example to lift formwork. Our loading cranes were not sufficient for that."

More Liebherr cranes followed in the form of an LTM 1070-4.2 and an LTM 1090-4.2. In 2019, Richter, which had around 20 employees at the time, moved into new company premises in Leipzig. Today, the company employs 55 people and offers transport and crane work as a complete package.

The number and size of its Liebherr mobile cranes has continued to increase over the years. Used cranes were also on Richter's shopping list: in 2021, the company took delivery of the very first crane delivered from the new Liebherr repair centre in Ehingen-Berg, an LTM 1160-5.2. More cranes followed, including an LTM 1450-8.1 and an LTM 1750-9.1. "We picked it up from Sicily. It's now our largest crane and is very busy – tower crane assembly, bridge construction, repairs to wind turbines, dismantling old turbines and, when building new turbines, it assembles the lower concrete segments of the wind turbine towers," explains Richter.