Liebherr Tower Cranes and John Paul Construction celebrate 50 years of partnership

Stéfanie Wohlfarth, Administrative Board Vice President at Liebherr-International AG, travelled to Dublin together with Marco Guariglia (Managing Director Sales, Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH) and Daniel Hieronimus (Sales Director Liebherr Tower Cranes) to congratulate Liam Kenny, Managing Director and Niall O'Connor, Construction Director at John Paul Construction. Celebration highlights included the presentation of a bespoke painting by a local Biberach artist to representatives of John Paul Construction and a site visit to the Harcourt Square office complex in the heart of Dublin.

“Our green Liebherr tower cranes have been a mainstay on John Paul Construction projects in Ireland now for well over 50 years. I’m certain that partnerships such as this are one of the main reasons both Liebherr and John Paul Construction are around to celebrate 75 years in business this year. We wish Liebherr continued success and look forward to not only continuing the relationship but building on it going forward,”, says Liam Kenny on the anniversary of the two companies. Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH and John Paul Construction have successfully joined forces again on two current construction projects. The planning was actively supported by Liebherr’s project department for special and major projects, ‘Tower Crane Solutions’, while Armorum Limited, Liebherr’s sales partner for tower cranes in Ireland since the beginning of this year, assisted with the active phase of construction work.

Internal climbing cranes on office complex construction site

The Harcourt Square complex, a major new office development, is currently under construction in Dublin. Five Liebherr cranes are responsible for moving steel parts and RC frame components: three 340 EC-B 12s, one 202 EC-B 10 Litronic and one 200 EC-H 10 Litronic. A 340 EC-B is installed in the lift shaft of the building being erected, something that presented specific challenges in terms of planning and calculating the job. Tower Crane Solutions needed to calculate both the foundation loads and tower deformation. The cranes are in part being secured to ceilings or in the lift shaft as construction progresses in order to avoid collision with walls due to tower deformation. Work is being carried out at a free-standing hook height of between 57 and 82.2 metres.

Ireland's first fibre rope crane at work in the Dublin Docklands

Seven Liebherr cranes are currently busy moving prefabricated and RC frame components for the Castleforbes apartment buildings being built in the Dublin Docklands. One of these cranes is the first fibre rope crane on Irish soil; a new 370 EC-B 16 Fibre, which was delivered to John Paul Construction in March 2024. Its first job sees it assembled with a hook height of 52.8 metres and a radius of 40 metres. Two 340 EC-B 12s (hook height of up to 52.8 metres) and a 280 EC-H 12 Litronic (hook height of up to 64.4 metres) from John Paul Construction's crane fleet are also on site. In addition, three cranes have been hired from Lewis Tower Cranes, a local crane hire company based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. These include two 280 HC-L 12/24 Litronic cranes and one 180 HC-L.

The development will consist of eight buildings with a total of 702 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms in size. The tallest building will be an 18-storey residential tower, which will serve as the focal point of the development. Alongside the apartments, there will also be space for a restaurant, a café and a children's day care centre.

About John Paul Construction

Founded in 1949, the company specialises in complex construction projects across a range of sectors, including data centres, life sciences, industrial, healthcare, residential, commercial, civil infrastructure, and energy. John Paul Construction is headquartered in Dublin with offices in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.