Big Steel Recycling

Bertelsen & Garpestad AS, with over 60 years of experience, has positioned itself as an established player in the construction industry in Norway. Since its foundation in 1959, the company has enjoyed continuous expansion and today employs 350 dedicated employees across the country. The diverse range of services includes construction, decommissioning, concrete, property and recycling.

The North Sea is home to some of the oldest offshore oil and gas platforms in the world, which need to be gradually removed and recycled. Aker Solutions has the expertise and experience to dismantle such installations in a safe and cost-efficient manner. At Stord Quay, Aker Solutions is coordinating the professional decommissioning of several platforms. Bertelsen & Garpestad, who carry out the local decommissioning work with personnel and machines, were looking for a new machine for the job. After two R 974 crawler excavators and an L 580 X-Power wheel loader proved to be reliable Liebherr machines, the customer was looking for another Liebherr machine for this job.

The challenge was to configure a machine with a reach height of up to 22 m in order to be able to cut steel beams and pipes. As the customer already owned a scrap shear, the carrier machine had to be perfectly matched to it. Suitable opening widths and cutting forces played a decisive role here. Together, we developed a customised solution that met the requirements, and the customer ultimately decided on the LH 110 C High Rise Industry Litronic.

This machine is characterised by an extremely robust undercarriage with tracked undercarriage. The extra heavy undercarriage with counterweights ensures a high level of stability.

The equipment, consisting of a 13 m long angled boom, a 4.50 m long stick with tilting kinematics and a special Liebherr cylinder, was specifically designed for use with the 12 t scrap shear. As a result, the machine with attached scrap shear achieves an operating mass of 135,000 kg. This perfect combination of equipment gives the machine an outstanding reach height, while the short stick length enables the shears to be set down safely for maintenance work and replacement. This functionality not only increases efficiency, but also ensures the highest safety standards, especially when the machine is not in operation.

The 3 m high turret provides an optimal view of the working environment. Due to the hydraulics cab elevation with 30° tilt function, the operator can flexibly adjust the perspective to different working areas, enabling fatigue-free working. This function represents a significant further development compared to previous machines. With various protective equipment and pipe rupture safety devices, this machine is perfectly equipped for demanding applications.

The machine currently crushes the company's largest platform "Gyda" every 14 days, 12 hours a day. This impressive platform was in operation from 1990 until autumn 2021 and weighed impressive 30,000 t. During its active period, the Gyda platform produced a total of 290 million barrels of oil.

After the controlled demolition of the platform, hazardous and dangerous waste was carefully removed first. Only then could the Liebherr material handling machine start work to dismantle the various steel beams and pipes. The steel cut by the machine is then carefully sorted and prepared for the recycling process. It is then transported to co-operation partners and steelworks throughout Europe, where the steel is fed back into the cycle. This efficient process offers a considerable advantage in terms of the carbon footprint compared to the production of new steel. Around 98% of the tens of thousands of tons of high-quality steel are reused in various steel structures. As a reliable recycling champion, the material handling machine makes a significant contribution to promoting the recycling cycle in Norway.