Seven Liebherr cranes are being used at the construction site of the three-tower LYFE business complex in Bnei Brak industrial zone in Israel. The total of the cranes could reach nine as this three-year project, led by contractor Ashtrom Construction Ltd. and Dan Real Estate Ltd., approaches its latest phase. The cranes have been provided throughout by Top Engineering & Equipment Ltd., the representative of Liebherr tower cranes in Israel since 1950. The first crane assembly took place at the beginning of December 2018 and the last one will be dismantled by the end of 2021.
The highest of the buildings, Tower C, will reach approximately 230m and include 52 storeys. The 34-storey Tower A, the smallest, will be 160m high, while Tower B sits in the middle at 173m with 36 floors. Each of the A and B towers is served by three 16t capacity external climbing Liebherr 190 HC-L 8/16 Litronic luffing tower cranes that were purchased outright by Ashtrom. At the time of going to press, those cranes were currently working at a freestanding height under hook of 71m to 76m, but they will reach 186m on Tower A and 200m on Tower B, with five to eight climbing steps, depending on final heights and jib lengths ranging from 40m to 50m.
Tower C, which remains in the final stages of design, requires the site’s seventh Liebherr crane, a top-slewing Liebherr 280 EC-H 16 Litronic, this time rented to Ashtrom. It will be principally used to build the tower’s basement and floors for a commercial centre. Next, a Liebherr 190 HC-L 8/16 Litronic, also from Top Engineering’s fleet will be positioned on the same tower as the 280 EC-H and climb to build the structure of the building; one or two additional 190 HC-L 8/16 Litronic cranes will work at a height under hook of over 200m, as the programme reaches its conclusion next year.
The fleet is operational 12 hours per day and are operated by Ashtrom’s employees, some of which were trained by Liebherr. “We are very pleased with Liebherr tower cranes and especially with the luffing cranes. We have very good support from Top Engineering and from Liebherr itself. We can find a lot of advantages of Liebherr tower cranes in comparison to other brands. Using Liebherr tower cranes makes the job site more efficient, more productive, safer to employees and surroundings, and at the end of the day it will cost you less to build a building using Liebherr tower cranes,” said Izak Rozenberg, head of tower cranes at Ashtrom.
Arik Daskal, of Top Engineering, said: “We defined the cranes’ types and jib lengths, and designed their locations together with Ashtrom’s tower crane department engineers, based on site requirements. During the design and planning phase, the engineering team of Ashtrom and Top Engineering was intensively supported and advised by Liebherr’s Tower Crane Solution department. Besides the creation of project drawings Tower Crane Solutions provides the complete structural calculations for the foundation loading as well as for climbing sequences for all cranes. We have received and continue to receive very good support from the Tower Crane Solutions at Liebherr, who we regularly consult with matters related to the cranes’ climbing sequences.”
