Liebherr crane helps renovate historic building

Liebherr L1-32 hydraulic fast-erecting crane provides reliable support in the reconstruction of an old building.

With its hook height of 21.3 metres, the L1-32 from Liebherr towered over all the buildings in the tranquil mountain village of Goriano Valli. The hydraulic fast-erecting crane assisted with the reconstruction of a historic residential building in central Italy, which had been damaged in an 2009 earthquake affecting the Abruzzo region. Tight site conditions and a variety of loads required a compact and powerful construction machine. This was the first ever job for the L1-32 belonging to customer Iarossi Enrico & C. Sas.  

“The construction company Iarossi Enrico & C. Sas. bought the L1-32 through us specifically for this project and is especially impressed by its reliability and quiet handling,” says Tania Colatriano, Managing Director of the local Liebherr dealer Colatriano Group. The crane offers a maximum lifting capacity of 4,000 kilograms and a jib head load capacity of 1,050 kilograms at a 30-metre radius. This makes the crane ideal for the construction and renovation of larger detached houses and smaller apartment buildings. 

Thanks to its clever control and drive technology, crane operation is both easy and efficient. The Speed2Lift function, for example, saves time when handling loads as it automatically selects the maximum speed possible for the load in question. And the assistance system Micromove ensures precise and safe placing. Plus, the crane operator always has all the information they need in view on their radio remote control with graphic display.

The crane moved bricks, roof panels, wooden elements and more on the construction site in Italy. “Thanks to its infinitely variable drives, the crane delivered excellent handling performance and was quiet in operation,” says Enrico Iarossi, managing director of construction company Iarossi Enrico & C. The village is located in the heart of the Parco Regionale Sirente-Velino nature reserve. The reconstructed building “Consorzio Palazzo Angelantoni 1700” was built in the 18th century and originally housed one of the first known pharmacies in the region. Today, the building contains a private apartment, guest accommodation and a restaurant. To fully utilise the reach of the bottom-slewing crane with its 30-metre jib, the crane was positioned in the inner courtyard. However, there was only limited space for the crane there. The L1-32's small slewing radius of only 2.2 metres proved helpful here. As is typical for Italian villages, access roads to the site were narrow. Because of its compact wheel spacing and overall length of just 13.3 metres when folded, it was possible to manoeuvre the L1-32 through the streets and back again without any difficulty.

“We were totally satisfied with the L1-32 and are already looking forward to its next assignments,” says shareholder Carlo Iarossi. The crane was in use in the Italian village from 2020 to the end of 2022. Compact and powerful – these qualities are perfectly combined in the machines of the L1 series. In addition to the L1-32, the series also includes the L1-24, which offers a maximum lifting capacity of 2,500 kilograms and a radius of either 25 or 27 metres.

The Colatriano Group srl, based in Città Sant'Angelo (Abruzzen), was founded in 1985. Its core business is the sale and rental of construction machinery in the Italian regions of Abruzzo, Molise and Marche. The company also offers services covering all aspects of construction machinery operation through its qualified service team. The construction company Iarossi Enrico & C. Sas, based in Goriano Valli (Abruzzen) and San Demetrio (Abruzzen), has been active in the construction industry for over 50 years and concentrates on new builds, renovations and the refurbishment of historic buildings, especially in the Abruzzo region. The company also has many years of experience in making buildings earthquake resistant.