From refineries to renewables: the growing role of crawler cranes

Such is their versatility and variety, crawler cranes remain consistently popular in a wide range of industries and for a similarly broad spectrum of tasks.

The Grove GHC200 telecrawler was launched to help meet the consistent demand for cranes in the 100 US ton to 200 US ton range, says manufacturer Manitowoc.

For telescopic boom crawlers, demand is being driven by industrial and infrastructure projects requiring fast set-up and agility, says JJ Grace, product manager for Grove at manufacturer Manitowoc.

“Within industrial facilities, these cranes play a crucial role in setting up, repositioning, and maintaining heavy equipment, such as those found in refineries and processing plants,” he says.

“Infrastructure is a core market – these cranes are well-suited to bridge work, utility installations, and transportation projects. On construction sites with limited space, telescopic crawlers are an innovative solution for handling materials like steel components, HVAC equipment and precast panels.”

Grace highlights an example: “Our compact model, the Grove GHC55, is rated at 55 US tons [50 tonnes] and designed to perform in tight quarters. It’s perfect for job sites with limited space, such as urban construction or utility upgrades.”

Within growing demand for telecrawlers, certain capacities are increasingly popular, says Grace – driving the launch of the company’s latest model, the GHC200.

“There’s a consistent pull for cranes in the 100 US ton to 200 US ton [90 to 180 tonnes] range – machines that can handle heavier loads while still offering mobility and rapid deployment. We’re seeing growing demand at the upper end of that spectrum, which is exactly what we designed the Grove GHC200 for.”

Tadano’s latest entry in the heavy lift crawler market is the 1,250 tonne capacity CC 78.1250-1, first shown just a few months ago in April 2025 at the Bauma trade show in Germany.

It has capacity of 200 US tons, and a main boom length of 12.8 to 56.4 metres – or up to 81 m with extensions. To increase flexibility, the crane offers full pick-and-carry capability on inclines of up to 4 degrees.

“There’s a shift happening on job sites where users are looking to consolidate equipment and reduce idle time,” says Grace. “Telescopic crawlers are increasingly replacing traditional cranes in certain applications because of their pick-and-carry abilities and adaptability to terrain. We expect continued growth as more contractors recognise the total cost and time savings these machines can offer.”

High energy

The energy industry, including the renewables sector which continues to attract investment worldwide, is also well served by telecrawlers.

“Energy is another strong sector, including wind and solar developments, where space and ground conditions can vary widely,” says Grace. “They’re used for erecting wind turbines, developing solar arrays, and supporting operations in oil and gas environments. Their ability to travel with a load makes them especially valuable in power transmission and pipeline projects.”

The same industry also deploys much larger-capacity lattice-boom crawlers, for tasks such as handling increasingly sizeable wind turbine components. Last year, a 4,000 tonne capacity XCG88000 crawler with luffing jib, manufactured by XCMG Machinery, was used by subsidiary XCMG Crane to lift the components of an 18 megawatt offshore wind turbine in the shipyard of Yingkou, in north-eastern China. The components included what was, at the time, the world’s longest wind turbine blade – giving the turbines a blade tip height of almost 270 m.

In Europe, heavy lifting specialist Sarens was honoured at the 2025 ESTA Awards of Excellence for its work at the He Dreiht offshore wind farm, at the BUSS Terminal in Eemshaven, Netherlands. The company handled and transported 64 transition pieces weighing 750 tonnes each, and 64 monopiles each weighing up to 1,500 tonnes, using a fleet of cranes, including one of its Liebherr LR 125000-1.0 models, and CC 9800 and CC 8800-1 crawlers from Terex Demag.

Sarens operates three LR 12500-1.0s, each named after a member of the Sarens family: Strong Sofie, Strong Steven, and Straffen Hendrik. The fleet has been deployed in the wind energy sector multiple times, including the company’s first LR 12500-1.0 being used to lift monopiles for assembly at the Port of Rostock in Germany, prior to installation at Iberdrola Group’s Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm.

Liebherr has introduced a pile tilting device to assist the operation of its LR series crawler cranes on floating structures.

The crane also assisted with the service and repair of the five turbines at the Hywind Scotland site – the world’s first floating wind farm, 25 kilometres offshore in the North Sea. One of Sarens’ LR 12500-1.0s was deployed in HDWB2 configuration – with 90 m main boom and 66 m luffing jib – and used four tagline winches to ensure safe and efficient lifting.

Safety first

Lifting on floating structures, as at the Hywind Scotland site, or lifting very long loads, can both pose a challenge for crawler cranes. In response, manufacturer Liebherr-Werk Nenzing in Austria developed improvements to its LR series aimed at making such lifts safer and more efficient.

The company’s pile-tiling device allows one operator to tip or turn long and heavy loads, completing jobs that previously required a tandem lift, says Liebherr.

“With the pile-tilting device from Liebherr, such operations become a one-person routine. This replaces the standard rope pulley set on the boom and enables a single operator to tilt or rotate heavy components weighing up to 90 tonnes continuously from 0 degrees (horizontal) to 90 degrees (vertical) using the usual crane controls – with no diagonal pull on the boom. Two hoisting winches act on separate hooks, which can be controlled synchronously or separately. The coupled speed of the two winches reduces the swaying of the load.

“As the pile-tilting device is mounted on exactly the same axis as the pulley set, this ensures that the geometry of the crane and the load measurement are not affected. This means the load moment limitation always remains active and ensures a safe lifting process without compromising the load capacity.”

For work on floating structures, Liebherr has introduced a new operating mode: “When the crane swings and the load is lifted or set down, the change in the centre of gravity and the total weight (crane plus load) results in a change in the inclination of the barge or pontoon (list). This results in diagonal pull, which can lead to uncontrolled swaying of the load and to an overloading of the crane. When setting down the load with a small radius, the maximum angle of the jib can be exceeded due to the crane’s centre of gravity shifting to the rear, resulting in the risk of the crane tipping over.

Sarens owns three 2,500 tonne capacity Liebherr LR 12500-1.0 lattice crawlers, one of which was deployed at Ineos Project One at the Port of Antwerp Bruges

“The special operating mode contains load curves for different inclinations (0°, 1°, 2°, 3°) with corresponding protection via the load moment limitation. The inclination of the floating unit is monitored during the entire operation and displayed to the operating personnel. If the permissible limit value is exceeded, a warning is issued and the operating personnel can adjust the load curves according to the respective inclination. Additionally, it prevents the maximum boom angle from being exceeded when the load is set down.

“The assistance system ‘vertical line finder’ is part of the new safety concept. This ensures that the crane’s boom head is automatically moved over the centre of gravity of the load to be lifted. This prevents the load swaying and possible contact with obstacles, as well as people.”