Since it was delivered at the Port of Mobile last week, the massive, 465-foot-tall Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 crane has been stationed along I-10 in Theodore, AL causing drivers to slow down as they marvel at its stature. The 8 axle crane has a max lifting capacity of 594.5 US tons (500 metric).
“We’ve had cars driving in off and on for the past week just wondering what it is,” said William Dickerson, chief executive officer of Daphne-based Power Inc. Crane and Rigging, which recently acquired the crane. “There are only three anywhere in the Southeast and just a couple dozen in the entire country. A crane like this isn’t something you see every day.”
Manufactured by Liebherr in Germany, the all-terrain telescopic mobile crane is the largest ever owned and operated in Alabama, Dickerson added. It is equipped with multiple video cameras and sensors.
“A crane like this isn’t something you see every day,” said William Dickerson, chief executive officer of Power Inc. Crane and Rigging, who is pictured in front of the new, 37-story crane at the company’s Theodore branch. (Photo by John Estes)
To put its size in perspective, the crane is 37 stories high, which is 66 feet taller than the RSA Trustmark Bank Building in downtown Mobile. Its 1.189 million-pound lifting capacity means it’s strong enough to lift — at one time — eight U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams battle tanks, their crews and nearly two tons of equipment each.
Later this week, the crane will be transported to Alabama Power’s Barry Electric Generating Plant along the Mobile River in Bucks, Ala., for its first project. To transport the 775,000-pound crane, it must be disassembled and loaded onto 18 full-size tractor-trailer rigs.
The $4.5 million state-of-the-art machine reflects a significant investment and addition to the company’s fleet. “We can achieve the heaviest, highest and most distant lifts at this point,” said Dickerson. “This crane means an entirely new capacity for our clients around the Southeast. We’ll be able to lift and move bridge sections, railing and structures of almost any size.”
According to AL.com, future plans include other industrial projects in other locations served by the company’s Theodore and Tuscaloosa branches.
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