“Three, two, one… go” – On this command the Minister of Economics, Employment and Health of the state of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania, Harry Glawe together with his colleague Mr. Christian Pegel, Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitisation of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania and Mrs. Patricia Rüf as well as Mrs. Stéfanie Wohlfarth as members of the Liebherr family pressed the blue button at the foot of the 164-meter-high heavy-duty gantry crane. A horn sounds and the TCC 78000 begins to raise a large Liebherr flag to a height of over 120 meters. The official inauguration ceremony marks the beginning of a new era in heavy load handling for Liebherr Rostock and the Port of Rostock.
“Thanks to its unique combination of lifting height and capacity, the TCC 78000 has the best technical potential available to safely and economically assemble and load the next generation of maritime cranes,” summarised Leopold Berthold, Managing Director of Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH, in his welcoming speech.
TCC is the abbreviation for Travelling Cargo Crane. The rail-mounted heavy-duty crane will move on a portal between the northern Liebherr plant site and the adjacent quay edge. With its maximum lifting capacity of 1,600 tonnes and a total height of 164 metres with the jib raised, the TCC 78000 will characterise the appearance of Rostock harbour in future. Equipped with a double bogeys (two rails per side) and a track gauge of 30 meters, the gantry crane provides optimum flexibility for handling all types of large goods.
Liebherr is not the only one benefiting from these new and important perspectives. The rail-mounted gantry crane will also offer other companies the opportunity to handle heavy loads at Rostock Port.
“With this impressive crane, the Hanseatic City of Rostock has gained another landmark, which at the same time is a symbol for the success story of Liebherr in the overseas port of Rostock. The heavy-duty gantry crane improves the opportunities for further company settlements and the acquisition of extremely heavy project cargoes. This potential must be enhanced together,” says Dr. Gernot Tesch, Managing Director of ROSTOCK PORT GmbH.
The installation of the TCC 78000 is also an investment for Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH in the new heavy-duty handling industry. The new offered service will have a positive impact on the port of Rostock and the entire region.
“This heavy-duty crane is a substantial improvement for the infrastructure in the port of Rostock. The investment demonstrates the company’s confidence in Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania as an attractive business location. Today Liebherr is a major player in the manufacturing industry and one of the most important employers in the region,” emphasised Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Economics Minister Harry Glawe at today’s inauguration ceremony.
Overall, Liebherr is investing around 45 million euros in the new crane system. The TCC 78000 will have its first major operation at the end of this year. At that time it will lift the offshore crane HLC (Heavy Lift Crane) 295000 – the most powerful crane Liebherr has ever built – onto the special ship “Orion”.