“World’s heaviest wheeled crane” completes first successful lift

In a recent operation at a 200 Mega-watt (MW) wind farm in Jing County, Hengshui, China, Chinese heavy equipment brand XCMG's XCA4000 crane successfully completed its first lift.

The crane lifted a series of components, including a 130-ton wind turbine nacelle, a 40-ton wheel hub, and three 95m-long blades weighing 28 tons each, to a height of 162m for assembly on the tower. The accomplishment marks XCMG’s 7th time setting a world record since 2010, the company claimed.

The XCA4000 wheeled crane, which has been delivered to Hebei Rongcheng Technology, boasts a 4000-ton lifting capacity, making it the ideal solution for the installation of wind turbines exceeding 10MW, XCMG said.

At a lift height of 170m, the crane has a lift capacity of 230 tons, setting a new benchmark for the highest and heaviest lifting capacity among wheeled cranes, XCMG claimed.

“This milestone is particularly significant as global wind power equipment manufacturing trends towards larger and heavier models, necessitating lifting and installation equipment that offers higher lifting capacities, greater lifting heights, and enhanced safety technology,” the company said.

The XCA4000 carries some advanced features including high-performance flexible boom technology, which addresses common challenges such as reduced lifting performance at high altitudes and limited space beneath turbine lifting hooks. This technology enables a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in the time required to install a wind turbine, significantly enhancing efficiency in wind power construction projects, the company added.

Safety features on the XCA4000 include a self-developed control system and active safety technology with more than a dozen sensors distributed on the boom, allowing the machine to detect and eliminate potential safety hazards in real-time.

In addition, the XCA4000 is capable of transporting heavy components such as the main boom and outrigger weighing up to 400 tons.

By the end of 2023, XCMG has delivered over 200 units of thousand-tonne wheeled cranes worldwide for wind turbine installations and other large scale lifting projects.