Liebherr breaks ground for hybrid hydraulic cylinder plant

Liebherr-Components Kirchdorf GmbH’s (Liebherr, Bulle, Switzerland) components product segment is expanding hydraulic cylinder production with a new ~46,000-square-meter building at the company’s Oberopfingen, Germany site. This new plant, producing Liebherr’s hybrid hydraulic cylinders — a steel base body wound with carbon fiber — will join the main plant starting in 2024, alongside administration, assembly, painting and logistics.

In addition to reducing hydraulic cylinder weight from 10-25%, using fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP), Liebherr says its application provides a variety of advantages including lower CO₂ emissions during operation; preservation of tribological properties; interchangeability without fundamental modifications to the machine; reduced cylinder expansion during pressure peaks; and more. The eventual goal, the company says, is a fully fledged carbon fiber composite tank, the merging of metal and composite being the first step. 

Liebherr personnel told CW that it does not have a general market focus, though the hybrid hydraulic cylinders can be applied in several applications such as construction machines and cranes for mining; in particular, the cylinders are used when lightweight components are required to achieve better efficiency.

The company’s carbon-reinforced polymer (CRP) portfolio mainly contains hybrid hydraulic cylinders but also accumulators, rotor sleeves, tubes and profiles produced in Liebherr’s in-house facilities. 

“The consolidation of the entire hydraulic cylinder production into one location is the basis for Liebherr to continue to grow and further drive the economic efficiency of our site,” Christian Zenner, managing director of Liebherr-Components Kirchdorf GmbH, says.

With the expansion of the components location, three new halls will be built. One hall houses a logistics area, including a high-bay warehouse, quality control, customer service, as well as a modern production for fiber-reinforced composite components. The other two halls will house a modernized mechanical production. Two adjoining administrative buildings will complement the halls. Construction is planned to span 1.5 years, aiming for overall conclusion, including all relocation work, by the spring of 2025.

Bundling together production, internal processes and production sequences will optimize these processes, Liebherr notes, and will create new opportunities to improve and fully redesign production conditions. “For example, we are expanding the capacity of fiber composite production and investing in new machinery and equipment,” Thomas Angielsky, project manager, Liebherr-Components Kirchdorf GmbH, explains.

Ultimately, “we will not only join forces again as one team in one place, but also exploit potentials for the future as an attractive employer and a reliable partner,” Christian Zenner says. “The construction project is an essential step towards fulfilling our customers’ needs, as well as towards positioning ourselves as one of the leading hydraulic cylinder manufacturers worldwide.”