From demolition to groundwork and crane lifts, Liebherr equipment plays an integral role in every phase of the upgrade and expansion project at Liebherr’s mining truck manufacturing facility in Hampton Roads, Va.
The Newport News, Va., location has played a crucial role in fulfilling the growing demand for Liebherr products both locally and globally since Liebherr’s expansion to North America in 1970. Newport News, recognized as one of the seven cities within Hampton Roads, offers a strategic position as a port city with access to intermodal shipping routes and a bustling economic environment.
The manufacturing plant is dedicated to produce Liebherr’s range of diesel electric mining trucks handling payloads of up to 400 tons. These large machines are partly assembled, tested and certified at the Newport News plant. Complete assembly is then carried out at mines all over the world.
In response to the global demand for mining trucks, Liebherr has partnered with several Hampton Roads’ contractors to begin expansion of the production facilities.
Due to the range of applications required for the project, Liebherr machines have been the choice of equipment to handle the diverse and demanding tasks in the different phases. From specialized demolition machines to heavy lift mobile cranes and a variety of earthmoving equipment, the current demolition and construction plans are projected to be completed by the end of 2025.
To kick off this large-scale project, the plant annex needed to be torn down to make room for the new 80,000 sq. ft. addition. Turnkey demolition provider, East Coast Demolition, brought in their Liebherr R 936 Compact crawler excavator to sort, pick, load out and process all steel, debris and other materials removed.
“The biggest challenge is performing demolition next to a live plant and the active construction work that is happening around the demo site,” noted Ricky Webb, COO of East Coast Demolition. “The Liebherr R 936 Compact crawler excavator is a smooth and balanced machine equipped with the demolition guarding and protection making it safe to run in a high-risk environment.”