Firm Grip: Liebherr, Leica and Steelwrist

The Leica Co-Pilot system controlling the Steelwrist X32 tiltrotator makes the job that little bit quicker and more accurate.
By David Arminas March 11, 2021 Read time: 2 mins
Winning combination: the Leibherr R 934 G8 crawler fitted with GPS guidance from Leica Geosystems and with a Steelwrist X32 tiltrotator attachment

The first Liebherr excavator in the world with a factory-fitted Leica machine control system has gone into service with a UK civil engineering contractor.

An R 934 G8 crawler, the first to leave the factory in France since Liebherr and Leica Geosystems joined forces last year, has been added to the fleet at Brad-Pave. It is equipped with the Leica 3D passive system soon to be updated to include automatic inclination/rotation function.

Brad-Pave - which employs only four people and is based in England - specialises in road construction, deep drainage and earthmoving.

The machine arrived in the UK towards the end of last year with an operating weight of almost 38.5 tonnes. But soon after, a Steelwrist X32 tiltrotator on 80mm pins was added, taking the total package to just over 40 tonnes.

“We’ve used GPS guidance for a number of years and having the opportunity to have an integrated system on a Liebherr excavator was an ideal scenario for us,” said Paul Bradshaw, director of Brad-Pave.

“We are hoping that one of the benefits of taking this option will be the increased reliability of a built-in system. Not only does it do away with the requirement for traditional setting-out but it is almost 100% fool-proof. The addition of the Leica Co-Pilot system controlling the Steelwrist will just make any project that little bit quicker and more accurate,” said Bradshaw.

The partnership between Liebherr and Leica Geosystems enables customers to buy generation 6 and 8 crawler and wheeled excavators with 2D or 3D control systems as an option.

Leica Geosystems, part of the Hexagon Group, supplies of sensors, software and services for surveying, construction, infrastructure, mining, mapping and other geospatial content-dependent industries.

Earthmoving & soil compaction

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road user charging, the way to highway investment?
    April 12, 2012
    Tough political decisions have to be made to ensure highway investment - *Dr Max Lay reports Our road systems and how we use them have changed dramatically over the last few centuries, and yet some problems persist and others reappear. For most of human history roads have been used by foot traffic and by cumbersome wagons hauled at walking pace. Roads were built to provide some obvious advantage in commerce or conquest. They were then grudgingly maintained by those who might gain some advantage from the
    Read More
  • Crushing and screening for producing and re-using
    July 23, 2012
    The recycling and minerals extraction markets now share technologies, Mike Woof reports Not surprisingly, the Steinexpo quarrying event in Germany was a key launch venue for new crushing and screening technologies, as well as associated quarrying technology. Crushing and screening equipment firms from a wide range of European countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK were present at the exhibition. However it was noticeable how closely the miner
    Read More
  • Construction future for CEA
    July 18, 2012
    The UK’s Construction Equipment Association plays a key role in Europe - Mike Woof writes The UK’s Construction Equipment Association (CEA) is playing an important role within Europe, for manufacturers, customers and also for the wider benefit of industry as a whole. One important project where the CEA is closely involved with other sister organisations within the pan-European organisation CECE is with the rationalisation of machine regulations. Requirements were supposed to have been harmonised in 1992, an
    Read More
  • Bentley advances construction software technology
    December 19, 2016
    Design and construction software specialist Bentley Systems is strengthening its position in the market with the introduction of new software advances as well as a series of strategic business moves. This allows the company to offer new solutions and technologies to its client base, as well as reaching out to new business segments The firm is introducing an array of powerful tools to the market. A key launch is for the OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition, which is the successor to Bentley’s well-proven an
    Read More

Highlighted Content