Visit in the run-up to Ligna 2019: Liebherr wheel loader L 580 LogHandler XPower® impresses at Ilim Timber Bavaria

• L 580 LogHandler XPower® impresses at Ilim Timber Bavaria with its low fuel consumption and distinctive smooth running

• Further Liebherr timber handling machines in operation at Ilim Timber Bavaria

• L 580 LogHandler XPower® at Ligna 2019 equipped with joystick steering and operator's cab without steering wheel

At Ligna 2019, Liebherr will be showcasing the L 580 LogHandler XPower® special wheel loader, developed for timber handling. For the first time, the group is presenting two new equipment options for this machine: Firstly, new intuitive joystick steering and secondly, an operator's cab without a steering wheel. With no steering wheel or steering column, but with joystick steering, the cab offers even more space and an optimised view of the working attachment. The L 580 LogHandler XPower® with power-split drive has been available on the market for around two years. One of these specialist timber work machines has been in operation since July 2018 at Ilim Timber Bavaria's sawmill in Landsberg am Lech.

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In the run-up to Ligna 2019, representatives from Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH visited Liebherr's long-standing customer to view the L 580 LogHandler XPower® in daily use. At its location in Bavaria, each year Ilim Timber processes around one million solid cubic metres of spruce into sawn timber for the building, construction and packaging industry. The Russian timber and pulp company procures this wood mainly within the region from the Bavarian State Forests and from a large number of private forest owners.

A wide range of duties for the L 580 LogHandler XPower® at the log yard

Enormous quantities of wood are continuously arriving at the sawmill by truck and rail. One of the main tasks of the L 580 LogHandler XPower® is to unload the trailers and wagons and store the wood temporarily in the log yard. The machine also feeds the log sorting system. “We have around two kilometres of railway here on the factory premises. The LogHandler is required to cover very long distances while unloading,” explains Korbinian Dotzauer, deputy plant manager at Ilim Timber Bavaria in Landsberg am Lech.

This is where the high fuel efficiency of the power-split XPower® travel drive comes into play. “The machine moves about 2,500 to 3,000 solid cubic metres of wood every day, which is just over half of our daily production at the log yard. The wheel loader requires only around 13 litres of diesel per operating hour,” says Dotzauer referring to the L 580 LogHandler XPower®.

Liebherr's investment in many areas in the robustness of the L 580 LogHandler XPower®, such as the axles and the special lift arm, has also paid off. This is because sawing operations have continuously increased since taking over the location and establishing Ilim Timber Bavaria eight years ago. Reliability of the machines used is therefore a top priority. “We produce here at the log yard seven days a week in a two-shift operation. The LogHandler is in use on both shifts. That's 16 hours a day in total,” says Dotzauer.

In summary, he explains: “Experience to date with the L 580 LogHandler XPower® has been very positive. Our machine operators continually emphasise the excellent smooth running of the machine. This is particularly relevant on the long distances travelled from the railway site as it is important to us that our employees feel comfortable in the machines.”

Further Liebherr timber handling machines supporting operations at Ilim Timber

As one of the world's leading producers of sawn timber, Ilim Timber produces around 2.6 million cubic meters of sawn timber annually at two Russian and two German production sites. Numerous Liebherr handling machines are involved in the production process. In Landsberg am Lech, for example, there are three LH 50 M Timber log loaders. Their main task is to empty the sorting plants and process the round wood. “These machines also work very well,” confirms Dotzauer.

Ilim Timber ensures that the by-products from the production of sawn timber and planed goods are reused in a sustainable manner. For example, the company uses tree bark and wood waste to run its own heating plant for the drying systems. An additional Liebherr XPower® wheel loader is in operation at the factory site in Landsberg am Lech for the handling of other by-products such as sawdust, saw chips and wood shavings. This L 580 XPower® is equipped with industrial kinematics and a high dump bucket for light materials. Thanks to the powerful kinematics and power-split travel drive, the wheel loader loads incoming trucks in an efficient manner.