The Liebherr plant in Bischofshofen, Germany, is celebrating a major milestone by producing its 10,000th XPower wheeled loader. At the heart of the machine, standard on all Xpower models, is a power-split travel drive produced by Liebherr’s trusted Passau-based partner, ZF Friedrichshafen. Therefore, the 10,000th XPower wheeled loader is a cause for celebration for Liebherr and ZF. The BERGER Group, based in Passau, will put the landmark wheeled loader into service.
To mark the big milestone, some ZF Passau site representatives travelled to Bischofshofen to celebrate the long-standing and successful partnership. Representatives of the BERGER Group, who took delivery of their machine in person, and representatives of the Beutlhauser Group, who sold the XPower wheeled loader to the customer, were also present at the milestone production event.
Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen is a long-standing development partner of driveline specialist ZF. Drawing on its decades of experience in developing wheel loaders, Liebherr actively contributed to developing the power-split transmission so that the manufacturer could optimise it for the requirements of the XPower travel drive.
“The transmission from our partner ZF is a key component of the drivetrain in our XPower wheel loaders. With an impressive total of around 64,000,000 operating hours already clocked up by XPower models, this transmission has proven its exceptional robustness,” explains Gerhard Pirnbacher, Head of Quality Management at the Liebherr plant in Bischofshofen. Daniel Härter, Senior Vice President of Industrial Technology at ZF’s Passau site, adds: “We would like to congratulate Liebherr on its 10,000th XPower wheeled loader and are delighted that our transmission is playing a part in the XPower success story.”
The anniversary wheeled loader – with special decals and a hand-signed transmission by ZF employees – is being put into service by the BERGER Group at the BERGER Rohstoffe quarry in the Bavarian Forest.
Matthias Neidhardt, Managing Director of BERGER Rohstoffe, Johannes Urmann, Authorised Signatory, and Michael Gruber, Technical Division Manager, travelled to Bischofshofen to receive their new wheel loader at the handover ceremony. During the ceremony, Dr. Herbert Pfab, Managing Director of Technology at the Liebherr plant in Bischofshofen, presented the new owners with a symbolic key for the new XPower.
The BERGER Group already has 20 XPowers and is delighted with the anniversary machine. “We value the handling, reliability and relatively low operating costs of our XPower machines. We are particularly pleased that a gearbox from our home region of Passau is installed in our new wheeled loader,” says Matthias Neidhardt.
For around a decade, the Liebherr XPower wheeled loaders L 550 to L 586 have established themselves as pioneers in fuel efficiency and robustness. Its power-split drive system combines both hydrostatic and mechanical drives. The hydrostatic travel drive is the most efficient drive type for short loading operations, while the mechanical drive is the most powerful and economical for long distances and uphill driving. “This means that the XPower offers the highest efficiency in material pick-up and transport, as well as optimum acceleration and maximum performance in all loading cycles – even over long distances,” explains Pfab.
The power-split ZF transmission combines the two drive paths. It operates variably and adjusts the mixing ratio of the two drive paths continuously and automatically. This means that the wheeled loader always operates at maximum power and efficiency, regardless of the application. With the expertise of its development partner ZF, Liebherr can integrate the transmission perfectly into the entire drive system and match all components precisely to each other. The result is enormous fuel savings compared to conventionally powered wheel loaders.
As the power is developed through the interaction of two drive paths, enormous robustness is achieved. The load is thus distributed across both drive paths, and the components have a significantly longer service life. Operators can work without interruptions, increasing operational reliability. The robust design and use of high-quality materials also ensure that the gearboxes operate reliably even under extreme conditions. This is a decisive advantage for customers dependent on high machine availability and low maintenance costs.
