Liebherr TA 230 Litronic - Manual (Page 22)

42 // Quarrying Quarrying // 43
The family business was founded in Warendorf in 1936 by
Hermann Lanwehr. The quarry business was added in 1963. The
quarry mines hard limestone with approximately 45 % calcium,
which even today is still extracted using a blasting process in the
berm system. Lanwehr produces high-quality materials for road
construction. For several decades, the company has been
renowned as a reliable partner of the construction industry, one
that stands for quality products and a broad range of aggregates
for the concrete industry and for road construction. The main
customers, such as asphalt mixing plants and concrete works,
are based primarily in the nearby Ruhr and Münsterland regions.
In 2010, Thomas Lanwehr extensively restructured the company.
He explains the background. “Our quarry face is about 700
metres from the final processing point and from where the goods
are loaded onto the customers’ trucks. We used to cover that
distance with dump trucks, later with dumpers. That represents
an enormous expenditure for investment, operating and personnel
costs. Three years ago, I changed all that and purchased a
The road to the quarrying site runs parallel to the conveyor belt
system, which ends at the base of the 100-metre-high face of dark
limestone with layers of white quartz. “We perform blasting here
about every four weeks, depending how much material the blasting
has produced,” explains Lanwehr. “When we are blasting, we always
work from the top down. Our berms, that is ridges on the face, are
only about 10 metres wide. That means most of the material drops
down to the bottom. What does remain on the berms has to be
cleared away by a compact excavator. From the pile formed by
blasting, we pick the material up with the crawler excavator and
put it into the crusher here. The mobile hammer crusher has an
operating weight of 100 tonnes and grinds 400 tonnes of rock per
hour, feeding it onto the conveyor belt system.”
The conveyor belt runs continuously for up to ten hours a day.
At the top of the pit, the material takes different paths and is
moved into two silos for preliminary sieving. It is split into 0/32
and 32/250 grades. The sand-free fraction goes into system 1,
which manufactures 14 different grades of fine grit. The rest goes
into system 2, where water is added to bond the sand. Another
eight products are manufactured here.
– at most three load cycles, then it should be full, but not too full.
For this reason, the wheel loader has built-in scales, that tells the
driver exactly how much he has loaded onto the truck. That is
very important, not least to make sure that the lorries are not
overloaded. If that were the case, they would have to come back
after being weighed to tip some of the load off. That would be
rather laborious and far too time-consuming.
“The other thing that always strikes me is the fact that Liebherr
wheel loaders are extremely quiet. The new L 580, for example,
is practically noise-free. Open up the throttle and you simply hear
nothing – certainly not any noise from the engine. That was one
reason why we turned to Liebherr in the first place. While we still
had a construction contractor in Warendorf, we had to fulfil strict
conditions regarding noise emissions, because the company was
based within a mixed industrial estate. At the time, Liebherr wheel
loaders were the only machines that enabled us to come under
the specified limits. Of course, we no longer have that problem
here in the quarry. Noise still means stress for the people who
work here, so every machine that runs quietly is a benefit. We
like to make sure that our employees can enjoy good working
conditions. For example, our wheel loaders are equipped with
climate control with ventilated and heated seats.”
Thomas Lanwehr summarises his experience with Liebherr
machines: “Let me put it this way. If it proves successful, it will
remain. You can see that with our operations, and that includes
our many years of loyalty to Liebherr.”
three-section conveyor belt system. The material is now
transported out of the pit via several layers. The final processing
machines also used to be located closer to the face, but that
meant our customers had to drive too far down to the quarry.
Today, we sometimes have 60 trucks come at once. That can
cause congestion on our access roads.”
The different products are put into temporary stock in piles, where
they are directly loaded onto the customers’ trucks. Here, Thomas
Lanwehr places his trust in Liebherr wheel loaders. “We attach
great importance to low fuel consumption and in that respect
there is simply no alternative to Liebherr. The wheel loaders
really are unbeatable. Liebherr machines have reduced our fuel
consumption in loading by 35 to 40 %. We purchased the first
L 580 for the quarry just after it was launched, and just two
weeks ago we took delivery of the latest machine. Between them,
we have had several Liebherr machines working here, and we
haven’t had any problems with any of them. Working in two
shifts, we operate about 3,000 hours per year and machine – a
little less in the winter, a little more in the summer. We replace
our machines about every three years.”
“Working time is also a very important criterion. We have a shovel
with maximum volume on the L 580 and that works without
problems. The Liebherr machines have an excellent tipping load.
What is important for us is to load the trucks as quickly as possible
Third-generation stone quarries
“We attach great importance to low
fuel consumption, and in that respect there
is simply no alternative to Liebherr.”
Thomas Lanwehr, managing director
Like grandfather, like father, like son. The Lanwehr family has been quarrying limestone at Arnsberg-Müschede
in North Rhine-Westfalia since 1963. Production is now about 4,000 tonnes per day. With 12 employees,
the company managed by Thomas Lanwehr produces around one million tonnes of fine grit and mixtures for the
construction industry. Three years ago, Lanwehr completely replaced all its dump trucks and dumpers
with a 700 metres conveyor belt system.
Sector:
Size of company:
Founded:
Location:
Managing Director:
Website:
Liebherr machines
in operation:
Lanwehr Naturstein
GmbH + Co. KG
Company profile
Quarry operator
12 employees
1936
Head office at Arnsberg-Müschede / Germany
Thomas Lanwehr
www.lanwehr-naturstein.de
Two L 580 wheel loaders
Feature: Lanwehr Feature: Lanwehr
Working in two shifts, the wheel loaders are in action for about
3,000 hours per year per machine.
Managing Director Thomas Lanwehr has restructured
the process at Lanwehr Naturstein.