City Lifting’s first 195 HC-LH: deployment lessons for urban lifting engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Liebherr has delivered the UK’s first 195 HC-LH luffing jib tower crane to City Lifting, with initial erection and testing carried out at the company’s Leighton Buzzard yard. Liebherr technicians supported City Lifting’s team through the first assembly, giving UK operators early hands-on experience with the new HC-LH series configuration and erection procedures. The crane’s first deployment will be on a housing development in Essex, signalling growing use of high-capacity luffers for constrained residential sites and tight urban lifting envelopes.
Technical Brief
- Luffing configuration allows operation within tight air rights and oversailing constraints on urban residential plots.
- HC-LH series is designed for high hook heights using relatively small base footprints and tower sections.
- Variable working radius enables slewing above existing buildings while maintaining exclusion zones over public areas.
- Luffing jib geometry reduces out-of-service radius, easing crane-to-crane clash management on multi-crane sites.
Our Take
Liebherr features in several recent UK lifting and decommissioning pieces in our database, including work at the London Eye and Sellafield’s Fellside plant, signalling that its cranes are being specified for both high-profile city sites and complex industrial projects.
City Lifting’s role in deploying the first 195 HC-LH in the United Kingdom aligns with its appearance in other recent coverage as a go‑to operator for technically demanding urban crane applications, which may give it an edge in bidding for constrained central London and Essex projects.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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