LIEBHERR has celebrated the production of the 10,000th XPower wheel loader at its plant in Bischofshofen, Austria.
At the heart of the machine is a power-split travel drive produced by ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
“The transmission from our partner ZF is a key component of the drivetrain in our XPower wheel loaders,” said Gerhard Pirnbacher, head of quality management at the Liebherr plant in Bischofshofen. “With an impressive total of around 64,000,000 operating hours already clocked up by XPower models, this transmission has proven its exceptional robustness.”
The anniversary wheel loader – with special decals and a hand-signed transmission by ZF employees – is going to the BERGER Group in Passau, Germany where it will be put into service near the ZF transmission plant in a BERGER Rohstoffe GmbH quarry in the Bavarian Forest.
For around a decade, Liebherr said the XPower L 550 to L 586 wheel loaders have established themselves as pioneers when it comes to fuel efficiency and robustness. The machine’s power-split drive system combines both hydrostatic and mechanical drives. The hydrostatic travel drive is said to be 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.
The power-split ZF transmission is responsible for combining the two drive paths. It operates variably and adjusts the mixing ratio of the two drive paths continuously and automatically. This means the wheel loader always operates at maximum power and efficiency, regardless of application.
