Liebherr’s 60t-class crawler excavator, the R 960 SME, which has been among the favoured machines in its class in Europe since its launch in 2012, has now been made available to lower emission-tier markets such as Africa, Asia and South America.

According to Liebherr, the R 960 SME is “more than a 50-tonne powerhouse”. It is a true 60t excavator with a 70t undercarriage and sets the benchmark in its market segment - and is now setting its sights on markets such as Brazil and Russia.

Liebherr says that with its stability and the highest breakout forces on the market, the R 960 SME excels with particularly high productivity compared to its predecessor version. With its large bucket volume of 3.7m³, it is easily suitable for loading dumper trucks in the 30-45t weight range.

This excavator, developed and produced at Liebherr-France SAS in Colmar, France, has been in use in quarries and mining operations around the world for almost 10 years. Liebherr added that the R 960 SME also impresses with its low fuel consumption, which can be accessed online via the fuel calculator.

Liebherr’s SME series is a range of crawler excavators for demanding applications, and are designed for quarry applications. Four models ranging from 44-102t have been developed for the world market. These variants are equipped with reinforced undercarriages into which components from the larger models of the standard series have been integrated. On the R 960 SME, these are components of the 70t standard model R 966. The same principle applies for the counterweights, Liebherr adds.