Magni reaches new heights with Liebherr

Italian manufacturer Magni has been established for just five years – specialising in rotary telehandlers. The machines make load handling easier at heights of up to 46m offering flexibility, precision and safety in part due to the three-stage slewing drives from Liebherr Components.

Magni’s CEO and founder Riccardo Magni says, “Our machines are sometimes competing with cranes weighing 40 to 50t – in contrast, however, they are much smaller, more versatile, nimbler and less expensive. Yet they perform all the required tasks and even combine the three functions of a crane, forklift and aerial work platform.” Within a short time, production figures at Magni Telescopic Handlers rose to more than 700 machines per year – with annual growth rates of 30 – 40%.

Successful operation of these handling machines requires precise control over the load especially at greater lifting heights. Magni rotary telehandlers operate at heights of up to 46m, believed to be the current record for rotating models. “Moving with absolute accuracy and precision is the top priority,” says Enrico Menozzi, head of sales Europe Drive Technology at Liebherr Components in Biberach, Germany.

Liebherr and Magni first came into contact at the 2016 Intermat exhibition in Paris, where they both recognised the improvement potential in the rotary unit. As a result, a Liebherr drive unit has been used in Magni telehandlers since 2017. It consists of a type DAT 200 backlash-free gearbox, a high-pressure, high-speed hydraulic motor and special brakes. The entire slewing drive increases the machines’ precision and stability, and allows safe working at greater heights.

Compared to single-stage solutions, the three-stage drives from Liebherr enable smoother movement of the boom. The design principle ensures uniform load balancing across the individual stages, resulting in a high-power density. All Liebherr sun gear and planet gears are optimised to minimise circumferential backlash and have minimum play. The inner gears are made of tempered steel, which is also used for the planet carriers. The first jointly produced machines were successfully tested in 2017. Now Magni equips nearly all models with the slewing drives from Liebherr Components. The 300th drive was recently delivered to Italy.

Riccardo Magni says, “These gearboxes are the best components that we could find on the market. Liebherr has the best technology, and we are happy to be able to use it. Together, we are indeed a good combination that brings us great benefits.” Menozzi agrees, “We have a very solid, open working relationship that benefits everyone, especially our customers. Magni was very open to suggestions from the beginning, so we found a new solution together.”

Magni benefited from the in-house expertise of the Liebherr Components Division in the development and production of slewing drives for its own mobile applications. Menozzi says, “We have longstanding experience in this area. We also supply drives for turntable ladders and fire engines. The largest of these can reach a height of 64m with people on them – high-precision positioning and smooth control being thereby a vital precondition. This know-how is now applied at Magni.”

The partnership between Magni and Liebherr creates valuable synergies. The two family-run companies are united in their pursuit of continuous technical optimisation and quality. Customers could recently see the results of this partnership at the Bauma trade fair. Riccardo Magni says, “We entered the market at the right time, which certainly helped our success. Flexible solutions are in high demand. We are now the number 2 provider worldwide.

“Many of our customers have now tested the new models with the Liebherr drives – and many want us to swap out their existing units. So at the moment we are planning a replacement kit with Liebherr.”