Manchester-based civil engineering contractor Bethell Group had been happily operating a hired Liebherr excavator with shaft sinking equipment for 18 months. After two years of negotiation and fine-tuning the specifications, a deal was signed for two shaft diggers and a telescopic crawler crane. Front-end equipment includes Liebherr’s standard two-piece boom and an extending dipper stick for additional reach. The shaft sinkers were not the only new Liebherrs to join to the fleet, with an LTR 1060 telescopic crawler crane also coming on board. It was acquired in 1991 by tunnelling and shaft sinking specialists Kilroe Group.