Goldhofer

Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft
legal form	Aktiengesellschaft (100% foundation owned)
founding	1705
Seat	Memmingen , Germany
management	Friedrich Hesemann, Lothar Holder and Hubert Schaller
Number of employees	650
sales	EUR 218 million (Group)
Branch	Manufacturer of special, heavy-duty and special transport vehicles (trailers, semi-trailers, heavy-duty modules, aircraft tugs)
Website	www.goldhofer.com
	As of August 31, 2016

The Goldhofer group of companies, consisting of Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft ( Memmingen ) and its branch in Ostfildern , produces vehicles for heavy-duty and special transport.

history

Portrait of Alois Goldhofer

Karoline Goldhofer-Prützel

Goldhofer family's forge in Amendingen (approx. 1930)

Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft premises (2015)

In 1705, a forge operated by the Goldhofer family in Amendingen near Memmingen was first mentioned in a document . On April 20, 1922, the later company founder Alois Goldhofer was born in Memmingen. In 1946 he founded the Allgäuer Fahrzeugwerke Alois Goldhofer KG and produced agricultural trailers with pneumatic tires. In 1952, Goldhofer and the tire manufacturer Metzeler developed the first low-loader to be loaded via the ramps.

In 1959, the now industrial production was relocated to Memmingen and from then on they specialized in heavy low-loaders. At the suggestion of a customer, Alois Goldhofer developed the first modular system for heavy-duty trailers with mechanical axle compensation in 1963. This was the basis of today's system for heavy-duty modules and has been continuously developed. In 1970, the first heavy-duty modules with hydraulic axle compensation were manufactured, which form the basis for today's THP family.

Alois Goldhofer died on January 16, 1981. After his death, his wife Karoline Goldhofer (after a second marriage: Karoline Goldhofer-Prützel) took over the management of the company.

In 1987, the development of rodless aircraft tugs began which, in contrast to the previously used rod tugs, “charge” the nose landing gear of the aircraft to be moved and therefore no longer have to be ballasted. Also in 1987, the largest side girder bridge at that time that was used in Thailand was built. Payloads of up to 250 tons could be transported on two chassis with 16 axle lines each and a total of 256 wheels. In 1989 Goldhofer delivered the first self-propelled heavy-duty modules with hydrostatic drive. These heavy-duty PST modules no longer had to be moved by towing and pushing machines, but were able to drive independently.

In 1995, the development of a smaller rodless aircraft tug (AST-3) made it possible to move all types of aircraft equally. The AST-1X was developed in 2004 in order to be able to move the new Airbus A380 with a weight of 600 tons sufficiently quickly.

In 2000, Karoline Goldhofer-Prützel changed the legal form of the company into a stock corporation and, as sole shareholder, transferred all shares in the Alois Goldhofer Foundation in 2001, which ensured the continued existence of the company after her death. The foundation promotes science and research, education and training as well as cultural and charitable institutions. In 1994 Karoline Goldhofer-Prützel received the Federal Cross of Merit for her social commitment and her entrepreneurial activities. Goldhofer-Prützel died in July 2013 at the age of 89.

In 2012, a new generation of side girder bridges was presented with Faktor 5 , which can transport five times its own weight.

On January 1, 2013, Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft took over the later merged Schopf Maschinenbau GmbH and Schopf Rofan GmbH from Ostfildern near Stuttgart and thus expanded its product portfolio in the airport sector to include conventional bar and cargo tugs and cargo loaders, the first joint appearance took place for the industry trade fair inter airport Europe 2013 . Also in 2013 some innovations in the transport sector were presented: A fourfold telescopic flatbed trailer ("Superhub") and a semi-trailer with independent wheel suspension ( MPA ). In the transport technology for the wind power industry, Goldhofer presented the FTV 300 wing transport device in combination with self-propelled heavy-duty modules, with which rotor blades can be transported through tight curves and difficult to access terrain. At bottlenecks, the rotor blades are no longer transported horizontally, but vertically.

In 2014 a new generation of heavy-duty modular transporters with electronic multi-way steering and hydraulically width-adjustable track appeared. At the same time, the fifth factor 5 side girder bridge was completed.

In 2015, Goldhofer, in cooperation with Greiner Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH, developed a scissor lift bridge with a maximum payload of 600 tons.

In 2016, the ADDrive , a heavy-duty module with a switchable drive, was presented at bauma in Munich .

Products

The products of the Goldhofer group of companies are divided into the business areas of transport technology and airport technology and these are divided into four main product areas:

pendant

This product line includes three to five-axle low loader trailers. A payload range from 25 to 80 t is covered, depending on the approval regulations of the countries of use.

Semi-trailer

The products in this segment range from semitrailers and low-loaders to combinable articulated vehicles that can be driven over from the front.

Heavy duty modules

These are combinable transport systems with hydraulic axle compensation and hydraulic steering for the transport of oversized and heavy goods. We develop our own vehicle modules with hydrostatic drive for loads over 10,000 tons. These can be combined with platform modules and equipped with electronic multi-way steering for improved maneuverability.

Ground support equipment

With the merger of Goldhofer and Schopf in 2013, the group's product range in the GSE (Ground Support Equipment) area has grown. In addition to the rodless aircraft tugs from Goldhofer, there are conventional rod tugs from Schopf for civil and military applications. Cargo tugs for airport and industrial use are also from Schopf. In addition, Goldhofer manufactures systems for the recovery of crashed aircraft - called ARTS (Aircraft Recovery Transportation System).

first drive-over low loader (1952)
one of the first THP models (heavy duty module, 1973)
Prototype of the first rodless AST aircraft tug as an exhibit on the factory premises
ARTS aircraft recovery system
Heavy duty module PST
conventional aircraft tractor from Schopf
AST-1X towbarless aircraft tractor
Semi-trailer with independent suspension MPA (2014)
Transportation of an excavator
novel side girder bridge