Goldhofer: still a family affair

Jeans-clad staff at Goldhofer’s bright, airy Memmingen headquarters issue a cheerful ‘Morgen!’ as they pass. The company has the feel of a family and indeed, many workers count their time at the firm in decades rather than years. They join as interns or apprentices and stay – often studying at the same time. Good working conditions are at the heart of the Goldhofer culture, with staff benefiting from flexi-time and a subsidised canteen serving hearty yet healthy Bavarian fare. Work-life balance is important.

Rooftops boast arrays of solar panels and Goldhofer and its neighbours use an environmentally friendly power plant. Eighty per cent of the energy used by the company’s Memmingen HQ is renewable.

While the site of the original Goldhofer enterprise – a smithy established in 1705 – is just a short walk away, the present complex mainly dates back to 2015. The order books are full, I am told, with expansion already on the agenda, perhaps even within three to five years. While the company is considering all options, it is keen to expand its existing site, rather than establishing secondary operations elsewhere.

At 100,000m², this is the second biggest plant in Memmingen. All of Goldhofer’s products are made here, home to 800 of the company’s 950-strong global workforce. Components arrive, primarily by road, from all over the world, although the company is proud of its ‘Made in Germany’ ethos and engineering expertise.

Well-positioned for progress

Luca Köhler is product manager airport technology at Goldhofer, having joined the firm in 2019. I asked him what is special about the company. He told me: “It’s our long history. We are a family, which is quite fabulous! That long history means we have built up a lot of experience in the airport business.

“We have reached a really promising, dynamic phase in our operations,” he added. The post-pandemic boom in air travel and ensuing uptick in orders means that its airport business is becoming an increasingly important element of the Goldhofer portfolio. Meeting the ever-growing demand is a challenge, according to Köhler. Not that he is complaining.

A higher-than-average proportion of Goldhofer’s office-based staff work in research and development. This puts the company in a very strong position when it comes to innovation. This has stood it in good stead post-pandemic, with the industry witnessing a shift in customer requirements.

The first such shift is the growing demand for electric vehicles. In addition to the obvious environmental benefits, these require less maintenance, leading to greater reliability and availability. The second is safety. Goldhofer approaches safety holistically, Köhler said, seeing it not only as a matter of operational safety but of intelligent connections between people and machinery. Goldhofer, he stressed, is not simply a manufacturer, but a consultant to clients throughout the whole lifecycle of its products. One example of this is the collection of customers’ data, which can be analysed, measured against historical data, and used to determine the best product configuration, for instance, while providing detailed insight into how best to meet each customer’s needs.

This is also where predictive maintenance comes into play. Smart use of data enables customers to keep tabs on when to maintain equipment, and when to replace components, rather than leaving it until something stops working, thereby extending the life of the product, Köhler explained, noting the environmental benefits of requiring fewer new components over the years.

As he said with a smile: “Goldhofer started out 300 years ago, making carriages. We were much more careful with our components then, and much more economical. We’re kind of coming back to that, aren’t we… it’s actually quite satisfying.”

Earlier this year, Köhler and I spoke about retrofitting, and he told me that the company was mindful of customer requirements in this area. That is still the case.

He said: “Not that long ago, we were thinking of working with partners to retrofit a diesel unit with an electric drivetrain. But what we discovered was that market demand for retrofitting is not as great as we expected.

“The cost of buying a brand-new electric vehicle is not much more than that of a retrofitted vehicle. But we are keeping an eye on the situation, so that if the need arises, we will be ready to retrofit.”

New technologies

Asked about Goldhofer’s work with new technologies. Köhler told me: “We are at a really early stage with autonomous driving. I believe we will have to have remote operations before introducing fully autonomous driving. But I think autonomous driving is one of the most important technologies for the future, especially in the context of the lack of qualified workers.”

Another hurdle when it comes to the large-scale adoption of new technology is the need to convince end users that the vehicles are both efficient and safe.

Köhler said: “As a manufacturer with a strong engineering background, we saw only the advantages of electrification, for instance, less maintenance. But for the customer, what they see is a new technology.

“With the Phoenix E, for example, we have a high-voltage drivetrain, meaning that operators have to be trained before they can work with it. This can cause concern among customers, who see only a new, unfamiliar technology.”

New technologies aside, Goldhofer continues to fine-tune its existing product range. The firm is looking at a new towbarless tractor and is working on improvements to its telematic LINK system.

Green to its core

Sustainability is at the heart of Goldhofer’s electric products, which, Köhler explained, feature the latest components in battery technology, developed by the automotive industry. Goldhofer also utilises active thermal management for more efficient energy use inside its vehicles.

While 40% of Goldhofer’s vehicles are now electric, uptake varies across markets, according to Köhler. He said: “In Europe, we have ambitious net-zero targets set by governments and airports. Most of our European customers have to be fully electric or with their net-zero strategy in place by 2030. The ratio of electric to diesel-driven units is higher here than in the Middle East, for example, where net-zero targets are further off.”

He added that electric uptake also depends on the vehicle, with markets keen on towbarless tractors also fasterto adopt electric tractors.

Markets old and new

Europe, of course, remains Goldhofer’s main market, while the company continues to see its fastest short-term growth in North America.

“When we take a long-term view, however,” said Köhler, “we see that Asia Pacific is the market with the strongest, most sustainable growth.”

Goldhofer has its eye on both the Chinese and Indian markets, but Köhler acknowledges the challenges around breaking into the latter, saying: “The market is extremely fast growing, with enormous potential, but it’s hard to be competitive in India in terms of pricing.

“Look at our portfolio, with our towbarless tractor, and the knowhow that goes into it. This comes from German engineering, and it costs money. Delivering quality products to the Indian market at the price point it wants will be our greatest challenge.

“The products currently in our portfolio are not a perfect match for the Indian market in terms of cost. We need to ask ourselves what the right product is for these customers.”

As with so much at Goldhofer, breaking into new markets will involve thought, discussion and engagement. It will be interesting to see how the Memmingen firm builds on its family foundations.

Further reading:

Airports International, issue 2, 2024: From sensors to insights, a look at Goldhofer’s LINK telemetry system

Airports International, issue 1, 2024: The next green thing, how Goldhofer products are increasingly eco-friendly