Wolff cranes support heavy material handling on hospital site

Memmingen hospital site with Wolff cranes (Photo: Wolffkran)

Glass GmbH is a German company which specialises in large construction projects. The company is currently managing construction at a new hospital complex located in Memmingen, Germany, which is using six Wolff cranes across the seven-hectare site.

The cranes are involved in high-capacity material handling, including construction of the building shell which started in February this year; since then, work has continued for 12 hours a day.

A single Wolff 6531.12 was used for site preparation in 2025. Since then, the five remaining Wolff cranes have moved about 60,000 cubic metres of concrete and 10,000 tonnes of reinforced steel across the location.

With tip load capacities of up to 3.3 tonnes, the Wolff 6531.12 Cross lifts up to 16.5 tonnes. The Wolff 7534.16 Clear has a hoisting speed of up to 185 m/min.

Careful siting

The cranes have been sited in areas which will act as light wells for the new buildings. In one location, a wastewater pumping station is located beneath the crane position.

“Because high compressive loads are not permitted in these areas, the crane foundations had to be designed so that forces are safely transferred into load-bearing ground. Hook heights and crane positions were selected accordingly to ensure compliance with permissible corner loads and overall ground stability,” explained Wolfgang Kavelius, sales executive (Germany) at Wolffkran.

“At the same time, five cranes can work simultaneously despite overlapping working areas,” he added.

The cranes were installed on cross frames with special precast concrete counterweights produced by Glass GmbH in its own concrete plant. These are designed so they can be removed individually during dismantling – by neighbouring tower cranes or mobile cranes. This ensures that the functioning of the underground water systems can carry on uninterrupted.

“When large volumes of material have to be moved every day, you need cranes that deliver consistent performance – and a partner who already knows what matters during the planning phase. That’s exactly what we value about Wolffkran,” said Michael Stehr, head of Crane Technology at Glass.