Wolffkran appoints new CTO

Thomas Heidrich has been appointed as Wolffkran’s new chief technical officer. Heidrich began his career in 1996 with Manitowoc, where he worked for 17 years. As director of engineering, his responsibilities included the strategic development and introduction of telematics and industry 4.0 for construction sites. He also worked for HYDAC Electronic GmbH and TTControl GmbH, both providers of high-performance control solutions for mobile machinery.

“Once you’ve caught the crane fever, it accompanies you for the rest of your life,” said Heidrich. 

The 54-year-old holds a degree in electrical engineering and has extensive knowledge in the areas of automation and digitalization.

“It’s hard to imagine construction sites without digitalization nowadays,” he said. “Even tower cranes are already equipped with many digital features assisting the crane operator or telematics solutions like WOLFF Link. I want to pick up here and drive the concept of the ‘autonomous crane’ forward.”

In a first step, Heidrich plans to increase resources for digitalization in the R&D and engineering department at Wolffkran. According to Heidrich, future Wolff cranes should not only work more autonomously and be digitally networked in real-time but should increasingly become an intelligent component of the entire construction site logistics and Building Information Modeling (BIM).

“The crane’s functionality will change from simply lifting and lowering loads to digital materials tracking, documentation of the construction progress, and traceability of building materials,” says Heidrich look- ing into the future. “WOLFFKRAN has been the innovation driver and technical pioneer in the industry from the very beginning. On this ba- sis, I want to take the company further into the digital future.”