New CTO for Wolffkran

 The 54-year-old holds a degree in electrical engineering and has spent a significant part of his professional life in the crane industry. He has extensive knowledge in the areas of automation and digitalisation.

"Once you've caught the crane fever, it accompanies you for the rest of your life," said Thomas Heidrich. The new CTO at Wolffkran started his career in 1996 with the mobile crane manufacturer Manitowoc. 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 and TTControl, both providers of high-performance control solutions for mobile machinery. "It's hard to imagine construction sites without digitalisation nowadays," added Heidrich. "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".

Heidrich plans to increase resources for digitalisation 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 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. "Wolffkran has been the innovation driver and technical pioneer in the industry from the very beginning. On this basis, I want to take the company further into the digital future."