JUNE 2013
10
company profile
P
raised by the press at the time, as a ‘phenomenal
construction’, the fast-assembly tower crane is
nowadays an indispensable element of every
construction project. Whereas at the beginning of the 20th
century, when workers needed almost two weeks for the
assembly, a tower crane these days, can be erected within
a day.
With the rise of the construction boom as a result of
industrialisation, there was a demand for more flexible
cranes that could be erected more quickly. The new tower
crane, designed by WOLFF’s Chief Engineer Gottlob
Göbel, can be assembled in only four days instead of
fourteen. In addition, it is equipped with a movable, top-
slewing luffing jib – a novelty in the industry. The new
development was honoured as a ‘technical masterpiece
for the glory of the fatherland’ at the Leipzig Trade Fair in
1913, and was met with great enthusiasm on a national
and international level.
WOLFFKRAN
The name stands for experience and competence in
the design, construction and use of tower cranes. With
innovative technology and know-how, the company has
significantly contributed to the rapid developments that
have occurred to date in the field of materials handling.
WOLFFKRAN celebrates 100 years of
tower cranes
In 1913, Julius Wolff & Co. presented the world’s first fast-assembly mobile tower crane at the Leipzig Trade
Fair – a sensation that revolutionised the construction machinery market. A century later WOLFFKRAN still
leads the technological development on the crane market.
The foundation stone upon which the success of the
company was built, was laid over 100 years ago by Julius
Wolff, with the design and construction of the first slewing
crane. A few years later, this was followed by development
of the world’s first self-erecting top-slewing tower crane, a
revolutionary invention for the construction sector.
Today, around 500 dedicated employees ensure that
the innovation process continues and the WOLFF
brand represents a comprehensive range of trolley jib
and luffing jib cranes. Branch offices across Germany
and subsidiaries in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and
the United Arab Emirates, as well as the headquarters
for international business in Zug, are guarantors for
intensive customer care.
With a rental fleet of approximately 600 tower cranes,
WOLFFKRAN is among the major providers in this area
of business, underscoring the flexibility and dynamics of
the tower crane specialist, serving customers worldwide
as both manufacturer and service provider.
A technological pioneer
While the redWOLFF cranes were initially manufactured
by Julius Wolff & Co individually and to order only, they
went into serial production in the mid-1920s. Further
technical milestones were to follow:
• In 1928 WOLFFKRAN brought the first modern
trolley jib tower crane with electric trolley gear onto
the market.
• In the 1980s and 90s the company introduced
the frequency controlled drive and frequency
controlled slewing gear as standard, both in-house
developments of the WOLFF engineers.
• In the mid-1990s, WOLFFKRAN was the first
manufacturer to unveil the electronically controlled
horizontal load path (level luffing).
• In 1996, the electronic data monitoring system,
today known as WOLFF-Link, was introduced to the
market.
• In the 21st century, the engineers in Heilbronn
focused on the design of tower cranes and in the
early 2000s, WOLFFKRAN developed more compact
designs.
• In 2007 it unveiled the 355B, with a patented
subdivided design.
• The launch of the BIG WOLFF 1250B in 2009 and the
innovative WOLFF 166B with a hydraulic luffing system
in 2012, attracted further international attention.
In the past 100 years of tower crane technology
WOLFFKRAN has thus been among the pioneers in
technology development and innovation.
