Proven transport solutions for a digital future

Moving with changing times
In 2013, Schopf Maschinenbau GmbH of Ostfildern became part of the Goldhofer Group, a traditional manufacturer of heavy duty and oversized cargo vehicles from the Swabian city of Memmingen. Together, Goldhofer and Schopf represent 370 years of know-how. Change in the sense of the consistent further development of existing products and services has been a constant driving force for translating the big changes of the last few decades in terms of technology, society and infrastructure into modern transportation solutions.

The long-established Goldhofer company produces heavy duty and oversized cargo transportation solutions for almost every eld of application. The acquisition of Schopf brought strategic additions to the company’s portfolio in the form of top-quality mining vehicles and working vehicles for airport operations. Today the Goldhofer Group is one of the global market leaders for transport solutions, with a customer base that extends to no less than 160 countries.

Since the end of the 1940s, Schopf Maschinenbau GmbH has been developing and engineering aircraft tow tractors, container and pallet loaders and other special vehicles for the logistics of civil and military aviation operations. With a combination of customer-oriented R&D and a reliable instinct for future market requirements, Schopf produced the legendary F110 aircraft tow tractor and then, in 2009, developed the F110e as a variant with all-electric drive, which made Schopf a pioneer in the eld of e-mobility in this highly specialized market segment. That was followed in 2017 by the »SHERPA« E, the first electric baggage and cargo tractor of its kind, with a state-of-the art, maintenance-free battery system. The »SHERPA« E is a zero-emission vehicle and as such makes a meaningful contribution to an eco-friendly future for the international airport industry. In order to be able to service this customer segment in the eld of airport apron operations on an even more targeted basis, Airport Technology was established in 2017 as a separate division within the Goldhofer Group.

Digitalization: Exciting updates for internal workflows, convenient transport solutions and customer services
Within the Goldhofer Group, full use is made of smart technologies in order to

• optimize internal processes,
• expand communications paths and services within the Group’s global customer and partner networks, and
• bring user-friendliness, performance range and vehicle safety up to a new level.

For its first joint development project, the »PHOENIX« towbarless aircraft tow tractor, the Group adopted a new strategy based on simplified design engineering, CAN bus systems, digital control soft- ware and on-board diagnosis. With the help of remote access via wi-fi or mobile, customers now receive an even faster response to their needs in the form of remote fault diagnosis for further savings in maintenance and repair work. An automatic update service ensures that the vehicle control software is always the latest version.

With a symbiosis of modern digital support and advanced vehicle system solutions, the Goldhofer Group has the key technologies for an uncompromising strategy of developing safe and user-friendly transportation solutions for the changing needs of the global logistics industry.