German GSE manufacturer Goldhofer briefed journalists on its brand-new Bison family of vehicles, an entirely newly engineered range of tugs, at the recent International Airport Ground Support Equipment (IAGSE) show. The Bison is the latest addition to the company’s very modern complement of tow tractors (conventional and towbarless), complementing its Sherpa range of cargo and baggage tractors
Goldhofer took the opportunity presented by the IAGSE exhibition to officially launch its new Bison range of conventional aircraft tow tractors. Lothar Holder, board member and head of airport technology at Goldhofer, recalls that the company launched its Sherpa range of cargo and baggage tractors as recently as the end of last year (with 120 already having now been sold into the global market), while the launch of its range of AST towbarless tractors, the Phoenix, (the “market leader” in towbarless tractors, Holder says) dates back only to inter airport Europe in Munich in 2015.
These three modern product ranges represent the latest in GSE tow technology, Holder observes: modern, efficient, high-tech vehicles that offer a high degree of interoperability and standardisation to their users (both within each model range, and across the three products).
“We’re very proud of the technology we have applied” within these three vehicle ranges, Holder enthuses, pointing in particular to the electric options that exist in the Goldhofer range, And, with that in mind, electric versions of both a Sherpa cargo tractor and an all-new Bison aircraft tow tractor were on display on the stand.
Much of the technology used is not new; indeed, that is a significant advantage of it, Holder points out – it is commercially available, off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, thus being cost-effective for even GSE purchasers, who buy in much smaller volumes than are a common feature of the automotive industry for which these battery power systems were originally developed.
FliteLine expansion
The Goldhofer vehicles were actually displayed on the stand of Flite Line, the US business that Goldhofer acquired in late 2017 and which also represents some other GSE suppliers in the US market (such as Esterer – see the article that follows this one – Hitzinger, Rheinmetall and PosiCharge) – though none that are direct competitors to Goldhofer.
John Biagi, CEO of Flite Line, briefed assembled journalists on the stand that the company is expanding, most obviously manifest in its building of a new bigger overhaul and assembly facility in Miramar, Florida. The 36,000ft2 facility will be able to assemble much more, and much bigger, items of GSE, which might be important given Flite Line’s representation of Esterer, the Germany-headquartered fuel tanker manufacturer, in North America.
It is hoped that the new plant at Miramar will initially open its doors next month (December) and actually open for business in January next year. It will be a “regional hub” for the various companies it represents in the North American market, Biagi says.
Goldhofer has also built up its footprint in other regions. For example, on 11th December 2018 it will open a new sales and service support office that also provides warehouse space in Dubai to cover the Middle East and Africa market.
Back to Bison
Goldhofer is, initially, to offer three versions of the all-new Bison pushback: the Bison D 370/E 370 (the D is for diesel, the E is for electric), the D 620 and the D 1000. The number reflects the maximum deadweight of the models.
Some of the older F series tugs will no doubt remain very useful, however, at least in the short term. For example, the D 1000 will pull aircraft up to the size of a B747, but the F396 Goldhofer vehicle will still be needed to serve A380 aircraft until such time as the manufacturer reveals the D 1500 by the end of 2019.
Electric versions of the entire Bison family will be on show during inter airport Europe 2019 in Munich.
Diesel variants will be relatively easy to convert to the electric version if subsequently so desired, given their commonality of chassis design and construction.
Indeed, all of the Bison models are built on a modular basis, with high levels of parts commonality, making maintenance easier and user training simpler for customers. However, the vehicles are also easily configurable for individual customer requirements. All the variants are said to offer long maintenance intervals and short maintenance times, with easy access to all-important components for maintenance, service and repair.
Production on all three initial Bison models is expected to start at around the beginning of next year. Meanwhile, operational testing of vehicle prototypes continues.
Rüdiger Dube, head of product marketing in Goldhofer’s airport technology division, showed the assembled journalists around the various Bison vehicles, as well as an electric Sherpa. The initial price of an electric Sherpa might be higher than that of its diesel equivalent, he confesses, but more important in terms of cost-effectiveness is the total cost of ownership (TCO) of such vehicles, he stresses.
Furthermore, Holder adds, he believes that within a decade or so – given the rate of development of battery technology – electric GSE may be pretty much the same initial price as their diesel equivalents.
Schopf blends in
The final piece of news revealed by Goldhofer at the IAGSE show was that, as of the start of October, not only all newly developed Schopf equipment, like Sherpa and Bison, had officially come under the Goldhofer brand, but also Schopf Maschinenbau GmbH officially became Goldhofer Airport Technology GmbH.
For some time prior to that, all new GSE manufactured by Schopf had come under the Goldhofer name, but the October change represents a clear line in the sand for the full assimilation of the Schopf name within the Goldhofer marque.
