Larger, heavier, Schmidbauer
The Schmidbauer Group likes to take on a challenge – and transports extremely large loads safely to their destination. The family business has long been oversized in terms of success. We accompany one of their drivers, Holger Müller, on a heavy-duty transport job from Dresden to Nuremberg and learn a lot about the expertise of the Schmidbauer team and his passion for MAN heavy-duty vehicles on the route.
Holger Müller does not expect any major problems on the way. In his MAN TGX 41.640, his current task is to transport a mains transformer for a large substation from Dresden to Nuremberg – as always overnight. When other road users are asleep, there is plenty of space on the roads for his MAN battleship. The Schmidbauer professional has made a precise plan of the route. He wants to know where his load might get stuck. The first challenge is a narrow, single-lane motorway entrance in Dresden. But even if no roadworks spoil the party for him on the way, it becomes tricky again for Müller at several junctions in Nuremberg. “That’s exactly what I find exciting about my job. I get an order, look at the planned route on Google Maps, calculate the relative size of my vehicle – and if someone says: ‘You can never drive along there,’ that makes it a challenge for me. You need a lot of skill, and often you can only manage by a hair’s breadth, but I get through!” This is not really a surprise because the driver is a true expert in heavy-duty transportation who, with increasing professional experience, has moved ever larger, ever heavier loads and can no longer imagine anything else. He has found his professional home at the Schmidbauer Group. The family-owned company, headquartered in Gräfelfing near Munich, is one of the market leaders in the special transport, crane and assembly segments with over 30 locations in Germany and other European countries.
With state-of-the-art technology, intelligent engineering and a huge transport fleet, the company takes care of everything that is difficult to move – and gets it to its destination. Safely, cost-effectively and on time. The heavy-duty transport professionals handle the entire project for customers: from route inspection to the issuing of permits, through to freight brokerage, inland waterway transport or storage of goods. In action for the energy transition. The great power with which the Schmidbauer team tackles tasks is increasingly leading them to a new task field. “We have become a major player in the energy transition and are actively involved in the installation of onshore and offshore wind turbines. We are currently constructing a wind turbine in Upper Franconia with an 800-tonne crawler crane, for example, which requires a lot of logistics. In some cases, up to 50 trucks are required for this size of crawler crane. This means extreme effort, good site preparation and clever engineering. Planning such operations is now one of our core competences,” says Werner Schmidbauer, CEO of the Schmidbauer Group, proudly. The company is also proving its leading role in Marseille, where experienced Schmidbauer professionals are currently erecting floating wind turbines with a 1350-tonne crawler crane including many self-propelled modules. These turbines will be used to generate energy on the high seas. Around 150 trucks are needed by Schmidbauer in southern France to deliver main and auxiliary cranes as well as SPMTs (self-propelled modular transporters) and load distribution mats.
MAN – a guarantee of success at Schmidbauer
The family-owned company has long relied on the expertise of MAN. “MAN vehicles have been a decisive guarantee of success in our company for many decades. The close cooperation with the Munich vehicle manufacturer will also be important for us in the future. For our growing transport requirements, we need a very powerful partner who solves every problem together with us. MAN is one of our key suppliers,” says Schmidbauer.
At the end of the day, his drivers have the last word. Management involves them in the selection of new vehicles at an early stage. Schmidbauer knows that his people sometimes travel long distances in their trucks. And he places great importance on ensuring that they feel comfortable and safe on the road. Just like Holger Müller. His work equipment is 35 m long, 2.60 m wide, 4.30 m high and has four articulated axles. “I’m a child spoilt by MAN. My father drove a MAN vehicle. I have now received a new MAN TGX heavy-duty semitrailer tractor from my boss and I am proud that Schmidbauer places so much trust in me and appreciates my work. My new MAN is absolutely fantastic. I particularly like the steering wheel adjustment, the seat position and the generous amount of space in the cab. Everything is well thought-out and within easy reach, even things on the shelf.” And then he grabs his vehicle keys, starts the engine of the MAN TGX and drives on towards Nuremberg with his heavy-duty truck. He will not have any problems on his journey.