Airside learns how GSE manufacturers are reacting to market needs as safety, sustainability and efficiency remain three core principles in ground handling operations today
Goldhofer’s baggage tractor portfolio today comprises the Sherpa D and Sherpa E units. Luca Köhler, product manager at Goldhofer, explains that the Sherpa is a modular baggage tractor available in several configurations depending on operators’ specific requirements.
The diesel-powered Sherpa D, for instance, is available in different options with regard to the drivetrain, while the electric Sherpa E can accommodate different types of batteries.
Goldhofer can also provide bespoke options for the cabin and pull weight.
Operators can choose between cab-less or full-cabin designs, and Goldhofer can adjust its tractors according to different pull weight requirements – from four tonnes for baggage up to eight tonnes for cargo and industrial operations.
The Sherpa E comes equipped with lithium batteries in different size options. Köhler tells Airside: “Goldhofer’s strategy is to offer customers high-performance vehicles. We decided when developing the electric versions of our baggage tractors that we want to provide high-voltage systems using the latest battery technologies.
“These are lithium-ion batteries. We can offer these in several configurations with regard to capacity due to the fact that different customers have different operations, and therefore their requirements vary.”
GSE electrification is continuing at pace globally and demand, as manufacturers report, is only increasing for battery-powered equipment. But how does demand differ between diesel and electric baggage tractors today?
Luca Köhler, Goldhofer
According to Köhler: “Demand between diesel and electric versions is split 50/50, but this really depends where our customers are based and whether operators have a specific requirement to electrify their fleets. In Europe, our core market, there are a lot of airports with very ambitious net zero carbon emission strategies and operators are mandated to convert their fleets.
“The lifespan of a baggage tractor could be anywhere between 10, 15 or 20 years depending on the customer. If an operator has a target to be net zero by 2030 or 2035, their only choice is to buy battery-powered units.
“Therefore, we have seen demand increasing fast in recent years. But as demand continues to grow for electric GSE, Goldhofer expects to reach a 70/30 ratio in favour of battery power in the next year or next few years.
“Some markets are further ahead than others,” says Köhler. This may result from the challenge of lack of infrastructure, “but the Middle East is a good example of a region with a growing desire for electric GSE and we have seen this recently”.
He explains that the introduction of the Sherpa E tractor is Goldhofer’s response to what the company identifies as a growing global demand. Indeed, while demand for electric GSE has skyrocketed in the more mature markets post-Covid, those regions with emerging aviation industries, including the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, are also increasingly looking to align with the Western electrification trend.
This, in part, is why Goldhofer developed the high-voltage strategy for the Sherpa E tractor. Köhler says: “The Sherpa E in the largest configuration, equipped with two batteries and a continuous drive power of 60kW, is more powerful in terms of acceleration, tractive force and sustainability than its diesel counterpart with 75kW.
“Our ambition with the Sherpa E is to offer customers a high-performance alternative to diesel that doesn’t compromise anything operation wise.”
But what of new technologies? A big feature of this edition of Airside is the rise of smart solutions to drive safety and efficiency on the ramp with the help of tools such as telematics, artificial intelligence and automation.
Goldhofer’s Sherpa model
Indeed, Köhler highlights that safety and efficiency are two of three big industry trends that Goldhofer has identified. The third is sustainability. How, then, is the company leveraging technology to push innovation airside?
“Improved safety and efficiency are both important trends for Goldhofer when we consider product development,” he explains. “For efficiency, particularly when we talk about electrification, some industry players have reservations about electric vehicles.
“They might say that electric cars are not that much more capable than their diesel-driven counterparts or highlight the issue of lack of infrastructure. We, as a vehicle manufacturer, have to be looking towards the future and that means taking on the role of also being consultants for our customers.”
The company’s on board LINK telemetry system, for instance, “allows us to understand how our customers use their Goldhofer baggage tractors, including how many units they own and operate at any one time, the distances they travel and overall fleet analysis. Using this data we can advise them on elements such as drivetrain configuration and the number of units required to optimise their operations during the day,” Köhler says.
The system provides insights on key operational data including vehicle behaviour and maintenance planning to increase uptime and reduce downtime.
Key tools for enhancing safety on the ramp, meanwhile, include inching and anti-collision technologies, and Köhler says Goldhofer is “building up the know-how” to offer these tools for its baggage tractors. They are already available for its pushback units.
According to Köhler: “These technologies, along with a telemetry system, I see as being one of the final stages before autonomous operations. By combining safety features with telematics and sensors we are talking about driverless cars.
“Goldhofer is also considering entering the autonomous GSE market and we are currently building up know-how to meet operators’ needs because, yes, time savings, improved safety and optimised efficiency in airside operations are getting more and more important to our customers, particularly when looking at baggage tractor operations.”
Goldhofer’s customers play an important role in product development. “To improve our solutions we must consult our customers, the operators, which includes talking to procurement officers.
We must be able to understand the concerns they have with technologies such as autonomous driving and act on their feedback.”
Goldhofer’s customers play a central role in product development, says Köhler
Speaking on the concerns that customers have raised in recent times, Köhler explains: “It’s difficult to comment on this with regard to baggage tractors, but talking about our pushback tractors, for example, the concerns from our customers are about how well these technologies work and how reliable they are. What we have identified are smaller steps that we can take before the main goal of fully autonomous GSE.
“There is technology available today to enable vehicles to drive more or less by themselves with an operator in the background as a failsafe, because if an issue arises with the technology a human will have to take responsibility.”
He reassures that Goldhofer remains focused on innovating its baggage tractors, and committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancements. The company is continuing to invest in R&D to develop solutions that incorporate the technologies Airside discussed with Köhler.
“I can’t talk too much about our current projects, but we have something in the pipeline,” he hints.
Making Waevs
Demand for electric solutions may be on the up in Europe, but North America is also rapidly adopting battery powered equipment. Indeed, it is in the more mature aviation markets where electrification is accelerating most rapidly.
US company Waev has a diverse portfolio of baggage tractors through its subsidiaries Tiger and Taylor-Dunn. While the parent company specialises in electric vehicles – its business incorporating solutions for road and ramp – it also provides a gasoline option.
Waev’s Tiger baggage tractors are capable of towing weights up to 27 tonnes and operators have the choice between the fossil-fuelled Tiger Gas or battery-powered Li-Ion models. The company also offers its Tiger Repower electric conversion kit, which launched in September 2023.
According to Gerry Hoadley, director of sales and development at Waev, the Tiger’s modular design enables users to purchase the gasoline option today and convert the unit to battery power tomorrow using the Tiger Repower kit.
Waev’s Tiger Li-Ion tractor in action at New York JFK
Meanwhile, Taylor-Dunn’s portfolio comprises the Bigfoot tractor series. With a load capacity of 2,230 lbs, 85 cubic feet of secure covered storage and a towing capacity of 10,000 lbs, the Bigfoot XL baggage truck can haul more than a standard pick-up truck while being able to perform narrow turns, Hoadley says.
Despite rising demand for battery power on the ramp, Waev, like Goldhofer, has witnessed steady demand for fossil-fuelled equipment in recent times. Hoadley tells Airside: “We have been seeing a fairly consistent mix of Li-Ion and Gas tractor sales, but our electric Li-Ion model is leading the charge with customers that have aggressive sustainability goals.
“We work with many of these customers to help them assess their charging and infrastructure challenges and reach these goals. And since we launched the Tiger Repower kit, it has been a very popular option to go electric while still leveraging investments in existing assets.”
Meanwhile, the Bigfoot could be the solution for all operations. Hoadley explains: “On airports small and large, our Bigfoot vehicles have been proven to support a multitude of tarmac operations such as baggage handling, lavatory services, potable water service and maintenance operations. In fact, operators may find burden carriers are all that is needed for ground support operations, easily becoming an industry mainstay as a single versatile vehicle by replacing trucks, maintenance vehicles and tow tractors.”
But sustainability is only one trend today. As ground handlers look increasingly to tech-heavy solutions to enhance safety and efficiency on the ramp, how is Waev reacting to operators’ shifting requirements?
Pictured: The Bigfoot baggage tractor
“Sustainability is the biggest topic in aviation at the moment and this fits well within our entire Waev portfolio,” says Hoadley. “We are an electric vehicle manufacturing company and have been for 75 years.
“In addition to our Tiger Li-Ion tractors, we have product offerings like our Bigfoot line that can replace diesel pickups and vans on the tarmac. Our electric vehicles can be deployed today using existing infrastructure, with fast-charging options as well.
“While the baggage tractor market is evolving and adapting to trends, some of us are taking a more proactive approach than others to lead this industry,” says Hoadley. “Until recently, the baggage tractor was a stagnant piece of equipment that hadn’t really changed for decades.
“Now, it is ever evolving as new technology and systems are being developed. Whether these be new propulsion systems, battery or fuel technologies, autonomous drive systems, or anything else, Waev will grow and adapt to meet the market’s needs.”
Hoadley emphasises that Waev’s electric Tiger tractor is already equipped with inching capabilities. Meanwhile: “We are working on anti-collision technology for some of our projects in development at the moment.”
