Heavydrive provides customised solutions for lifting and transporting heavy loads indoors and outdoors. The company offers glass installation accessories for rent and sale worldwide.
Their solutions, comprising high-quality products and reliable service, are perfectly tailored to customers’ needs. Heavydrive offers a broad range of installation equipment, which they are continuously expanding and improving.
Interview with Günter Übelacker, Managing Director of Heavydrive.
What core problem or operational challenge do your products/solutions solve that directly strengthens your clients’ competitive position?
Günter Übelacker: Architectural designs are becoming increasingly complex, and glass elements are getting heavier, larger and more extreme in shape. The challenge here lies in both production and installation, as conventional equipment reaches its limits and becomes unsuitable for complicated installations, such as behind columns or under projections. We specialise in such complex glass installations and develop systems in our in-house workshop that are precisely tailored to the pane dimensions and on-site conditions. The customer need not worry about the feasibility of the installation, because they have a trustworthy and experienced partner in us who makes the seemingly impossible possible.
https://en.heavydrive.com/complete-solutions
In what ways do your technologies improve efficiency, productivity, or cost-effectiveness for clients compared to traditional or competing approaches?
G.Ü: Heavydrive offers installation solutions from a single source. This means that we analyse customer needs and requirements on the construction site and develop a tailor-made installation solution. We provide the customer with everything they need for installation, so they don’t have to deal with different service providers, and we take care of logistics, transport and the necessary certificates. The bottom line is that the customer saves time and money, and installation is faster, safer and without any downtime.
https://en.heavydrive.com/customized-solutions
How does your solution help clients respond more quickly to market changes, customer demands, or emerging industry trends?
G.Ü: We have been involved in major international projects for 20 years and attend specialist conferences, trade fairs and conventions on a regular basis. This means that we are always up to date in both practice and theory, and we continuously develop our systems accordingly. This means that customers receive a customised and innovative installation solution that stays abreast of current trends within a very short time. Our goal is to always be one step ahead. An approach that directly benefits our customers.
What unique features, capabilities, or innovations differentiate your product portfolio from competitors in your sector?
G.Ü: Our equipment is based on a modular system and the devices can be combined with one another. This allows the operator to adjust or modify the equipment in just a few simple steps. So we can put together the optimal installation systems in a very short time. Furthermore, Heavydrive equipment is very easy to operate by just one fitter, which reduces personnel costs. Finally, we provide our customers with a comprehensive service: We support them during the planning process, develop a tailor-made solution, carry out a test assignment, take care of country-specific certificates, customs and transport, and can also provide an experienced equipment operator on request.
https://en.heavydrive.com/our-services
How do you ensure that your product development roadmap stays aligned with your clients’ long-term strategic priorities and future competitiveness?
G.Ü: We work very closely with our customers and are therefore always on the front foot. In response, we adjust our facilities and keep advancing.
Can you share how your technologies contribute to improving the quality, reliability, or performance of your clients’ end products or operations?
G.Ü: The fact that Heavydrive handles the entire installation process from planning to the on-site assignment from a single source reduces the error rate and prevents unwanted delays, as there is no need to negotiate with several different partners. The customer has a reliable and experienced contact person who supports them throughout the entire installation process. All of this reduces the organisational, time and personnel costs, which is naturally reflected in the final cost balance.
Many industries focus on sustainability and regulatory compliance. How do you help clients meet these requirements while gaining an advantage?
G.Ü: For us, sustainability and competitive advantage are not contradictory – they go hand in hand. Since the company was founded in 2006, we have been developing emission-free systems that are also suitable for indoor use and comply with all exhaust gas and noise regulations. This allows customers to use the equipment flexibly and sustainably.
In addition, the modular system of our installation systems allows for expansion of the equipment and a wide range of uses. And the component parts can also be easily interchanged and replaced. Professional, regular maintenance also extends the lifecycle of the systems. We develop durable equipment capable of achieving as many processes as possible on the construction site. This makes installation more efficient and reduces the number of systems required.
At our headquarters in Tapfheim, we also have our own photovoltaic installation. This supplies our own machines with green electricity, and the batteries of the installation equipment are also charged with green electricity.
How does your company support clients after product delivery—through services, training, digital tools, or data insights—to maximize the competitive impact of your solutions?
G.Ü: Heavydrive systems are generally very simple and require little manpower to operate. Nonetheless, the customer receives detailed instructions for the equipment delivered. An experienced equipment operator can also be booked on request. This enables smooth installation.
What role do digitalization, automation, or data analytics in your solutions play in helping clients optimize their operations or decision-making processes?
G.Ü: Automation plays a very important role, as there is a global shortage of skilled workers. Accordingly, we are offering more and more installation robots, such as the GMG glass assembly device or the 7-axis manipulator, which allows a single operator to move a glass element weighing several tonnes in seven axes using radio remote control. Robotics also reduces human error on the construction site.
But digitisation also simplifies and speeds up many processes. We are available to customers at any time via video call, chat or our Heavydrive app. This enables us to answer questions and resolve issues quickly and easily.
https://en.heavydrive.com/index.php/products/overhead-assembly/glass-assembly-device
Can you provide examples of measurable client outcomes, such as reduced downtime or cost savings, that demonstrate the competitive value of your solutions?
G.Ü: During the renovation of the luxury Grand Villa Argentina hotel in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, a four-tonne glass element had to be precisely positioned in the façade under a three metre deep projection. There was only six millimetres of clearance around the frame and space was extremely limited.
A single construction crane would not have been able to handle the load. Therefore, two construction cranes were coupled via a counterweight beam and connected to the Heavydrive counterweight system. The synchronised movement of the cranes was controlled by radio remote control, enabling the glass pane to be moved in a controlled and safe manner.
Thanks to the precise controllability of the Heavydrive lifting technology and the English and Croatian-speaking team of equipment operators, the element was inserted into the designated frame stress-free and with millimetre precision.
Another example is its use at the MOL campus in Budapest. Here, both straight and around 500 differently convex and concave curved glass elements had to be installed. With the Heavydrive GMG installation robot and various vacuum suction systems for straight and curved panes, installation was even possible under protrusions without any problems.
