06.11.2021

Georg Thierer 1931 – 2021

This week we received the sad news that Georg Thierer, a leading pioneer of the German powered access industry and founder of TKD, has died. He passed away on Tuesday 26th October at the age of 89, following a short illness.

He is probably best known as the founder and managing director of German manufacturer and Genie distributor TKD. Over the years, his company sold Genie, Holland Lift and MEC. Later on, it also sold the Delta/Manlift Toucan mast boom range, as well as Liftlux, UpRight and Euro Access products to supplement his TKD self-propelled telescopic work platforms.
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Georg Thierer

He began his career in 1952, working on electron microscopy research with Carl Zeiss. After completing his studies in Munich in 1958, he moved into construction equipment joining excavator and material handling equipment manufacturer Johannes Fuchs. He eventually became managing director of its Bad Schönborn excavator plant and business.

During his time with the company, he was responsible for a number of ground breaking developments and registered several patents as joint inventor, helping shape an entire generation of Fuchs construction machines. During business trips to the USA in the late 1970s, Thierer spotted the growing use of self-propelled aerial work platforms and recognised their potential. Back in Germany, he began developing a range of Fuchs self-propelled boom lifts.

Thierer was keen to build a ‘better mousetrap’ and began with the 60ft F1800 telescopic, for which he designed an unusual triangular boom profile for which he obtained a patent. His machine also offered a shorter tail swing than many existing machines and he was proud to point out that his platform was far more rigid or stable than the competitor’s products. To be fair, this was generally true, and the overall machine was exceptionally robust and reliable for the time.

It also performed well on rough terrain thanks to a number of his new designs, including true four wheel drive, extra ground clearance, oscillating axles, and a high specification hydraulic system, all of which added considerable cost. The product was however greatly appreciated by a good many German rental companies who wanted machines like this, that matched the robust build quality of their Holland Lift scissor lifts and Teupen or Denka trailer lifts. What’s more, they were prepared to pay for it.
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The Fuchs F1800 became the TKD 1800

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The 1800’s patented triangular boom profile

In 1985, Thierer left Fuchs to set up his own powered access business to sell aerial work platforms and becoming the Genie distributor for Germany. He added a manufacturing operation after he acquired the Fuchs boom lift business, and rebranded it as TKD. He began assembling them in a four or five bay workshop at his facility in Kronau, next door to Bad Schönborn- south of Heidelberg. He also started selling MEC scissor lifts, as Genie had not yet entered the scissor lift market. Somewhere along the way, he had formed a close friendship with Peter Kauderer, the owner of market leading platform rental company Maltech – or Mateco as it became. Kauderer helped set up the new business, in fact TKD stood for Thierer, Kauderer Dolinsek. Hans Dolinsek being a talented engineer who moved with Thierer from Fuchs. The Fuchs F1800 became the TKD 1800, which formed the basis for a product line, that eventually included models with working heights of 12 to 39 metres.
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The TKD booms tended to have less tailswing

Georg Thierer was a talented engineer and ‘scientific tinkerer’ with something of the mythical black forest toy maker about him. As well as his own patents and designs he contributed product development ideas and concepts to Genie - particularly on the original Z-60/34 - as well as MEC, where he promoted the mono-stack scissor design, similar to that used by Holland Lift.

His friendship with Kauderer would see him join the Mateco chief executive on trips to manufacturers, such as Grove and UpRight, an unusual move, given that he was a competitor. But he would unashamedly participate fully in plant tours and new product discussions and demonstrations. He was never shy about sharing his opinions with engineers on they could improve a particular design, informing them what they had got wrong. He was always good natured with his observations and suggestions which were usually inciteful and valid. Given half the chance he was always ready ‘roll up his sleeves’ and sketch up an idea with the design engineers during these visits. He was simply passionate and enthusiastic about engineering and was more than happy to share his knowledge or ideas, even if it was with a competitor. All of which could seem somewhat surreal.

Meals with him could easily lead to debates about a design concept or strategy, or any manner of subjects. He really was a ‘one off’ all of which could become a little irritating at times, but he was also totally open and ready to listen and happy to be swayed by a powerful counter argument. He always had a twinkle in his eye when making what he thought was a killer point in his argument or having thought of some great idea which he was preparing to share with you. He enjoyed life to the full and loved to travel to see new things and learn from what he saw and heard.

As well as his incredible energy, Thierer kept physically fit right up until the end, participating in various sporting activities over the years, including competing in endurance riding competitions, with his beloved Arabian horses, well beyond his 70th birthday. Sadly, he lost his wife around 15 years ago but still had his horses, dogs and two sons, Jörg and Frank, along with two grandchildren to keep him company.

As our German team said: “With Georg Thierer, a versatile and talented Swabian entrepreneur and engineer leaves the stage”.

It is true, the industry has lost yet another of its pioneers and characters.