Wolffkran first came to the U.S. in the 1970s through distributor Emscor Inc., which later declared bankruptcy. The manufacturer subsequently launched a Texas-headquartered 60-crane rental fleet and sales subsidiary that later sold to American Pecco Corp., Millwood, N.Y. In turn, that firm was acquired by Salem, Ore.-based Morrow Equipment Co. LLC. Wolffkran plans on capturing a 20% U.S. market share within three years, following its departure a quarter century ago.

The towering debut will occur in San Francisco later this year, when a Wolffkran 700B is delivered to the site of developer Jay Paul Co.'s 802.5-ft-tall, 684,000-sq-ft office-condo tower being built at 181 Fremont St., next to the Transbay Transit Center. The 54-story, $500-million high-rise will be the city's second-tallest tower upon completion in May 2016, according to Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Level 10 Construction, the project's general contractor.

The builder stumbled across Wolffkran after an exhaustive search for the load capacity, line speed and range necessary for erecting the building's mega-frame structure, says project executive Steve DeWees, who is renting the 55-ton capacity, 230-ft-radius 700B from Maxim Crane Works L.P., Bridgeville, Pa.

Wolffkran manufactures tower cranes and components at two East German facilities, in Brandenburg and Luckau. The 400-employee, privately owned company designs, manufactures, sells and rents hoisting products in 13 countries. Expectations are that the U.S. market will account for 15% of the firm's total revenue by 2016, with a focus on office and residential work.

"Our expectations are very low," says Schiefer, who heads a company whose roots stretch back to 1854, when metalsmith Friedrich August Wolff opened an iron foundry in Heilbronn, Germany. "Ninety percent of crane people in the U.S. know Wolffkran, and we need to tap into that."

Wolffkran is credited with building the first modern tower crane: a small, rail-mounted unit, erected in 1910. A larger, refined model with a top-slewing luffing jib was displayed at the 1913 Leipzig Trade Fair. The award-winning crane reportedly went up in four days, unprecedented at the time. The company later suffered setbacks, including a 1924 foundry blaze and World War II bombing, but it went on to pioneer innovations such as pinned connections, modular components and electronic controls. Today, Wolffkran is known for line speed, quick assembly and lift strength. Its largest model, the 1250B, is a 66-ton-capacity luffer equipped with a 177-hp winch.

"We have the best product in the marketplace," says Schiefer, who hopes to have 150 units in the U.S. within five years. "We want to have a small group of committed, well-connected distributors with support and training."

Editor's Note: Wolffkran initially told ENR that it sold a crane to 3 World Trade Center. The company later clarified that it is still in talks with the contractor. The article was updated on 4/7/14 to reflect this change.