Hambach. A special event took Thomas Schlüter Sr., Managing Director of Schlüter Baumaschinen GmbH, and the Hoffmann family straight to the Hambach opencast mine. The aim of the meeting was to further strengthen the long-standing and trusting partnership. The highlight of the visit was the personal handover of the new D71PX 24 bulldozer to the Hoffmann family for use in the open-cast mine.
Tradition and expertise at Baumaschinen Hoffmann
Since its foundation in 1980 by Manfred and Ingrid Hoffmann in Duisburg, Manfred Hoffmann Baumaschinen Industrieservice GmbH & Co. KG has grown into a company with over 175 employees, including more than 100 fitters working on-site at customers’ premises. The management team is now supported by the second generation; daughter Barbara Hoffmann and her husband Peter Lormann are bringing fresh ideas and expertise to the family business. With sites in Dorsten and Schwarzheide, Hoffmann operates primarily in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg. Further bases in Bavaria and Hamburg enable the company to operate throughout Germany. Hoffmann is recognised as a manufacturer-independent full-service rental company for construction machinery weighing 20 tonnes and above. In 2014, the company was recognised by RWE as the best supplier in the region.
Reclamation work at RWE’s Hambach and Garzweiler opencast mines
Hoffmann’s machinery is in operation at Germany’s largest opencast lignite mines, in Hambach and Garzweiler, on behalf of RWE Power. As part of the visit, two of the three opencast mines where Hoffmann’s construction machinery is being used were visited. Following the phase-out of coal in 2030, RWE will reclaim the mining areas over several decades. At the Hambach opencast mine, Lake Hambach will be created from 2030, and from 2036 the Garzweiler opencast mine will be filled with water from the Rhine.
Use of construction machinery in land reclamation
Alongside the huge bucket-wheel excavators, comparatively smaller construction machines are also used in opencast mines, such as the HB365LC hybrid excavator from Hoffmann Baumaschinen. The machine is particularly fuel-efficient, yet at the same time its technology enables very fast and dynamic working movements. By improving the CO₂ footprint and fuel efficiency by up to 30 per cent, the hybrid system makes a significant contribution to sustainability. These advantages were decisive for Hoffmann and underline the company’s forward-thinking approach. Among other things, the hybrid excavator is used to selectively remove the topsoil with excavators and crawler machines before mining begins, in order to preserve the fertile topsoil layer. In addition, these machines are used to profile embankments and create level working and mining floors, which are necessary for safe and efficient opencast mining operations. The excavated soil is usually stored temporarily in stockpiles and, once coal extraction is complete, redistributed across the reclaimed areas. The targeted use of these machines preserves the soil structure, meaning that the land can subsequently be used for agriculture or forestry, or developed as green spaces.Hoffmann’s machinery plays a key role in these recultivation measures in particular, ensuring the sustainable use of former opencast mining sites. Its sister company, Hoffmann Erdbewegungen, provides support with the transport of earth and materials both within and outside the opencast mines, combining state-of-the-art construction machinery technology with expertise in earthworks.
Partnership with Schlüter Baumaschinen and handover of the D71PX-24 bulldozer
Baumaschinen Hoffmann has relied on machinery from Schlüter Baumaschinen for many years. Its fleet includes, amongst other things, hybrid excavators such as the HB365LC, as well as bulldozers, which are also used in opencast mining. The collaboration began with dump lorries and has been steadily expanded over the years to include wheel loaders, excavators and bulldozers. At their joint meeting, the two family-run businesses identified numerous commonalities and are looking forward to further developing their successful partnership. Barbara Hoffmann also emphasised how much she values the trusting and collaborative partnership with Schlüter.
A particular highlight of the meeting at the Hambach opencast mine was the personal handover of the new D71PX-24 dozer by Thomas Schlüter Sr. to the Hoffmann family. This is Komatsu’s largest hydrostatic dozer. During their discussion, Manfred Hoffmann emphasised that they were eagerly awaiting the end of coal extraction and looking forward to new tasks and opportunities in the context of land reclamation. The construction machinery being used will also play a key role in this.
“The D71PX-24 plays a pioneering role in this regard,” says Hoffmann. Thanks to its wide undercarriage, ground pressure is significantly reduced, enabling safe operation even on soft ground. The minimised ground compaction offers a decisive advantage, particularly during land reclamation work. The robust PLUS-Laundry undercarriage ensures high stability and excellent grading performance, whilst the well-thought-out design is engineered for a long service life. Furthermore, the clear view of the blade facilitates precise work, particularly when working on embankments. With its exceptionally wide 6-way blade, large volumes of material can be moved efficiently, and precise fine-grading and paving work can be carried out. Manfred Hoffmann was already impressed by the machine at bauma 2025: “This is what a crawler dozer should look like!” Now the new crawler dozer can prove its capabilities in practical use.
System Utilization… Our System – Your Benefit!
Schlüter Baumaschinen, based in Erwitte, is Germany’s largest authorized dealer for premium products from Komatsu, Sennebogen, Topcon, and attachments from NPK, Genesis, Starmag, Rotobec, and ALLU, with 33 locations and over 1,000 employees. The mid-sized family business sees itself not only as a dealer but especially as a service provider offering first-class customer service. Sustainable customer satisfaction is at the heart of Schlüter Baumaschinen’s philosophy, with individual needs and requests translated into market-oriented solutions. This enables Schlüter’s system utilization, a strategy for customized applications. Schlüter Baumaschinen assembles market- and customer-oriented solutions around premium products to fully exploit all customer potential. New and used machines, financing, trade-ins, rental and lease-purchase, fixed maintenance and repair packages—from mini excavators to large-scale machines. System components that are flexible and tailored to the customer.
