Last year, the Swabian company WÖHR celebrated its 120th birthday. Rarely in the company's history have the times been as upheaval as they are now, as WÖHR CEO Markus Hofheinz emphasises: "Today, it's about more than just accommodating many vehicles in as little space as possible. We are looking for answers to the question of how inner-city parking for cars and bicycles can be organised in the future not only in a compact way, but also in a sustainable, user-friendly and networked way. WÖHR sees itself as an active partner and initiator.”
A provider of ideas instead of just a parking lift manufacturer
The motto "Redesigning urban parking space" is not only the company's orientation, but also the WÖHR exhibition stand at BAU 2023: The main attraction is a physical 3D city model, on which WÖHR's vision of future urban mobility is interactively presented. The presentation illustrates different parking concepts for the city of tomorrow and presents the appropriate solutions from WÖHR. "We want to make the parking of the future easier, more communicative and more convenient," Markus Hofheinz summarises WÖHR's claim. No wonder that solutions from WÖHR are in great demand in metropolises such as Madrid and Mexico City, as can be impressively experienced with selected examples.
New COMBILIFT generation and the new COMBIPARKER
In addition to holistic visions, WÖHR will also present concrete product innovations at the exhibition stand, from which planners, building owners, parking operators and end users are already benefiting today. Innovations such as the new COMBILIFT generation: It can store vehicles on up to three levels and in up to four rows one behind the other and is more space-saving, more flexible and more powerful than its predecessors. The required footprint could be shortened by up to ten centimetres without sacrificing available parking space and safety.
The new Combiparker 560 offers up to 5 parking levels that can be planned completely flexibly, starting from the entry level 4 levels down or 4 levels up. The special feature of the new Combiparker 560 is that with a normal underground car park floor height of 2.50 m, up to 4 levels can be accessed below.
Both series have also been designed with connectivity in mind: the COMBILIFT and COMBIPARKER modules can be equipped with e-charging stations, and the vehicle can be requested both via remote control and via a smartphone app.
First mechanical parking lift solution with EPD environmental declaration
From the simple parking lift to the fully automatic Sky Garage, WÖHR offers a wide range of solutions that set standards not only technically but also ecologically. The WÖHR Parklift 450, for example, is the first mechanical parking lift in the world to have an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) in accordance with the ISO 14025 environmental standard. This declaration allows the ecological footprint of the product to be compared with structural alternatives. WÖHR is thus setting a new standard for transparent proof of the environmental compatibility of innovative parking solutions.
Expanded portfolio for space-saving bicycle parking solutions
WÖHR recognised the importance of bicycles and e-bikes as essential players in the urban traffic of the future at an early stage and introduced its "Bikesafe" bicycle parking garage in 2016. Now, in cooperation with the Swiss Bike-Safe-Tower® and Bike-Parking-Lift® manufacturer Koch & Partner, Bike Parking Systems AG, WÖHR is expanding its portfolio to include further user-friendly bicycle parking solutions for almost every technical requirement and local building regulation. Already today, parking spaces in both systems can be conveniently booked and paid for via app and online platform.
A visit to BAU 2023 and the WÖHR stand is worthwhile for anyone who wants to take a look at the present and future of urban mobility. The WÖHR trade fair team looks forward to receiving appointment requests.