Tadano ATF 100G-4 lifts 2.5-tonne Bullhead at Wacken Open Air

Wacken Open Air turns a small Schleswig-Holstein village into one of the world’s biggest heavy metal gatherings, and long before the first fans arrive the site is a construction job: stages erected, platforms assembled and technical equipment installed. Crane rental company Wilhelm, based in nearby St. Michaelisdonn, handles the lifting with its largely Tadano fleet, fielding an ATF 100G-4 all terrain crane supported by a Tadano HK 50 truck crane for assembly work.

A skull on the hook

The most prominent lift of the build is the Bullhead, the festival’s steel skull emblem that towers over the main stages. It weighs around 2.5 tonnes and stands roughly ten metres tall, and in 2026 Wilhelm again had the job of returning it to its perch. The ATF 100G-4 had already been working on site for weeks, erecting the structure the skull attaches to – precision work in tight spaces with numerous other trades operating around the crane.

“The major challenge when building a stage is the logistics, because it is very difficult to be in the right place at the right time with the right materials.”

— Markus Olma, head of stage construction for the festival organiser

The Bullhead lift itself demanded a steady hand from crane operator Marco Levin, who had to float the load in to riggers standing on catwalks just 60 centimetres wide, around 28 metres above the ground. “You have to operate with great precision and bring the load to the crew extremely carefully,” Levin said.

Waiting out the wind

On lift day, gusts of around eleven metres per second swept the festival grounds. When the wind briefly dropped, the team committed. Levin set up the four-axle crane with its main boom extended to 36.9 metres and its full 26.5-tonne counterweight on board, lifting first the skull and then its two horns so the stage builders could bolt them on. “Marko handled the skull lift masterfully today. I have to say: hats off to him,” Olma said afterwards.

Self-sufficient four-axler

For the ATF 100G-4, a long-serving member of Wilhelm’s fleet, the festival is routine work. “The crane operates without a hitch, summer or winter – we’ve never had any trouble with our ATF 100,” Levin said. Tadano service coordinator Florian Lodes, who has looked after the machine since 2018, pointed out that the crane carried its complete 26.5-tonne counterweight to site on its own trailer, making the four-axle unit fully self-sufficient for the job.

The relationship runs deeper than one crane. “We run almost exclusively Tadano cranes in our fleet – not only because of the high quality and immense performance capabilities of these machines, but also because of the excellent Tadano service we have happily relied on for many years,” said Jasmin Wilhelm.