Steelwrist marks 20 years of innovation in excavator efficiency

Left to right: Stefan Stockhaus, CEO of Steelwrist, and Markus Nilsson, CTO and co-founder of Steelwrist. (PHOTO: Steelwrist)

Founded in 2005 by Stefan Stockhaus and Markus Nilsson, the company has grown significantly over two decades,

Markus Nilsson, CTO and co-founder of Steelwrist, said: “During my 20 years developing our Steelwrist product portfolio we have continuously been at the forefront of our industry.

“Our innovations have resulted in products that are safer and more productive for the excavator operator. With a combined focus on hardware as well as software we have made the tiltrotator become an integrated part of the excavator.”

Since its founding, Steelwrist has delivered products to thousands of customers worldwide, establishing a leading presence in the sector.

Its first tiltrotator, the X18, was introduced in 2006, with subsequent innovations including the X07 model, launched in 2011 as the world’s first fully steel cast tiltrotator.

The company also pioneered safety advancements with its patented Front Pin Lock technology in 2012.

In 2024, Steelwrist launched its third generation of tiltrotators, introducing the XTR20 model, which features a built-in automatic OptiLube lubrication system and a sensor-based LockSense safety system. This year, the company plans to expand the range with two additional models, the XTR15 and XTR23.

Stefan Stockhuas testing the new SQ40 on his own 6 tone excavator. (PHOTO: Steelwrist)

It will also launch its new SQ40 coupler for excavators below six tonnes in operating weight, bringing its quick coupler technology to smaller machines for the first time.

Stefan Stockhaus, CEO and co-founder of Steelwrist, said: “I have myself been running the SQ40 size for over a year on my own excavator and I am really looking forward to presenting the SQ40 solution which will bring efficiency to new levels also for the smaller excavators.”

Commenting on the company’s milestone anniversary, he added: “I am extremely proud of what our team has accomplished since Steelwrist was founded, and the 20-year anniversary will be highlighted throughout 2025.”

Over the years Steelwrist has established a strong presence in Europe and has expanded into the North America, where the tiltrotator concept “has gained significant traction”.

Looking ahead, Steelwrist says it will continue to promote its products through exhibitions and live demonstrations, which will include an upcoming showcase at Bauma 2025 in Munich, Germany.

“Participating in exhibitions has been, and continues to be, very important for Steelwrist to promote the tiltrotator concept in markets where it is not yet widely established,” it said.

Aditionally, another key focus for Steelwrist in the coming years will likely be the continuing advancement of the adoption of the Open-S interface standard for automatick quick couplers for excavators.

In 2020, as part of its commitment to advancing industry standards, Steelwrist partnered with Rototilt to establish the Open-S Alliance - an initiative that aims to create a global standard for automatic quick couplers for excavators, which enables contractors and operators to freely combine couplers, tiltrotators, and tools from different manufacturers without compromising functionality, safety or warranties.

“Open-S is all about delivering benefits to contractors and machine operators,” said Stefan, who as Steelwrist’s CEO and one of the alliance’s founders, also serves as a Board Member of the Open-S Alliance.

With 14 members to date, including attachment manufacturers and OEMs such as Wacker Neuson, Daedong, KH-Maskin, Rotar, Pacific JCB and Kinshoffer, the alliance is driving interoperability across the sector.

ACDE Europe joins Open-S Alliance to support standardisation of automatic couplers Adoption of the Open-S common standard continues, welcoming its 14th member