Manitou expands to meet rising demand
Manitou expands to meet rising demand
Materials handler maker
Manitou reckons to lead the
French telehandler market
with a 50% share of the
agricultural sector.
Geoff Ashcroft visited the
companys headquarters in
Ancenis, France
FOR French machinery maker Manitou, it all started with the production of cement mixers by the Braud family in the late 1940s to help rebuild France after World War II.
The firms cement mixers were soon supplemented by cranes, which eventually led to the development of the companys first rough terrain forklift truck in 1957, based, somewhat crudely, on a dumper truck.
At the time the company was known as Braud & Faucheux, but in 1969 the name Manitou (meaning handle everything) was adopted, a change which coincided with the 10,000th machine rolling off the production line.
Today, the Manitou Group includes nine manufacturing facilities worldwide which employ a total of 2300 people. Still run by the Braud family, turnover in 2000 was 5180bn francs (£518bn), an increase of 30% on the previous year.
Among its product lines are telescopic handlers for agriculture, construction and industrial markets, plus aerial work platforms, truck-mounted piggyback forklifts, industrial forklifts, rough terrain forklifts and wheeled loaders.
Interestingly, the firm still manufactures cement mixers for the domestic market, but has opted to specialise in machines for lifting and handling purposes.
Telescopic handlers remain Manitous core business and at current production levels, the company builds over 50 machines a day, for a total of over 12,000 units a year. Export sales account for 57% of production while the remaining 43% satisfy domestic sales to the French market.
That also means the firm leads the way in the domestic agricultural telehandler market, with a 50% share in a market, which accounts for about 2800 machines annually. The firm says Merlo and JCB contest second place position, with market shares in France of about 16% each.
"Our home market has quite an appetite for machinery," says Jacques Guerin, Manitous production director at the Ancenis factory. "Of our total production, 43% stays in the rest of Europe, excluding France, while 14% is sales to other countries."
With such a diverse product range of materials handling machinery, it comes as no surprise to learn that the construction industry is Manitous largest market. Construction accounts for 53% of production, while agriculture absorbs 30%, and the industrial sector, 17%.
"The French agricultural market is growing, so we expect an increase in our farm machinery sales over the next few years," says Mr Guerin. "The UK, too, has had a very good year for sales; Manitou (Site Lift) sold over 1800 machines during 2000."
To further capture the imagination of farmers, the company will be launching a new compact telehandler at SIMA. Called the 526, it will replace the 524 and 527 models and will be available in two versions – standard and low cab.
The rear-engined machine will offer a lift capacity of 2.6t to a height of 5m, and an overall width of 2.02m. Overall machine height could appeal to livestock farmers; standard height is 2.24m, reducing to 2.06m for the low-cab version. The latter is not a chopped roof, says the company, but a full-sized cab mounted much lower in the chassis.
Available with a torque converter transmission, the machine will be offered with a choice of 80hp non-turbo and 100hp turbocharged engines.
And with a further increase in sales predicted across the range, the production facilities at Ancenis are undergoing significant expansion. The primary focus is on increasing production efficiency with a view to reducing production costs and improving quality.
"We are already stretched beyond our capacity," says Mr Guerin. "We could have sold more telehandlers last year, but we just could not produce them. At the start of 2000, we were building 43 machines a day – at the end of the year production was up to 57 machines. When the factory expansion is completed in two years time, we will have the capacity to build about 65 machines a day, but without employing additional labour."
A total investment of about £27m will see many enhancements at the factory. These include a covered unloading area for raw materials, a new sales and marketing facility, new offices for the production/planning/design team, and a new building for the firms planned automated assembly line.
"With an automated assembly line, it should be possible to vary the production of different models of telehandler on the same line," says Mr Guerin. "It will enable us to meet specific surges in demand for particular models, so we should also be able to reduce our materials stock, too."
But factory expansion wont stop at that. The company also has plans for a dedicated boom factory, allowing it to produce all telescopic booms in-house.
"We want to do more welding and fabrication work, in-house, rather than rely on external suppliers," he says. "At the moment, parts are shuffled around too much between our production lines and our external suppliers, although its all a short term solution until the new manufacturing facilities are fully operational.
"In addition, when every machine rolls off the production line, each one is tested rigorously on an outdoor test track before returning to the paint shop for final finishing touches." *
Above: Manitou is investing about £27m in factory expansion. Below: Current production facilities will be supplemented by an automated assembly line that will allow varied production of different telehandler models on one line.
Jacques Guerin, says reckons the expansion at the firms Ancenis headquarters will make telehandler production more efficient.
MANITOU MILESTONES
1945 – Marcel Braud builds his first cement mixer.
1957 – First rough terrain forklift produced.
1969 – 10,000th machine produced and company name changed to
Manitou (meaning handle everything).
1972 – Entered into agreement to build Toyota forklift trucks for Europe.
1973 – Founded UK subsidiary Manitou (Site Lift).
1981 – Produced first Manitou telescopic handler.
1985 – Entered into production agreement with Italian mobile crane
maker MCI to produce rotating telehandlers.
1992 – 100,000th Manitou built.
1994 – Bought Ahlmann wheeled loader company.
1997 – Commenced manufacture of New Holland telehandlers.
2000 – Entered into marketing agreements with aerial work platform
makers MEC and Aichi.
2001 – Expansion of production facilities at Ancenis to raise production
capability from 50 to 65 machines a day.
MANITOUDATA
• Headquarters: Ancenis, France.
• Manufacturing facilities: 9 worldwide.
• Employees: 2300 worldwide, including 1050 at Ancenis.
• Turnover: 4026 billion French francs in 1999.
• Product lines: Telescopic handlers, industrial, rough terrain and piggyback forklift trucks, aerial work platforms, loading shovels.
• Markets: Agriculture, construction and industrial sectors.
• Distribution: 500 dealers in more than 100 countries.