First stone laid at new platform factory

Candé, September 19, 2019 ― The Manitou group, a world leader in rough-terrain handling, has started construction of a new factory dedicated to aerial work platforms. Michel Denis, Group President & CEO, and Jacqueline Himsworth, Chair of the Board of Directors, laid the first stone in the presence of a number of elected representatives. This factory fits in with a global investment plan and confirms the Group's ambitions in this market.

Work on the site, which is located in the Zone du Petit Tesseau in Candé (Maine-et-Loire), has just begun just 3 km from the first platform factory. The manufacturer based in Ancenis, already represented by 5 production sites in the Grand-Ouest, further asserts its historical attachment to the region.

This new industrial facility will allow the Group to respond to structural market growth in Europe and beyond, particularly in the United States, where the Group began distributing its products at the end of 2018. Sylvain André, Director of the current Candé site and future director of the new site, says: “The aerial work platform market constitutes a significant lever for growth for the Group, and is appealing to more and more rental companies, which account for the majority of our customers in this market. This will equip us with a modern factory dedicated to rough-terrain platforms, while the existing site will focus on industrial platforms. We therefore keep our expertise in the same region”.

With a surface area of 80,000 m² and 18,000 m² of industrial constructions, this €26M investment is part of a global plan to develop and modernize the industrial facilities on all of the French and Italian production sites. The work, executed in partnership with the Legendre Group, is due to be completed until the first quarter of 2021.