This profile of the French manufacturer of handling machinery, Manitou, is the third to be published in the European Service of Off-Highway Research, and is an update of the report last published in August 2019.

Founded by the Braud family 64 years ago, Manitou’s headquarters are based in Ancenis, France in the western département of Loire-Atlantique in the Pay de la Loire region, and has several manufacturing bases overseas, including Italy, the USA, India and China. The Manitou Group designs, manufactures, and distributes material handling, access, and earthmoving equipment for construction, agriculture, recycling, and industrial markets (environment, defence, oil and gas, mines, and quarries.

The product ranges cover rough-terrain fixed, rotating, and high-capacity telehandlers, articulated telescopic wheeled loaders, rough-terrain, semi-industrial, and industrial forklifts, truck mounted forklift trucks, wheeled, and tracked skidsteer loaders, articulated wheeled loaders, backhoe loaders, aerial work platforms, as well as warehousing equipment and attachments. Its most famous products are telescopic handlers, in which it is a market leader in most countries it serves.

The Product Division develops and manufactures all its machines at sites in Ancenis, Candé, Laillé and Beaupréau (France), Castelfranco (Italy), Yankton and Madison (United States), and Greater Noida (India).

The Services & Solutions Division supports its customers with a range of valueadded services: technical training for the network and major accounts, new or refurbished spare parts, after-sales service, machine connectivity, financing solutions, maintenance contracts, warranty extension contracts, rent-to-rent leases, full-service contracts, recovery, repair, and resale of used equipment.

The company sells under four main brands, of which the best known are Manitou, Gehl, Mustang by Manitou and Loc. However, in the European market it is evident that Mustang by Manitou is now a redundant brand, and the Manitou brand is now used. This applies to skid-steer loaders, compact tracked loaders, and compact wheeled loaders (including telescopic articulated wheeled loaders) all of which are branded Manitou in Europe.

As part of its Corporate Investment Strategy and its low carbon transition, Manitou has been accelerating the renewal of designs and the launches of its electric and hybrid versions for compact loaders and its full range of telehandlers, with plans to also to move into hydrogen.