French material handling equipment conglomerate, Manitou, recently organised a dealership and customer meet named 'Stronger Together' in Phuket, Thailand, which saw a congregation of close to 160 attendees from across the world. Attendees discussed business opportunities, especially in emerging economies like China, India and other Asian countries, in view of their huge capital investments in building infrastructure. Manitou's top brass expressed their resolve to meet the growing demand with their ability to produce advanced, reliable, productive, and customised machines, along with the assurance of providing the desired support and services to its customers.
Commented Laurent Bonnaure, Executive Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing, Manitou, 'As a dealership driven company, Manitou has a wide network of channel partners to meet the requirements in markets like China, India, and Philippines, which are undergoing rapid urbanisation and infrastructure development. There is a growing demand for value-based material handling solutions with a high level of mechanisation, including precast construction, which requires handling of palletised loads at job sites. Though mobile cranes and wheel loaders are being used for these jobs and with a certain amount of efficiency, however, they may not be completely suitable for meeting all the jobsite requirements as they have certain restrictions in their operating parameters. On the other hand, Manitou telehandlers score higher in efficiency with their rough terrain ability, higher mobility and greater versatility through multiple attachments that enable various applications."
Rick Alton, President - Compact Equipment, Product Division, and Fernand Mira, President - Material Handling & Access Division, Manitou Group, informed the gathering that they were working closely with their in-house R&D and with vendors in Europe, India and USA to develop simple yet robust solutions that are easy to use, reliable and adaptable to harsh working conditions. 'These features can be seen in our new range of telehandlers and skid steer loaders launched at this event. These machines will give higher productivity backed by powerful engines and their robust structure, along with safety owing to the additional ROPS and FOPS."
Maxime Deroch, President - Services & Solutions Division, Manitou Group, said, 'Our high-quality products are backed by our global service team of 165 personnel for timely repairs and parts availability. Our 'Learning Management System' provides training to maintenance personnel; while customers can also avail virtual training. We also offer extended warranties, maintenance and rental services. We engage with customers and get feedback from them to make product improvisations."
New Launches
The event saw the launch of the 1340R, R134 and 1700 R skid steer loader and the MXT 840, MXT1740 and TX 408 telehandlers under Manitou and Ghel brands, especially for the emerging markets of Asia, the middle East and Eastern Europe; the machines will be manufactured at the company's facility in India and will be about 20% cheaper.
Manitou and Gehl Telehandlers: The Manitou MXT 840 and Gehl TX 408 models effectively respond to user needs. They can perform a vast array of jobs, thanks to a very wide range of attachments made for construction, such as forks, buckets, winches and gondolas. Their compatibility with all Gehl and Manitou attachments make their application possibilities all the greater. These telehandlers also allow operators to work very safely at the site.
Kévin Arnou, product manager at Manitou group remarks: 'Our ambition is to develop the telehandler market through models that are easy to use, robust and that have a total ownership cost suitable to the local users. The 6 m to 10 m telehandler segment in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific represents a significant part of the telehandler market. It therefore provides a lot of growth leverage for the group. Our choice is also justified by the telehandler equipment needs that are growing significantly in the short and long-term due to progressive modernization projects in those regions."
With a 7.60 m lifting height for a maximum capacity of 4 t, these models are particularly suitable for building construction and easily extend to two stories. Equipped 4-wheel steering, these telehandlers can be controlled in 3 steering modes: 2-wheel steering, 4-wheel steering, or crab mode to make lateral movement easier. With a high ground clearance of 39 cm, the MXT 840 / TX 408 is especially good for crossing difficult terrain. The transmission consists of a torque converter gearbox. In the cab, the controls are intuitive to allow users learn the ropes quickly and gain efficiency on the site.
The Manitou group's expertise can also be seen in the choice of components, including a very robust chassis and boom that ensure long-term rugged use. These models will be available on the Asian, Middle Eastern and East European markets starting in mid-June 2019 at Manitou and Gehl dealerships.
Expanded Offerings in Compact Loaders
Manitou group has expanded its compact loaders range with two new models Manitou 1340R and Gehl R134. With a large choice of attachments, such as buckets, sweepers and breakers, these machines are especially versatile and can do a multitude of jobs on the same site, eliminating the need for different equipment.
Equipped with a 49-hp engine and a torque converter transmission, this model provides a lifting height of 3.58 m for a maximum load capacity of 608 kg. Offering restricted dimensions — 1.3 m wide and 1.9 m high — these compact loaders easily move in tight areas on building construction sites. They can also easily enter and leave basements or parking lots, saving movement time and increasing user productivity. These models are also used for road construction, particularly for filling dump trucks, thanks to their 2.2 m dump height and maintenance of their axles without interrupting traffic, with a turning radius of just 1.75 m.
To ensure safe use, these new loaders comply with the FOPS/ROPS standards and are equipped with a handrail and safety belt. The Manitou group's expertise can also be seen in the quality of components. With a boom and chassis made of very high-resistance steel, operators can count on a highly durable, reliable loader, even in difficult climactic or environmental conditions. The controls inside the cab are ergonomic to allow the operator to learn the ropes easily and ensuring greater productivity. Maintenance is also optimized with easy access to daily maintenance locations, to speed up recurring inspections.
Philippe Bisson, Manitou group's development director for the construction line says: 'The 600 kg compact loader segment constitutes a significant part of this market's annual global volume. The R134 / 1340R model is mainly aimed at the Middle East, India and Australia, which together make up more than 70% of the sector. We expect a significant increase in demand for compact loaders, and trends recently observed in other markets, such as gondolas, makes us optimistic about the future of the loader in those regions!"
With solutions made for emerging markets, the Manitou group hopes to enhance its development in high-potential geographic zones. These robust models assure operators on site of many hours of use. They thus benefit from machines that are versatile, high-performance, easy to control, and offer optimized maintenance thanks to high-quality components.
