Manitou inaugurates new entity Manitou Equipment India;
discloses Terex acquisition and integration plans for India operations

Manitou Group, a worldwide leader in all-terrain handling equipment, recently inaugurated its new entity Manitou Equipment India Private Limited (MEI), following the company’s acquisition of Terex Equipment Private Limited. In doing so, the group has underlined its commitment to develop the backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders market in India, and subsequently export to other emerging countries.

In a week-long meeting of Manitou Ancenis-based teams from France with their MEI counterparts in Greater Noida, Manitou presented its goals and ambitions to the 340 MEI employees, and discussed their cultural diversity to facilitate collaboration between the different teams. To ease the transition, Manitou has set up a dedicated integration team, which will be in direct link with MEI for the next 8 months. The company also met numerous dealers, customers, suppliers, local partners and media persons to present their game plan for India.

At a press meet to announce the settng up of MEI, Vijay Sharma, Executive Director, MEI, introduced the Manitou team from France and said that he was happy to formally announce the "arrival of Manitou in India. Going forward, the company will draw up plans for the Indian market."

Speaking to the media, Michel Denis, President and CEO, Manitou Group, said, “With the experienced and motivated MEI team, we have gained a recognized know-how. We also have an effective and competitive industrial platform on which we can build to truly benefit from a very promising Indian construction sector, and new opportunities, which we will develop. We have a lot of cards in hand to develop the company in India and in emerging countries. Our ambition is to develop the existing MEI backhoe and skid steers, and an additional range of localized products for Asia.”

The company plans to develop new products especially adapted for India. “In view of the fact that the Indian market is more price conscious than technology driven, we will develop products that are safer and more cost-effective to meet the Indian requirements,“ stated Michel.

He added, “Though we have a worldwide presence, we are not well-known in India. Entry into the Indian market is a very strategic move for us, which we contemplated years ago. We see a huge potential growth for our company and we see India as a platform to export to other emerging countries as well. It is also a great opportunity for our existing dealer network and for our marketing and sales team. Initially, our branding exercise for the new entity will include the Terex brand name.”

Reiterating Manitou's ambitious and long-term goals for India, Michel said, ”MEI is not just a business investment, but also an investment in production and people for the long term. Terex, which has been operating in Greater Noida for producing high quality equipment, has a strong dealer network, which we will continue to develop further to expand our presence. We have a very efficient and reliable hub of spare parts to deliver timely requirements for parts and services. Besides all of this, we have a strong CSR strategy for leveraging our strengths and capabilities for the benefit of our partners, customers and stakeholders.”

Manitou designs, manufactures, distributes and services equipment for construction, agriculture and industries. Its product range encompasses telehandlers, all-terrain, semi-industrial and industrial masted forklifts, skidsteers, track loaders, articulated loaders, access platforms, truck-mounted forklifts, warehousing equipment and attachments. Through its core brands Manitou, Gehl, and Mustang, together with its international network of 1,400 independent dealers, the group provides the best solutions for delivering the highest value for its customers.

Headquartered in France, the Group’s three core business segments are: its historical construction equipment, which comprises 40-45% of its total business; agriculture equipment; and industrial, which includes oil & gas and mining sectors, and maintenance. In 2015, the group registered revenue of €1.29 billion.

Almost 90-95% of Manitou’s business is in Europe and northern America. The group has 8 production sites, 400 product models, and 22 subsidiaries servicing 140 countries, 1400 dealers and also direct customers With the acquisition of Terex and its well-structured dealer network and strong spare parts, maintenance and service, Manitou has further reinforced its presence in the material handling market of India and, subsequently in other emerging countries.