The business Pinguely-Haulotte was recently named the Haulotte Group during the year 2005. The name change was the first time in 124 years the name has not included Pinguely. The Haulotte Group is popular for making articulated work platforms, telescopic work platforms, vertical mast-work platforms, scissor lifts and trailer mounted work platforms.
The Haulotte Group acquired Bil-Jax, Inc. on July 24th, 2008. Bil-Jax is the biggest US scaffold manufacturer. Now, Haulotte Group has three factories in France, one plant in Spain, one in Romania, near the City of Pitesti. There is a new factory which opened during the winter of 2008. This plant is just 1 km away from the existing plant near Pitesti within the County of Arges. The factory is called Arges II. There are also two factories in the USA, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was established during the year 1881 within Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company first constructed steam engines. The business eventually evolved into making machines. In the year 1892, they provided a steam engine to the Chemin de Fer de St Victor a Thizy.
Pinguely supplied 7 trains to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. In terms of numbers produced, Pinguely was not a main steam engine manufacturer. The company supplied a steam train to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone in 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely began making steam shovels. Steam locomotive production was stopped and the company started focusing instead on mobile cranes and making earthmoving equipment instead.
Haulotte
During the year 1924, Haulotte was formed in L'Horme by Arthur Haulotte. The company was called Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This company specialized in the production of aerial platforms, mobile cranes and derricks.
Pinguely-Haulotte
Manufacturing it was decided to be sub-contracted to Pinguely-Haulotte, who was to be responsible for the engineering and marketing, research, design and development. All products were abandoned by Saubot so that the business could focus on self-propelled aerial work platforms.