The company Pinguely-Haulotte was recently named the Haulotte Group in the year 2005. The name change was the first time within 124 years the name has not included Pinguely. The Haulotte Group is known for manufacturing telescopic work platforms, articulated work platforms, trailer mounted work platforms, vertical mast-work platforms and scissor lifts.
The Haulotte Group obtained Bil-Jax, Inc. on July 24th, 2008. Bil-Jax is the biggest US scaffold manufacturer. At present, Haulotte Group has one plant in Spain, three factories in France, one in Romania, near the City of Pitesti. There is a new factory which opened during the winter of 2008. This plant is only 1 km away from the existing factory near the city of Pitesti within the County of Arges. The plant is known as Arges II. There are also two factories within the USA, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was established during the year 1881 in Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company first constructed steam locomotives. The business eventually evolved into making equipment. During 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 major locomotive manufacturer. The company supplied a steam locomotive to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone in the year 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely started manufacturing steam shovels. Steam locomotive production was stopped and the company started focusing instead on mobile cranes and making earthmoving machinery instead.
Haulotte
Arthur Hualotte established the beginnings of Haulotte in the year 1924, when it was called Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This company specialized in manufacturing derricks, aerial platforms and mobile cranes.
Pinguely-Haulotte
It was decided that the actual manufacturing was to be sub-contracted to Pinguely-Haulotte. They were to be responsible for the engineering and marketing, research, design and development. All products were abandoned by Saubot so that the business could concentrate on self-propelled aerial work platforms.