What is the Manitou Group?
About the Manitou company:
Manitou Group is an industrial products company that manufactures cement mixers, forklifts, aerial work platforms, wheel loaders, and telescopic handlers.
It is is a top producer, based in Ancenis France, of rough terrain forklifts. Its products are used by the following industries:
- Construction
- Agriculture
- Lumber / forestry
- Mining
- Waste treatment
- Materials handling
Through its German-based subsidiary it also makes bulldozers.
History of Manitou
Manitou was founded in France by the Braud family. The family patriarch wanted to build a manufacturing plant shortly before World War II to produce cement mixers, derricks, and motorized winches. He was killed in 1944 during the liberation of his family’s hometown.
His widow continued with her husband’s plans after the war. And, the rebuilding of infrastructure in northern France as a result of World War II culminated in a demand for the company’s products.
In 1953, he formed a partnership with Faucheux, a local supplier of construction materials. The new company added cranes to its line. Braud also starting working on an invention that would eventually become the company’s flagship product, the first rough terrain crane.
As the company grew, it also forged a relationship with Toyota as a distribution partner for its complementary line of forklifts, later it built Toyota forklifts, under license, for the European market.
