In the year 2005, the company Pinguely-Haulotte was renamed Haulotte Group. This change in name brought the end of the Pinguely name after 124 years! The Haulotte Group is known for manufacturing articulated work platforms, telescopic work platforms, scissor lifts, trailer mounted work platforms and vertical mast-work platforms.
On the 24th of July, the year 2008 the Haulotte Group obtained Bil-Jax, who was the US' largest scaffold manufacturer. Currently, Haulotte Group has three plants in France, one plant in Spain, one in Romania, near Pitesti City. There is a new plant which opened during the winter of 2008. This plant is 1 km away from the existing plant near the city of Pitesti in the County of Arges. The factory is called Arges II. There are also two factories within the United States, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was formed during 1881 within Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company first build steam locomotives. The business evolved into making machinery eventually. In the year 1892, they supplied a steam engine to the Chemin de Fer de St Victor a Thizy.
Pinguely supplied 7 trains to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. When it comes to numbers produced, Pinguely was not a main locomotive manufacturer. The company supplied a steam train to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone during 1930 and by 1932, Pinguely started making steam shovels. Steam locomotive production was stopped and the company started focusing instead on mobile cranes and manufacturing earthmoving equipment instead.
Haulotte
In 1924, Haulotte was formed in L'Horme by Arthur Haulotte. The company was referred to as Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This company specialized in manufacturing mobile cranes, derricks and aerial platforms.
Pinguely-Haulotte
Manufacturing it was decided to be sub-contracted to Pinguely-Haulotte, who was to be responsible for the engineering and marketing, design, research and development. All products were abandoned by Saubot so that the company could focus on self-propelled aerial work platforms.