During 2005, the business Pinguely-Haulotte was renamed Haulotte Group. This name change brought the end of the Pinguely name after 124 years! The Haulotte Group is popular for making telescopic work platforms, articulated work platforms, scissor lifts, trailer mounted work platforms and vertical mast-work platforms.
The Haulotte Group acquired Bil-Jax, Inc. on July 24th, 2008. Bil-Jax is the biggest scaffold manufacturer in the US. Currently, Haulotte Group has one factory in Spain, three factories in France, one plant in Romania, near Pitesti City. There is a new plant which opened during the winter of the year 2008. This plant is only 1 km away from the existing factory near Pitesti City within Arges County. The plant is called Arges II. There are also two factories in the United States, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was formed during 1881 within Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company initially build steam locomotives. The business evolved into making machines eventually. In 1892, they supplied a train to the Chemin de Fer de St Victor a Thizy.
The company supplied 7 trains to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. Pinguely was not considered a major locomotive manufacturer when it comes to numbers produced. The company provided a steam train to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone in 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely began manufacturing steam shovels. Production of steam locomotives was stopped and the company began 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 called Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This business specialized in the production of aerial platforms, mobile cranes and derricks.
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 company can concentrate on self-propelled aerial work platforms.