During the year 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 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 the 24th of July, 2008. Bil-Jax is the biggest US scaffold manufacturer. Currently, Haulotte Group has three plants in France, one factory in Spain, one in Romania, near Pitesti City. There is a new factory that opened during the winter of 2008. This factory is 1 km away from the existing factory near Pitesti City in Arges County. The plant is called Arges II. There are also two plants in the United States, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was established during the year 1881 in Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company initially build steam engines. The business evolved into making machinery eventually. During the year 1892, they supplied a locomotive to the Chemin de Fer de St Victor a Thizy.
Pinguely supplied 7 steam engines to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. In terms of numbers produced, Pinguely was not a major steam engine manufacturer. The company supplied a steam train to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone during 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely began manufacturing steam shovels. Production of steam locomotives was stopped and the company started focusing instead on mobile cranes and making earthmoving equipment instead.
Haulotte
During 1924, Haulotte was established in L'Horme by Arthur Haulotte. The company was called Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This business 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 business could focus on self-propelled aerial work platforms.