During 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 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 scaffold manufacturer in the US. At present, Haulotte Group has one plant in Spain, three plants in France, one in Romania, near the City of Pitesti. There is a new plant that opened in the winter of 2008. This factory is 1 km away from the existing factory near Pitesti within the County of Arges. The factory is referred to as Arges II. There are also two factories in the USA, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was established in the year 1881 in Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company first build steam engines. The company evolved into making machines eventually. During the year 1892, they provided a locomotive 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 main locomotive manufacturer. The company supplied a steam locomotive to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone during 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely started making steam shovels. Production of steam locomotives was stopped and the company began concentrating instead on mobile cranes and manufacturing earthmoving machinery instead.
Haulotte
During 1924, Haulotte was established in L'Horme by Arthur Haulotte. The company was referred to as 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 focus on self-propelled aerial work platforms.