During 2005, the company Pinguely-Haulotte was renamed Haulotte Group. This name change brought the end of the Pinguely name after 124 years! The Haulotte Group is known for making articulated work platforms, telescopic work platforms, trailer mounted work platforms, vertical mast-work platforms and scissor lifts.
On the 24th of July, the year 2008 the Haulotte Group obtained Bil-Jax, who was the US' largest scaffold manufacturer. Now, Haulotte Group has one factory in Spain, three plants in France, one in Romania, near Pitesti City. There is a new plant that opened in the winter of 2008. This factory is 1 km away from the existing factory near Pitesti in Arges County. The factory is called Arges II. There are also two plants within the USA, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
Alexandre Pinguely established the Pinguely Company in the year 1881 in Lyon, France. At first, they built steam locomotives. The company evolved into making machines eventually. In the year 1892, they supplied a locomotive to the Chemin de Fer de St Victor a Thizy.
The company supplied 7 steam engines to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. Pinguely was not considered a main locomotive manufacturer when it comes to numbers produced. The company supplied a steam locomotive to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone in 1930 and by 1932, Pinguely began manufacturing steam shovels. Production of steam locomotives was stopped and the company started focusing instead on mobile cranes and manufacturing earthmoving machinery instead.
Haulotte
Arthur Hualotte established the beginnings of Haulotte in 1924, when it was called Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This business specialized in manufacturing 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, design, research and development. All products were abandoned by Saubot so that the company could concentrate on self-propelled aerial work platforms.