During 2005, the corporation Pinguely-Haulotte was renamed Haulotte Group. This change in name brought the end of the Pinguely name after 124 years! The Haulotte Group is popular for making articulated work platforms, telescopic 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, the year 2008. Bil-Jax is the largest scaffold manufacturer in the US. Currently, Haulotte Group has three factories in France, one plant in Spain, one in Romania, near Pitesti City. There is a new factory which opened in the winter of 2008. This plant is just 1 km away from the existing factory near the city of Pitesti within Arges County. The factory is known as Arges II. There are also two plants in the USA, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
The company was established in 1881 within Lyon, France by Alexandre Pinguely. The company first build 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 provided 7 trains to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. Pinguely was not considered a main locomotive manufacturer in terms of numbers produced. The company provided a steam train to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone in the year 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely started manufacturing steam shovels. Steam locomotive production was stopped and the company began focusing instead on mobile cranes and manufacturing earthmoving machinery instead.
Haulotte
Arthur Hualotte established the beginnings of Haulotte during 1924, when it was known as Ateliers de Construction A. Haulotte. This company 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 marketing and engineering, design, research and development. All products were abandoned by Saubot so that the business could focus on self-propelled aerial work platforms.