In 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 popular for making articulated work platforms, telescopic work platforms, vertical mast-work platforms, scissor lifts and trailer mounted work platforms.
On the 24th of July, the year 2008 the Haulotte Group acquired Bil-Jax, who was the US' biggest scaffold manufacturer. Currently, Haulotte Group has one factory in Spain, three plants in France, one in Romania, near Pitesti City. There is a new factory which opened during the winter of 2008. This plant is only 1 km away from the existing factory near Pitesti City in Arges County. The plant is known as Arges II. There are also two factories within the United States, the former Bill-Jax.
Pinguely
Alexandre Pinguely established the Pinguely Company in 1881 in Lyon, France. Initially, they built steam engines. The company evolved into making equipment eventually. In the year 1892, they provided a steam engine to the Chemin de Fer de St Victor a Thizy.
Pinguely provided 7 steam engines to the Voiron-Saint-Beron railway. In terms of numbers produced, Pinguely was not a major steam engine manufacturer. The company provided a steam train to the Chemin de Fer du Haut-Rhone in 1930 and by the year 1932, Pinguely started making steam shovels. Production of steam locomotives was stopped and the company started concentrating instead on mobile cranes and manufacturing earthmoving equipment instead.
Haulotte
In 1924, Haulotte was formed in L'Horme by Arthur Haulotte. The company was known as 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, research, design and development. All products were abandoned by Saubot so that the business could concentrate on self-propelled aerial work platforms.