Capital Equipment News September 2019

SKID STEERS

The new compact loaders from Manitou group – the Manitou 1340R and the Gehl R134 – were launched at the company’s Stronger Together event in Phuket, Thailand, earlier this year.

New skid range for emerging markets

The Manitou group has expanded its product portfolio for developing markets with the launch of a new skid steer model – the Manitou-branded 1340R / Gehl branded R134. The new compact loader is specifically adapted to the needs of emerging markets, with versatility, increased performance, simplicity and safety being the key design focus areas. By Munesu Shoko .

E arlier this year, the Manitou group used its Europe and Africa. The new skid steer – comimg in the form of a Manitou 1340R and Gehl R134 – is said to respond to fleet owner and operator needs in these markets – with a special design focus on increased versatility, productivity, safety, reliability, simplicity and, more importantly, lower total cost of ownership. Michel Denis, president and CEO of Manitou group, considers markets such as China, India, Australia, Russia, Asia and Africa as strategic. He believes that construction activity in these developing markets will drive the compact loader market for many years to come. “Skid steer users in developing markets have certain expectations from their machines, and chief among them are simplicity, productivity, safety, reliability and cost efficiency, all of which are addressed by the new Manitou 1340R / Gehl R134 compact loader,” says Denis. Laurent Bonnaure, Manitou group’s executive vice president – Global Sales & Marketing, says with the Stronger Together event attended by Capital Equipment News in Phuket, Thailand, to unveil its new compact loader specifically designed for emerging markets – Asia, the Middle East, Eastern

solutions adapted for emerging markets, the Manitou group hopes to enhance its development in these high- potential geographic zones. “The skid steer market is projected to grow eightfold in the next 10 years to 50 000 units per year. Of this figure, the APAC and MEA regions will account for 10 000 units per annum,” he says. “The growth of the skid steer market will be largely driven by spending on infrastructure development, including railways, roadways and buildings in emerging countries such as China, India and South Africa,” says Bonnaure. He reasons that with higher GDP growth rates, higher household incomes and with generally younger populations, African economies will also begin to play an ever more important role in the global economy. Construction activity will gain pace as cities battle to catch up with the ever growing population. “With the new compact loader model, we assure operators on site of many hours of use. They thus benefit from a machine that is versatile, high-performance, easy to control and offer optimised maintenance, thanks to high-quality components,” explains Rick Alton, president of the Compact Equipment Product Division.

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