Manitou Group, the France-based manufacturer of products in the handling, aerial work platform and earth-moving sectors, has announced a 12-month partnership agreement with European equipment rental firm, Kiloutou. The aim of the collaboration is to offer electrification kits for Manitou’s used internal combustion engine telehandler.
By retrofitting these machines, the working life of the product will extend and the impact on the environment will be reduced, particularly carbon emissions. This project, which will be the first of its kind between a manufacturer and a rental company, will be rolled out over the next two years and will test the technical and economic feasibility of electrifying telehandlers which were initially designed with internal combustion engines.
The project will begin, this year, on a high lifting height telehandler demonstrator at Manutou Group’s production plant in Ancenis, with the engine being dismantled and then reassembled using an electrification kit. Real life conditions at the Kiloutou test centre, near Lille, will test the success of the remodelling. Pending clearance, the Manitou Group will then go on to offer kits for machine refurbishment on several of Kiloutou’s models using new or pre-owned parts over a 12 month period.
President and CEO of Manitou Group, Michel Denis, said: “We are currently rolling out our choice of low-emissions machines in our Oxygen range. We were also looking for an alternative to our internal-combustion machines that are already in operation, to take the next step in this direction. Kiloutou is particularly open to these kind of solutions, so we will be working together to create retrofit kits. The goal is to extend our products’ useful life and at the same time shrink our carbon footprint.”
The project is particularly targeted towards Kiloutou machines that have been in operation for around five years. Once they have been retrofitted, the refreshed models will be included in the Impakt range of environmentally alternatives and be available in French branches of Kiloutou.
Group fleet and sustainability director for Kiloutou Group, François Renault, said: “We firmly believe that de-carbonising the construction and civil engineering sector will take a team effort. This project with Manitou Group is that principle in practice and shows that we are committed to the same goals. The possibility of giving machines in our fleet a second life, and lowering their emissions, is a key lever in our drive to reduce our indirect emissions. We are working particularly hard these days to fast-track this circular-economy solution.”
