Manitou inaugurate new R&D centre
State-of-the-art testing facility includes a driving circuit and RT 2012 certified building
MANITOU have opened a new research and development (R&D) test centre in Ancenis, western France, where prototype telehandlers will be thoroughly tested for endurance and durability.
Work began on the €1.5 million facility in May last year and it includes a driving circuit and an RT 2012 (French thermal regulation) certified building. Sixteen employees specializing in driving and test bench maintenance are based at the new R&D centre.
Prototypes are put to the test in cycles that can last up to several thousand hours, the equivalent of the average life span of a machine. Several test robots and driving tests are undertaken, making it possible to analyze the resistance of the major parts and other components.
Jean-Yves Augé, R&D director for Manitou, said: ‘By automating the various test phases, we are able to accelerate the evaluations on our machines to provide users with ever more reliability. This is about certifying the capacity and endurance of all our ranges and our future innovative products. We are fully involved in continuous improvement.’
