Manitou Group inaugurates new R&D Test Centre
Rough-terrain materials handling manufacturer, The Manitou Group, has officially opened its new test center, termed “R&D Test Center”. This innovative building makes it possible to perform endurance and durability tests on all Manitou prototypes.
Inaugurated in the presence of a number of elected officials, this new site is designed to assess the endurance and capacities of the group’s prototypes. With a number of particularly innovative, high-performance test benches, the models are put to the test for cycles that can last up to several thousand hours, the equivalent of the average life span of a machine. The tests guarantee the robustness of Manitou products from launch while reducing the development turnaround times. Several test robots and driving tests feature in multiple configurations among the tests performed. The test benches also make it possible to analyze the resistance of the major parts and a number of other types of components.
Construction began last May, with an investment of €1.5 million and was finished in January, 2018. This new facility includes a test driving circuit and an RT 2012-certified building. Sixteen employees, specializing in driving and test bench maintenance, work there while participating in actions to continue improving the effectiveness of the installations in order to increase the products’ robustness.
Jean-Yves Augé, R&D Director of the Manitou Group, explains the purpose of such a project: “By automating the various test phases, we are able to accelerate the evaluations on our machines to provide our 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.”
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