SSAB and Manitou signed delivery contract for 5,000 tonnes of tailored blanks

SSAB is a key supplier for Manitou´s most important product, the telescopic boom. This is thanks to support from SSAB in developing the product and the quality of the steel that SSAB can provide, mostly Domex 500 MC. Manitou has become the biggest customer for the SSAB Shape concept in France.

“After years of discussions, we have reached the point where we now have a concluded long-term contract,” explains Emmanuel Chevet, who is marketing manager and responsible for SSAB’s contacts with Manitou. “Up till now it has been more of an ongoing agreement, now we know that we have cooperation that will last for years to come.”

“From the beginning, our cooperation with Manitou has been based not just on providing high-quality steels, but commitment and support in developing the end products together with the customer via value-added services (SSAB Shape),” says Emmanuel Chevet. “We started discussing a new generation telescopic boom already ten years ago, and a new design was achieved at the end of 2006. Design work involved investigating a new shape for Manitou – octagonal instead of rectangular. In 2006-2008, we established the processing method with Manitou and supported the building of a new production line by providing advice and samples for the automatic lines.”

Serial production started in 2008, and 4,000 tonnes of Domex 500 (customized) has been delivered every year for 30 different tailored blanks cut in Borlänge and delivered on a just-in-time basis to the Manitou facility from stocks in France. Evidence of the good performance from SSAB came in 2014, when SSAB received the “Best Supplier of the Year 2014” award from Manitou.

Manitou Group product ranges encompass: telehandlers, all-terrain, semi-industrial and industrial masted forklifts, skidsteers, track loaders, articulated loaders, access platforms, truck-mounted forklifts, warehousing equipment and attachments. Through its core brands, Manitou, Gehl, and Mustang, together with its international network of 1,400 independent dealers, the group provides the best solutions delivering highest value for its customers. Headquartered in France, the group registered in 2014 a revenue of €1.25 billion in 140 countries, and employs 3,300 people all committed to satisfying customers.