09.10.2007

Manitowoc opens new plant in Portugal

Hundreds of customers, dealers, senior management and local dignitories celebrated the opening of the new Baltar facility in Portugal.

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About 300 MCG staff and guests attended the opening ceremony

Located near Porto, the manufacturing plant will augment operations at the nearby existing plant in Fanzeres to manufacture Potain tower cranes.

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The front of the impressive new facility in Baltar, Portugal

The ceremonial opening - the cutting of the ribbon - was performed by Terry Growcock, chairman of the Manitowoc board, Phillipe Cohet, EVP EMEA and the Mayor of Baltar.

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The official cutting of the ribbon - (LtoR) Terry Growcock, chairman of the Manitowoc board, Phillipe Cohet, EVP Europe, Middle East and Africa and the Mayor of Baltar

Speaking at the opening, Glen Tellock, CEO of The Manitowoc Company said: "We are extremely proud of this new facility which strengthens our presence in the important Iberica market. Two of our core goals are to achieve manufacturing excellence and differentiate ourselves through customer proximity establishing a premium manufacturing process and a dedicated sales and service support - both found here at Baltar."
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Manitowoc senior management (Lto R) - Eric Etchart, President MCG, Glen Tellock CEO The Maniowoc Company and Phillipe Cohet, executive vice president EMEA, MCG

"Three new models have been produced in Portugal over the past three years which has caused an upsurge in demand. We are adjusting our manufacturing capability accordingly."

The Baltar plant will produce Potain MC, MCT and MDT ranges working with the nearby Fanzeres factory. Operations will be split between the two facilities - the majority of welding and cutting taking place at Baltar and the painting, assembly, testing and shipping taking place at Fanzeres.
According to Tellock, this enables Manitowoc to improve quality and both production areas require different skills, levels of cleanliness, flow management and technology.

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The majority of the cutting and welding for the Potain MC, MCT and MDT ranges will take place at Baltar

The plant will employ 140 staff in the production, sales and service areas.
Manitowoc Crane Care forms a large part of the Baltar plant's activities and it will also be a major distribution point for spares, as well as EMEA's Centre of Excellence for the EnCORE program for repair and refurbishment.

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The EnCORE rebuild and refurbishment workshop at Baltar will cover 7,500 sq m

"Most customers today are interested in maximising the value of their assets and using remanufactured parts or refurbishing a whole allows them to do that," said Orlando Mota, director of Manitowoc Crane CARE for Iberica. "
The EnCORE facility has the capacity to refurbish about 35 cranes per year.