04.02.2026

Marcel Braud 1932- 2026

We have received the sad news that rough terrain forklift and telehandler pioneer and Manitou founder Marcel Braud has died.
The honorary chairman of Manitou passed away on Tuesday February 3rd, at the age of 93. He leaves behind his wife and sons Marcel-Claude and Sébastien Braud.

Marcel Braud was 13 when his father, Marcel Braud senior, was shot and killed on the day American troops liberated Acenis - August 5th 1944. His widow Andrée Braud was left with Marcel and 13-month-old Jacqueline and an agricultural seed and feed business that she and her husband had founded before the war. But wishing to continue her husband's secret wartime engineering work on cranes and concrete block machines, she formed a new company Braud Mecanique Generale, which went on to become Manitou in 1958.

She had noticed that the young Marcel enjoyed working in the workshop with his father after school and could see that he had a similar passion for engineering as his father, so he soon became involved in the new business during the weekends and school holidays.

In 1953, as her son completed his studies, Andrée Braud had the foresight to bring experienced managerial backup and support into the business in the form of Henri Faucheux, a tough manager who took a 25 percent stake in the business, which was renamed Braud et Faucheux.

Faucheux helped introduce the young Marcel Braud to new managerial disciplines and ensured that he got to know every job in the growing company by working his way up through every role in the company, from labourer to painter, welder, assembler, foreman, workshop manager and purchasing manager, a perfect education for when he eventually took over the running of the business.

Marcel Braud transformed a family business into the market leading telehandler and Rough Terrain forklift manufacturer and helped steer the company through the economic challenges without losing family control.

In 2007, he handed over the day to day management of the business to his son Marcel Claude Braud, and took on the role of chairman, a position he held until 2017, after which he became honorary chairman.

A statement from the company said: “The life of Marcel Braud is a story of a destiny tied to the land and to ingenuity. Fatherless at the age of 13, he worked as a labourer, a painter, a welder, an assembler, a foreman, a workshop manager and a purchasing manager, mastering every production role within the company. In 1958, he imagined the improbable: reversing the layout of a farm tractor to add a forklift mast and power steering to create the ‘Manitou’. This simple yet revolutionary idea would travel the globe, transforming construction sites, farms & industrial markets forever.”

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“Braud became chief executive in 1970 and chairman of the board of directors from 2007 to 2017. Under his leadership, the group expanded beyond France’s borders to export worldwide, went public, continued to innovate relentlessly, and built a robust dealer network that, now more than ever, represents the company’s core strength. An insatiable man of the field, he continued to visit the group's factories and international trade shows regularly through early 2026 in order to remain in contact with customers and employees. Until his final breath, he embodied the passion, ingenuity, and resilience that define the soul of the group.”

Manitou group chairman Jacqueline Himsworth said: "My brother dedicated his life to Manitou. Thanks to him, our small family business became an international leader, recognised for its products, values, and innovation. He was a passionate man who shared his energy and pride in belonging to our group with everyone. He possessed that rare genius for anticipating the needs of professionals. We are losing a visionary, but his entrepreneurial spirit continues to guide our course. Marcel-Claude, Sébastien and Emilie Braud join me in sharing our profound grief."

Manitou chief executive Michel Denis added: "Marcel Braud was an extraordinary man and entrepreneur. Throughout the decades spent at the head of the group, he created exceptional products, experiences, and solutions with pride and perseverance, and in doing so, contributed significantly to changing the daily lives of millions of professionals in construction, agriculture, and industry. It is to him that we owe the 'big family' culture that continues to inspire our teams around the world today. The management team and all 6,000 employees join in the grief of his family and loved ones."

Marcel Braud was a very special person, full of energy, passion and always ready with a warm smile. He clearly enjoyed people and the business and would surely have continued to remain ‘involved’ had he lived another decade. Thousands in the industry will mourn his passing.