Q&A Manitou / BIM&CO

Manitou Group, a world leader in materials handling, people lifting and earthmoving, answers our questions about choosing the BIM&CO platform to model its Manitou products.


BIM&CO : What was the reason for your switch to BIM?

We see the market evolving and the demand for BIM files has been growing strongly for several years. As a leading builder in the market, we want to meet the needs of our customers and prospects, in order to improve their work and to be present from the beginning to the end of projects, right from the modelling stage.

The benefit to our customers, architects, planners, contractors, design departments and engineering offices, is that they can more easily share information about their projects at all stages, from construction to demolition. This facilitates collaboration, decision-making and cost rationalisation.

Our initial need was to make our machines available in BIM format to our customers. The service offered by BIM&CO met this need while providing a user experience that met our expectations.


BIM&CO : How did you go about implementing this project?  

MANITOU GROUP : We exchanged views with clients to understand their needs in terms of using BIM files. We then organised an internal deployment plan, in several stages, and defined priorities for the provision of machines to be modelled.
We are in the first stage of our BIM deployment. Other machines dedicated to construction will be added to our library during 2022.


BIM&CO : What obstacles have you encountered in your transition to BIM?  

MANITOU GROUP : Our main objective has been to make our modelling accessible and really meet our clients’ needs. The process was essential in order to develop BIM files in line with market expectations.

We wanted our files to be as easy to use and as complete as possible, which required adjustments throughout the development of the files.


BIM&CO : How did you choose your BIM data and object distribution platform?  

MANITOU GROUP : BIM&CO offers a platform that meets the needs of clients in an increasingly competitive market. Several advantages presented themselves :

– Quick and easy updating and integration

– Efficient and collaborative management

– A responsive interface

– The possibility for clients to find our BIM files via the manitou.com website!  


BIM&CO : What are the advantages of distributing your BIM objects via a library?  

MANITOU GROUP : Manitou‘s customers and prospects will have a very simplified access thanks to the BIM library. We can mention the main advantages:

– Increasing the visibility of our Manitou brand and having the possibility to analyse the downloads by our customers and users

– Providing our customers with a free and easily accessible database of our models in BIM format, to integrate throughout their projects the machines that will be used on site

– Simplifying the user experience as the customer will only need to create an account on the platform, free of charge, to download our files!


BIM&CO : What do you expect from this transition to BIM and how will you benefit from it?

MANITOU GROUP : The development of our BIM is part of our digital development strategy:

– Optimisation of our clients’ projects / More collaborative work 

– International presence (in particular through the translation into languages other than French or English to come) 

– Development of other ranges of machines (including the new electric machines which are currently being developed)

– Analysis of data transmitted via the BIM&CO platform 


Quote : 

Arnaud Boyer, VP Marketing & Product Development pour Manitou Group, explains the implementation of this new service: “Our digital transformation is accelerating and must allow our customers to be even more efficient on their worksites. This is why Manitou is offering dynamic files in BIM format, which are part of a collaborative approach to project development.


Meet Manitou at the BIM WORLD PARIS exhibition on 5 and 6 April 2022 at the BIM&CO Manufacturers’ Hub!

Contact Manitou : Maëva Collet–Janssens, BIM Project Manager (m.colletjanssens@manitou-group.com)

To find out more about their BIM approach, discover the press release through this link.