OCTOBER 2016
H
business elite canada
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Manulift re-emerged, almighty once again.
Now with a head office in Quebec City and
three high-tech facilities in Toronto, Mon-
treal and Calgary, the company serves a
number of sectors including construction,
agriculture, mining and municipalities. This
year, Manulift is celebrating its 40th an-
niversary. So what are the drivers behind
this company’s longevity and success?
In order to be financially secure, companies
normally diversify their inventory using a
broad variety of products. “We don’t use
this approach,” Martin Drolet said. Accord-
ing to him, being specialized is the number
one factor fuelling the company’s growth.
Specializing in a single product type, the
telehandler, has resulted in stronger ex-
pertise and better support for customers.
Within the field of telehandlers, Manulift
has dabbled with diversification. Incorpo-
rating a rental fleet through which clients
can rent telehandlers was the next step
undertaken by the company. This venture
required capital up front and was far more
complicated than sales and distribution. So
it was only natural for the senior Drolet to
regard the plan with uncertainty. His son,
however, was too determined to let poten-
