In memoriam: Marcel Braud

Ancenis, France-based Manitou Group has announced that its founder and honorary board chair Marcel Braud died in early February at the age of 93.

“It is with profound emotion and immense sadness that Manitou Group announces the passing of Marcel Braud,” says the company, crediting Braud with having “transformed a family business into a global benchmark for material handling, aerial work platforms and earthmoving equipment.”

Manitou Group describes Braud as having been “driven by a passion for innovation, industry, [its] dealers network and the group’s products,” adding that he served as the equipment company’s board chairman until 2017.

“Fatherless at the age of 13, he joined the family business, Braud Mécanique Générale, at the request and by the side of his mother, Andrée Braud, following World War II,” states the company.

Braud worked his way through jobs as a laborer, painter, welder, assembler and foreman and “mastered every production role within the company,” says Manitou.

In 1958, he “imagined the improbable: inverting the layout of a farm tractor to add a lifting mast and power steering: The ‘Manitou was born,” states the firm, saying, “This simple yet revolutionary idea would travel the globe, transforming construction sites, farms and industrial market[s] forever.”

Within the company for which he worked, Braud held positions including workshop manager and purchasing manager, before becoming board chair and CEO in 1970, retaining the CEO title until 2007.

“Under his leadership, the group expanded beyond French 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,” states Manitou.

“My brother dedicated his life to Manitou Group; thanks to him, our small family business became an international leader, recognized for its products, values and innovation,” says Jacqueline Himsworth, current board chair of Manitou Group.

“Marcel Braud was an extraordinary man and entrepreneur,” says Michel Denis, the company’s current president and CEO. “Throughout the decades spent at the head of the group, he created exceptional products, experiences and solutions with pride and perseverance. The management team and all 6,000 employees join in the grief of his family and loved ones.”

Says Himsworth, “We are losing a visionary, but his entrepreneurial spirit continues to guide our course. Marcel-Claude Braud, Sébastien Braud and Emilie Braud, board members of Manitou Group, join me in sharing our profound grief.”