PAOLO Merlo has been appointed president of Merlo Group.
The manufacturer described the move as ‘marking a sign of continuity to the path undertaken at the beginning of the year’ following the passing of company founder and president Amilcare Merlo late last year.
The new president confirmed the goal for the next three years is to deliver 10,000 telehandlers annually, as well as around 25,000 attachments. To achieve this, ‘significant’ investments are planned for the opening of both new production lines and infrastructure.
Merlo added that development services for the interconnection of logistic flows with regular suppliers will also be ‘enhanced’, which will ‘streamline and make the supply chain more efficient’.
Paolo Merlo said, “Today, the solidity of the Merlo Group allows us to look far ahead and plan for the long term. There are still many applications and areas where we can grow, we aim to strengthen our historical markets, starting with Italy and the countries where we are present with subsidiaries and importers. At the same time, we also intend to expand into markets that are relatively new to us, where there is still plenty of room for growth. In the USA we have just established our new subsidiary Merlo America and are strengthening our presence in Asia.
“We are a very different industry group from the traditional ones. Our international presence is very strong, we are in fact a multinational – a ‘pocket-sized multinational’, as one national newspaper called us. Today Merlo engages with the world market, but the strong link with our territory and the choice of having only one production plant today certainly make us a very special organisation. This allows us to develop without ever losing our vocation for all- round innovation and to present ourselves as a unique and appreciated player worldwide.”
Mr Merlo added that sustainability is an ‘important commitment’ that the business approaches with ‘enthusiasm and conviction’.
“In 2013 we presented the world’s first hybrid telehandler and in 2021 we launched our first electric telehandler,” he said. “But sustainability also involves making important choices, such as opting for an energy supplier using only renewable sources. In addition, we have an internal production of more than one megawatt thanks to the solar panels installed in recent years.
“Technology is and will be increasingly important. The modern telehandler concept, invented by us almost 40 years ago, has ushered in a profound revolution in the world of handling and lifting, reducing working time and significantly improving operator safety. Today, the margins for growth are still great and Merlo telehandlers are finding more and more applications where both work quality and safety can be improved.
“This philosophy runs through all the products in our range: the tracked carriers, tool handler tractors, waste compactors and self-loading concrete mixers are designed to make work easier, faster and safer. In order to improve our services and be closer to our customers, we have internally developed a company called Movimatica, which deals with fleet management software.”
