Manitowoc welcomed nearly 400 guests to its factory in Charlieu, France this autumn to showcase expansions and upgrades incor?porated into the facility over the past 12 months. The inau?guration high??lighted Manito?woc?s stra?tegy of leveraging the Charlieu facility as a Center of Exce?llence, with a focus on four main activities:  the manu?facture of hoist drums for Potain tower cranes and Grove mobile cranes, the manufacture of large self-erecting tele?scoping cranes from the Igo T range, the manufacture of large welded elements for Grove mobile cranes, and the refurbishment of cranes under Manitowoc Crane Care?s EnCORE programme and the manufacture of spare parts.  As part of the creation of this new Center of Excellence, Mani?towoc made significant invest?ments in a new hoist production line. Bruno Durand, Director of Operations for Manitowoc at Charlieu, said the facility was a natural choice for hoist production. ?We?ve always had good machining capabilities at Charlieu. When we looked at consolidating and expanding hoist production, it made sense to focus those operations here,? he said. ?For hoist production, we need to roll thick steel very precisely, and it?s important to have an organised and efficient production line. Charlieu was the best choice, and we?ve invested time and money in developing this key capability. It?s important because a high-quality hoist is crucial to the productivity benefits that Manitowoc cranes offer.?