Manish Kulkarni, Managing Director, Manitou South Asia, discusses the company’s product strategy and its alignment with India’s decarbonisation goals.

What will be your top three priorities during your first 12–18 months as Managing Director of Manitou South Asia?

In my first 12 to 18 months as Managing Director of Manitou South Asia, my priorities are focused on consolidating our market position, accelerating sustainable innovation, and building a future-ready customer ecosystem.

Accelerating market expansion and deepening regional reach: Our primary objective is to make advanced material handling equipment the standard across South Asian job sites. With rapid investment in roads, railways, metros, and airports, we are expanding our distribution and dealer network into emerging infrastructure hubs and industrial corridors. A major focus will be driving product awareness around the versatility of our MXT telehandlers, MBL backhoe loaders, and scissor access platforms, demonstrating how purpose-built machinery significantly improves job-site safety, speed, and profitability compared to traditional methods. We will focus on key segments such as mining- both aggregates and minerals, biofuel industry, brick handling, large rental fleet owners to extend our market penetration.

Strengthening dealer network and key strategic partnerships: To support our rapid growth, a core priority will be expanding and fortifying our dealer network across Tier-2 and Tier-3 infrastructure markets. We will focus on enhancing dealer capabilities, upgrading showroom and service infrastructure, and deepening our relationships with long-standing rental and corporate partners. By establishing stronger, collaborative alliances with our dealers and key account clients, we ensure seamless sales coverage, faster response times, and tailored fleet solutions across every corner of the region.

Elevating aftermarket excellence and digital fleet integration: A superior product must be backed by unmatched ownership support. We are prioritising customer lifecycle value by upgrading our aftermarket infrastructure—expanding local spare parts availability, offering tailored maintenance contracts, and conducting comprehensive operator training programs. Simultaneously, we are embedding connected telematics into our machines to give asset owners real-time visibility into machine health, fuel efficiency, and predictive maintenance. Delivering maximum uptime and the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) remains our ultimate promise to our customers.

Manitou recently rolled out its 15,000th machine from its Indian manufacturing facility. What does this milestone signify, and what is the next manufacturing benchmark you have set for the company? 

Rolling out our 15,000th machine from our Indian manufacturing facility is far more than a numerical milestone—it is a powerful testament to the trust our customers place in us, the maturity of our local ecosystem, and our commitment to the vision of manufacturing in India for global markets. This achievement validates the rapid regional adoption of our telehandlers, loaders, and material handling solutions, while proving that our Indian operations adhere to Manitou Group’s rigorous global safety and quality standards.

Looking to the future, our next manufacturing benchmark is focused on accelerating production capacity through process optimisation and advanced automation. Crucially, this next growth phase will prioritise the localisation of alternative energy powertrains, including electric models, to support low-emission job sites. By expanding our local engineering capabilities, we will design tailor-made equipment suited to regional operating conditions while embedding connected telematics into every machine to optimise health and lower operating costs for fleet owners. Our journey going forward will be defined by sustainable engineering, smart manufacturing, and delivering unmatched value to our customers.

With the government's continued focus on roads, railways, metros, airports and urban infrastructure, how do you see demand evolving for telehandlers, access platforms and material handling equipment over the next five years?

The government’s sustained focus on mega-infrastructure—spanning high-speed rail corridors, metro expansions, modern airport terminals, and dense urban redevelopments—is driving a fundamental shift in how construction and material handling are executed in India. Over the next five years, we anticipate a massive acceleration in demand for high-efficiency telehandlers, access platforms, and earthmoving equipment.

First, aggressive project timelines in confined urban sites demand multi-functional machines that maximise productivity while keeping safety as prime focus. We see a growing reliance on telehandlers like our MXT 840 and MXT 1740, which deliver reliable reach capabilities up to 8 meters and 17 m respectively. These versatile units allow a single machine to handle diverse lifting duties safely and efficiently within tight footprints. Similarly, heavy utility work and continuous site operations will drive strong, sustained demand for our MBL backhoe loader, highly regarded across tough job sites for its robust build quality, powerful performance, and structural durability.

Second, strict safety mandates across major airport, rail, and metro projects are making certified elevated work equipment an absolute standard. Our Scissor access platforms, spanning working heights from 8 meters to 12 m, are rapidly replacing traditional scaffolding by providing uncompromising operator safety, exceptional stability, and speed for elevated installation and maintenance work.

As infrastructure development moves deeper into crowded city centers and complex industrial corridors, the industry will demand machinery that balances high performance with operational economy. Over this five-year horizon, fleet owners will increasingly prioritise this exact blend of high-reach versatility, certified safety compliance, and low total cost of ownership to keep pace with the region's historic infrastructure buildout.

With the government's emphasis on sustainability through ethanol blending, alternative fuels and lower-emission equipment, how is Manitou aligning its product strategy with India's decarbonisation goals? Do you foresee greater demand for electric, hybrid or hydrogen-ready equipment?

Aligning with India’s decarbonisation goals is not merely a regulatory compliance measure for Manitou—it is a core strategic priority. As the government accelerates its drive toward net-zero targets through ethanol blending mandates, alternative fuel policies, and stricter emission frameworks like CEV Stage V, Manitou South Asia is leveraging the group’s global low-carbon vision to directly support the region’s green transition.

At our state-of-the-art Greater Noida facility, we are continuously updating our core thermal range—including our flagship MXT 840 and MXT 1740 telehandlers, as well as our robust MBL backhoe loaders—to ensure full compliance with the latest emission standards while actively evaluating biofuel-compatible powertrains.

Looking at market demand, we foresee an immediate and massive surge in adoption for 100 per cent electric equipment across South Asia. Rapidly expanding indoor facilities, airport terminals, metro tunnels, and dense urban redevelopments now demand zero-emission and low-noise operational standards. We are meeting this shifting market requirement head-on by expanding our clean-energy portfolio. Our product strategy centers on fully electric machines, such as our 8-to-12 meter scissor access platforms, compact electric telehandlers, and our groundbreaking 100% electric MRT rotating telehandlers.

The 100% electric MRT series, in particular, offers total rotation and multi-functional versatility on congested jobsites, providing the exact lifting power, reach, and capacity of traditional diesel machines with zero tailpipe emissions and significantly reduced noise pollution. By focusing our strategic roadmap on full electrification, we empower our South Asian fleet owners to significantly lower their operational carbon footprint, meet stringent city environmental mandates, and lower their long-term operating costs without ever compromising on job-site productivity or machine performance.

The rental equipment market is expanding rapidly in India. How important is this segment for Manitou, and are you tailoring products or services specifically for rental companies?

The rapidly expanding rental market in India is a critical growth driver for us. As contractors increasingly shift from capital-heavy ownership to asset-light, flexible models, rental companies have become one of our most strategic client segments. In fact, Manitou equipment has become the preferred choice for major rental companies because end-clients specifically ask for Manitou products due to their industry-leading safety standards, multi-functional versatility, and operational reliability.

To ensure our equipment delivers maximum profitability for rental fleets, we tailor both our products and support services to drive high machine utilisation and superior return on investment:

• Safety and versatility front-and-center: End-users consistently request our MXT 840 and MXT 1740 telehandlers and 8-to-12 meter scissor access platforms because they combine high reach with advanced safety features and quick attachment changes. A single unit can seamlessly switch from material handling to high-altitude installation, making these machines highly versatile assets that rarely sit idle in a rental yard.
• Heavy-duty reliability for diverse operators: Rental fleets demand rugged construction to withstand continuous, demanding usage across varied jobsites. Machines like our MBL backhoe loader are built with structural durability to ensure minimal wear-and-tear and low maintenance costs, giving rental providers total confidence in machine uptime.
• Smart fleet management and connected telematics: Integrated directly into our equipment, our MyManitou App telematics platform allows rental operators to remotely track fleet health, monitor fuel usage, prevent unauthorised or unsafe operation, and schedule predictive maintenance—protecting their capital investment in real time.
• Comprehensive lifecycle support: We back our rental partners with structured maintenance contracts, fast-track spare parts delivery, operator safety training, and extended warranty options. This complete ecosystem maximises equipment availability, ensuring rental companies can keep their fleets fully deployed and continuously generating revenue.