Interview with Henri Marchetta, Chairman and Founder of the MECALAC Group and his son, Vice-Chairman Alexandre Marchetta
Mecalac is a business that has moved from industrialisation to similarly successful internationalisation in just a few decades. How do you explain such long-term performance?
Henri Marchetta
“Innovation, rigour and striving for performance are what underpins all our efforts to design and build equipment for today’s building sites. Machines created by people, for people. For us, that’s first and foremost what customer focus is all about. That’s why, for us, innovation and people are indissociable and lie at the heart of our corporate mission.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“We have a strong belief in the importance of responding specifically to the expectations of each trade in every country. Each trade has its own constraints and every country has its own culture, so we build machines that respect those differences, while incorporating essential features such as personal safety on the building site, and the overall ergonomics of the equipment. For us, that’s what customer orientation is all about and at Mecalac, it knows no bounds.”
Every Mecalac product launch is an event that offers real technological progress and added value that appeal to your customers. What is your innovation strategy?
Henri Marchetta
“Anticipating technological developments and changes to working practices is part of our DNA. Talking to our customers, drivers, site managers, fleet managers and mechanics helps us to understand people’s needs today and their expectations for the future. That’s how we develop our technologies and produce our innovations. There are numerous patents protecting the designs and technical solutions that have secured the reputation of Mecalac’s products, their features and unique performance.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“Expertise comes from experience. Ours has been built on the core idea that profitability is unimaginable without ease of use, coupled with versatility and complementary functions. When a single driver and a single machine can cover a wide range of tasks on one building site without any complicated manoeuvres and a unique ability to extend the capabilities of each function, time no longer has the same value.”
The Research and Development department represents a significant investment in your strategy and even your business model. How and why do you attach so much importance to it?
Henri Marchetta
“We have always made Research and Development a core part of the business since Mecalac was first set up, because without real, useful innovation, there is no possibility of development, no customer loyalty and no long-term performance. For us, it’s a clear choice and we’re proud of it, because it makes life easier for our customers and improves the situation on site.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“The thing that has always characterised our approach to Research and Development both now and in the past, is the relevance of the concept. We know we’ve got a real innovation on our hands when a machine immediately finds an audience, simply because it’s useful. And sometimes, as is the case today with the new MWRs we’re launching, it’s proactively listening to our customers and the issues they face that prompts us to develop a whole range of products and helps us create an innovative solution based on an existing concept.”
How do you move from the initial idea to a finished Mecalac product and how do your production processes offer your customers added value?
Henri Marchetta
“For Mecalac, innovation is about producing something. And producing it with a clear objective: 100% product quality and customer satisfaction. So the quality system is an improvement tool. Systematic checks are an integral part of the production process: checking the components on arrival, checking progress on the assembly line, checks on the test bench and a final check are all part of production. Moreover, our machines incorporate sophisticated hydraulic systems. Jacks, valve blocks and rotating joints are made in our plants. Rigorous checks are carried out and key components are tested on our test benches. The added value of our machines is the result of ongoing investment in manufacturing and paying attention at every stage, from production to assembly, after-sales service and spare parts.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“Being customer oriented is one of our Group’s core values. Apart from the checks we carry out during the manufacturing process, you can see it in practice in the consistent requirements we set for tests, compliance with international standards and incorporating environmental aspects into our machines which, thanks to their compactness and versatility, limit nuisance and reduce the carbon footprint of urban construction sites. Moreover, by constantly improving our industrialisation process, we confirm the excellence of our production on a daily basis. From workstation organisation to managing movements of materials and regular audits of finished equipment, our professionalism, control of the production line and product innovations have established a strong reputation for the quality, longevity and reliability of Mecalac machines.”
In December 2016, you purchased the Terex Group’s production plant for dumpers, backhoe loaders and compactors in Coventry, in Great Britain. Why did you choose these products to supplement Mecalac’s existing range?
Henri Marchetta
“Right from the start of the business, it’s always been important to us to listen to our customers both nationally and internationally. And to listen to their needs, which are not only economic but structural and cultural too. Our machines have evolved in line with their expectations, and the expansion and complexity of urban construction sites. Our core business is now in compact, versatile, easy to handle, ergonomic machines, like the new MWR range. Machines that can dig, load and transport. We are now responding to that demand for transport by bringing dumpers into the range. The historic markets that have driven our growth and the history of the brand continue to underpin Mecalac’s activities and are a source of inspiration for our research and development. But not all markets have the same expectations in terms of construction machinery and some are looking for different machines, which reflect a different view of urban construction sites. That’s where our new production plant, Mecalac Construction Equipment UK, will complement our overall offer.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“The acquisition of Terex Coventry came at a time when Mecalac was keen to extend and diversify its offer to respond to the demands of other types of market than those in Northern and Southern Europe. Our new global offer means we can now provide relevant solutions of the right size to meet expectations in the Maghreb, Eastern Europe – including Russia, which is starting to approach us again – central Africa, the Middle East and new territories for us: Australia, North and South America. Mecalac Construction Equipment UK is therefore opening the doors to new markets for us, where there is a high demand for dumpers, backhoe loaders and compactors, which reflect a different approach to urban construction sites. So, although our priority is to remain efficient and well represented in our historic markets of France, Germany and Great Britain, we are looking for a long-term balance by responding to the demands of others countries, which will contribute to the overall health of our business and which we can support and turn into loyal customers.”
You have just presented your new MWR range in the United States, at the Conexpo show last February. What are you expecting from the US market for Mecalac and will it change your commercial priorities?
Henri Marchetta
“For Mecalac, there are no small or large, new or old markets. For us, there are simply individual customers. With expectations that we are looking to fulfil. We weigh up our international development choices not in terms of an immediate profitability ratio but in light of the long-term view that has always driven our business, whose primary focus has always been people. We’re not ‘setting out to conquer America’ but continuing to be what we’ve always been: entrepreneurs who listen, people who look for simplicity and relevance and above all, people who are loyal to our vision and values.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“Our future MWRs are the perfect commercial gateway to the American market, whether we’re talking about North America or Latin America. They meet an increasing demand for one of the requirements of urban construction sites: disrupting the traffic as little as possible. We saw that at the Conexpo show. So there are already more and more wheeled diggers in American cities and that trend is set to continue. That said, there is still strong demand for backhoe loaders, of around 15 to 18,000 machines a year, because there are still a lot of rural areas. It’s a significant market, which we can serve via our British production plant. Moreover, there’s a pre-existing distribution network that we want to revitalise and gradually roll out across the country, which is on a scale all of its own. The demand is there: we need to respond to it and offer our solutions while continuing to be aware of the structural changes taking place in this market.
Growing a business through acquisitions is a bold and sometimes complex choice. What is your view of the Mecalac Group’s new network with the arrival of Mecalac Construction Equipment Coventry?
Henri Marchetta
“Again, people are central to Mecalac’s success and that isn’t going to change as the result of acquiring a new business. Our network of current dealers is firmly attached to the Mecalac brand and we have known them for a long time. They are loyal to us and we have developed a stable relationship with them, which we maintain on a daily basis. The new dealers from the distribution network for products made at our Coventry plant will now form part of that organisation, based on the same values of stability, loyalty and professionalism. Because for the Mecalac group, collaboration without mutual trust is unthinkable. It’s one of our core characteristics and we see it as a strength: a value we share with our distributors.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“One of the things that attracted us in acquiring Terex Coventry was also the existence of a team, a network of distributors as much as customers and prospects, whom we can rely on. It comes back to helping them share our values, corporate vision and brand messages, and supporting them in this new, shared adventure so that they become Mecalac ambassadors. Moreover, the professionalism of our historical dealers leaves us in no doubt about their ability to welcome new partners and an extended product range. Every sale has always been and will remain a personal interaction, and our dealers are and will be trained in our products and our customers’ business sectors. Now made up of 200 dealers, our network is a highly dedicated group of skilled people and a real source of strength for the future of Mecalac.”
Mecalac is launching four new MWRs in 2017. How will they change the urban construction sites of tomorrow?
Henri Marchetta
“These new MWRs will undoubtedly become Mecalac’s ambassadors in terms of urban and suburban construction sites. The business has always put its faith in innovation, technologies, materials and smart machines to improve its products, and it has heard, listened and paid attention to all the professional arguments put forward by people who are already enthusiastic about wheeled diggers or about to become so. And thanks to its expertise in diggers on both tracks and tyres, Mecalac has successfully combined the advantages of each to produce an ideal solution and cutting-edge concept, now embodied in the new MWRs. Whatever building sites require going forward, they offer guaranteed safety and optimal profitability thanks to unparalleled performance and ease of use, which are ushering in a new generation of compact and versatile equipment in the building and public works sector.”
Alexandre Marchetta
“This launch is highly symbolic of Mecalac’s DNA. Here, the product is the beating heart of the whole business. Everything begins with the product. And while the new MWR 7, 9, 11 and 15 retain the basic characteristics that made the Mecalac concept a success, they now offer a real technological innovation for evermore safety, flexibility, functionality, responsiveness and ergonomics, thanks, as often, to an apparently simple idea. Because simplicity is sometimes hard to achieve, and that’s where Mecalac’s strength lies. Managing to optimise our machines and therefore urban construction sites without losing sight of our fundamental objectives: ease of use and our customers’ independence. Today we have achieved success with the new MWRs and we proud to say so: it’s not just evolution but a revolution.”
