Manitou Americas celebrates 40 years of Gehl brand skid loader design and manufacturing

In 1973, Gehl Company (today Manitou Americas, Inc.) began designing and manufacturing its own line of skid loaders. Working side by side with customers, the line has constantly evolved over the last 40 years. Today, a complete line of seven radial and three vertical lift models, including the V400, the world’s largest skid loader, are offered under the Gehl brand name

“The Gehl brand is dedicated to its roots of designing and producing durable, easy-to-use skid loaders,” said Dan Miller, CEO of Manitou Americas and President of the Manitou Group CECompact Equipment Division.

“Our task for the future is incorporating innovation and technology into our loaders, yet still maintaining the ease of use our customers have come to expect.”

To carry the success of the skid loader line into the future, Manitou Americas, Inc. continues the tradition of developing equipment to match the demands of our core customers in agriculture, construction and rental applications. The investment in a state-of-the-art Research and Design facility in West Bend, Wisconsin in 2009 paved the way for future innovation and durability testing.

“Look for Gehl branded skid loaders to deliver new customer focused models without abandoning our heritage,” said Brian Rabe, Manager of Product Development. “This measured approach has worked for Gehl skid loaders for 40 years, and for the Gehl brand for over 150 years. You can’t argue with history.”

By leveraging its long history in the skid loader market with the addition of innovative, exclusive features – like the original hands-only control system, the T-Bar; the Powerview® lift arm; and the adjustable, side-anchored operator restraint bar – Manitou Americas looks to entice new skid loader users while maintaining its core customer base.

With the rich heritage the Gehl brand enjoys in the agriculture and rental markets, Manitou Americas, Inc. is dedicated to manufacturing equipment with the right mix of technology and simplicity, ensuring reliability and easy maintenance and service.

Gehl's new Website Gehl has introduced a new website for North America at www.gehl.com. The company, a subsidieary of Manitou, says their new website was redesigned to provide the ultimate user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality.

Gehl says the new website's responsive design allows for optimal viewing, whether users are visiting from a computer, tablet or cell phone. The new site is based on a responsive platform, which allows visitors to view pages on any device without loss of data.

“A change was needed to keep with technology trends,” says Lori Heidecker, Director of Marketing for the Americas. “The new site will integrate with smart phones, tablets and computers. So, no matter where the visitor is physically located, they can easily gain access to the site and the valuable information they need about Gehl products.”

In addition to the responsive design, the new website offers a variety of value-added tools and features to help visitors get the information they need fast. The modern layout, intuitive navigation and smart organization make it simple to find Gehl product and brand information.

Plus, the enhanced dealer locator tool makes it simple for web visitors to locate Gehl dealerships and distributors in their area. An entire page is dedicated to each Gehl compact equipment model, providing in-depth product information. Downloadable support documentation, such as operator’s manuals, parts manuals, product comparison charts and full-line product literature is now easily accessible. The site is highly visual, incorporating dynamic and detailed product photography, diagrams and video to further enhance the customers’ experience.