MCI brings assembly together in Bologna

MCI (Maintou Construzioni Industriali), the Italian arm of the French access and telehandler manufacturer, has opened its new premises in Castelfranco, near Bologna.
The facility, which brings together all parts of the assembly under one roof, is three times larger than the existing facilities and has almost doubled the output capacity.
On the 36,000m2 site, 18,600m2 is covered by house assembly lines for the MRT rotary telehandlers range and hydrostatically-driven MVT range.
The heavy-duty MHT units are assembled statically in a dedicated area.
In 2002, 166 workers produced 1,200 units in the old factory, whereas the new greenfield site has a single-shift capacity in excess of 2,000 units (depending on the product mix) and additional shifts are possible.
The site also builds 20 special machines including road-rail units and up to a quarter of the production has some minor modifications fitted on the line.
The company has also launched a high-lift rotating model, the MRT2540, which has a 25m reach and 4t capacity. It shares the same chassis as the 18m and 21m units but uses thinner, high tensile strength steel to lighten the elongated four-piece boom and control flexing.