"Eight years ago, I acquired the company, specializing in the sales, leasing and repair of lift trucks only. At that time, we had ten employees, the company had a turnover of about 1.2 million Euro and was located in Royan, although we quickly relocated to Grézac (Department 17), a commune situated 17 km from Royan, where we are still based today. At that time, we did not have a Construction division", explains Pierre-Jean Renoulleau, the 36 year-old company Director. Eight years later, the company has 20 employees and its turnover has tripled.

The company very quickly began to receive orders for leasing mini-excavators. "We realized quite quickly that there was a real demand for leasing construction equipment. Our counterparts/competitors are located more than 20 km from our site, they are mainly situated in the Royan commune, yet the road is inaccessible during Summer, and the transport costs must be taken into account... it was a quick calculation; we needed to invest in construction machinery", adds the Director.

So, the company purchased its first mini-excavator, a trailer, a dumper truck and then a second mini-excavator and a third one. The company's fleet therefore grew very quickly, and today it comprises 16 mini-excavators, 12 telescopic excavators, 4 dumper trucks, a 26-ton HGV, etc.
"A few years ago, we had a customer order book and when there was a repeat order, we would invest. Over the first three years, we took it steady and then we invested regularly", notes Pierre-Jean Renoulleau.

RD Manutention ensures that there is always a rotation of their equipment, "In our company, an item of plant machinery is considered old once it is five years old, what we want is to have recent or very recent equipment that is always available in our fleet", he goes on to say.

"The idea is to have a stand-alone short-term lease division within RD Manutention for construction, with a dedicated team: a delivery driver, a lease manager and a technician. We are still called RD Manutention, albeit Marine, our construction lease manager came on board at the start of the year, and manages the business under the guise of RD Location", Pierre Jean goes on to say, adding that he has an operating radius of only 20 to 30 km and that his customer base is mainly (80%) comprised of artisan workshops.


"Everyone is responsible for their department"

"I consider my management methods to be a little different to those of other companies, because on the basis of my research, experience and family history, it is important that everybody takes responsibility for their sector. Everybody informs me annually of how their career is progressing, the direction they wish to take, etc. I explain to them that I am here to provide them with the means to succeed. I obviously oversee the efficient management of the business, but if the Marine division, for example, informs me that we need to purchase another item of machinery or that we need to take on another driver for its activity to be carried out under the best conditions, then there is absolutely no problem as far as I am concerned", the Director observes. This is how RD Manutention came to purchase its first Hyundai, the HX130LCR crawler excavator, on the recommendations of their construction lease division director. They then ordered an 8-ton excavator.

"At the end of the day, it was a very natural process; a business meeting, an attractive technical approach, an excellent relationship with the salesperson at SARL MOTARD, a smooth sale, a comprehensive introduction to the product and the financing solution... it took 10 minutes to purchase this Hyundai machine", is indicative of the rave reviews of the SARL MOTARD dealership and the Hyundai Construction Equipment brand.

"Hyundai has a solid brand image"

For the Director, the contractor company adopts the position of permanent challenger with the South Korean brand. "What I liked was that we had a regional point of sale, located near to me, a local business within 30 km, someone who is a challenger and who will not think of me as a customer number. This is very important; if I need to call them, my company will be recognized as a customer and not an invoice number. If I needed to meet with a business owner tomorrow, I could; not just with an agency manager", clarifies Pierre-Jean Renoulleau, for whom the human aspect and confidence are of paramount importance. "For me, the brand represents: reliability, robustness, comfort, aesthetics", lists the Director, who is also a fan of the color!

HX130LCR is a model that combines power, performance, comfort, ease of maintenance and safety

Launched by the manufacturer one year ago, this HX series model excavator with a compact design has a weight of 13 tons (standard operating weight of 12.7 tons) and is also available in a second standard configuration, HX130LCRD, which includes a dozer blade. In the compact rotating plant machinery category, it affords contractors the additional versatility of being able to work in confined areas. The HX130LCR excavator is equipped with a Perkins 854 F diesel engine, rated at 73.6 hp (55 kW) and Stage IV-compliant. In terms of performance and productivity, the engine and the hydraulic system on the HX130LCR are unbeatable. Its diesel engine with diesel particulate filter (DPF) offers optimized power output and energy efficiency, without needing an SCR system. Therefore, operatives no longer have to deal with AdBlue solution.

It also has a maximum excavation depth of 5570 mm, a maximum excavation reach of 8220 mm and a maximum bucket breakout force of 10,369 kgf. The HL130LCR is equipped with a 1030 mm large standard bucket, with a capacity of 0.59 m3. The HL130LCR offers unparalleled comfort; its cab, for example, is equipped as standard with an instrument panel with an 8-inch touchscreen that is both interactive and adjustable.