Poclain Hydraulics: going global but putting down roots

Poclain Hydraulics‚ a company which employs one thousand eight hundred people, exports 80 % of its production, has sites in nineteen countries, and still is a family concern. In 1927‚ Georges Bataille made agricultural equipment by inventing a coupling system which was compatible with animal and mechanical traction. In 1950‚ his sons perfected hydraulic excavators. In 1974, they had no choice but to sell the majority of the company to the giant Case company. In 1985, the Bataille family and a few investors led by Pierre Bataille, bought the Poclain Hydraulics subsidiary and started developing it. What began as a ‘one product, one site’ company became a world leader for a variety of products. It never betrayed its values of innovation and remaining independent, attaching great importance to human resources, and caring about its local presence both in Picardy and in its other sites around the world. Many people recommend these principles, but Poclain Hydraulics actually puts them into practice. Laurent Bataille‚ the CEO of Poclain Hydraulics, was named 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year.