Founded in 1947 by Auguste GILLES, SECATOL was at the very beginning a small repair workshop for car radiators, situated in Poitiers urban area. A short while later, SECATOL worked on 2 development axes: the general steel metal and boiler-making industry and the design, manufacture and sale of handling equipment, especially towards the construction and civil engineering industry.
From the very start of the 50's, the first CONCRETE SKIPS for cranes were born. Lots of skip designs were patented. From this time, SECATOL's strategy has been to focus on innovation in order to always be in the position to offer the products the customer requires. As a consequence, a large range of products has been created, meeting the requirements of actors from aross the industry: construction industry companies, civil engineering companies, prefabrication companies, wholesalers, etc.
Because of an important and permanent development, in 1957, SECATOL moved to Saint-Benoît, near Poitiers, into a large and modern plant, where all the activity is still centralized. Over the years, new buildings have been added and new production machinery has been installed.
A large range of new products has been developed such as the concrete skips with discharge hose. The concrete or mortar agitating hoppers, have a recognizable design and are widely used on prestigious building sites all over the world, making SECATOL the leader for concrete handling equipment.
In 1988, the founder's children who had been employed for more than 15 years at SECATOL, took over the business. Steps were taken towards modernizing and investing into the company in order to improve the quality of our products and to make them even more competitive. The purchase of a laser-cut machine, a bending machine with digital remote control and a soldering machine, already in 1989 reflects perfectly our expectations and rationalizes our production.Those machines have been replaced by the latest ones, with a higher performance and more in adequacy with our production.
At the end of the 90's, we were developing our Research and Development means through the purchase of a new software, Solid Edge, and the hiring of a "products manager" in order to improve our products according to the information our customers give us and to follow the evolution of their needs and requirements. We are constantly focused on innovation. We develop our brand recognition through the offer of new products or through the improvement of existing products for more security, ergonomics, and cleanliness to take into account the environment prerogatives. This is why, for several years, we have been launching new products aimed at avoiding pollution risks on the building sites due to the use of oils, sludge...
In 2007, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of SECATOL. Yves-Noël & Claude GILLES handed over the family business to the third generation in 2011.
