VLRA
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| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Headquarters | 1954 to 1964: Meaux, France 1964 to present: Saint-Nazaire, France |
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Key people
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François Bouvier (CEO) Serge Perez (VP) Moun Bourjij (GM) |
| Products | Trucks |
| Owner | Volvo Trucks |
| Website | www.acmat.fr |
ACMAT (Ateliers de Construction Mécanique de L'Atlantique, also known as ALM-ACMAT), (since 22 May 2006, ACMAT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renault Trucks) is a French producer of cross-country and tactical military vehicles since 1958. Known for their reliability, simplicity, ruggedness and their 80% (over 3,500) commonality of parts across the entire product line, these vehicles were originally targeted at African and Asian countries who could not afford more expensive vehicles. The ACMAT company built their vehicles based on standardisation, commonality of parts and components, and on interchangeability; parts are interchangeable with vehicles built 30 years ago. Parts commonality includes cabs, structural components, engines and drive trains. ACMAT uses many of the same parts for all of its line of vehicles. They even produce an armoured variant of both the 4x4 and 6x6 versions of the VLRA.
Many French fire brigades also use ACMAT vehicles due to their lower cost and 4WD ability. Several thousand are in use by 42 countries including France and the Irish Defence Forces. ACMAT also designs, manufactures and builds trailers, shelters and generators. ACMAT has exported over 85 percent of the 12,000 plus vehicles it produced into 50 different countries.
ACMAT was founded as The ALM SA (Ateliers Legueu Meaux) in 1954 by René Legueu as a Meaux-based manufacturer of wheeled military vehicles. Some of their heavy trucks and commercial vehicles are also available in civilian versions. For commercial use, there are also vehicles for protection of persons and the use of public-sector units of authorities such as the police and the fire brigade. Since the start of production, the company has produced over 12,000 vehicles that are marketed in over 50 countries.[3] In 1964, the company moved its headquarters to Saint-Nazaire .
The company started as a developer and producer of vehicle parts, including transfer case and front axles for large-scale built trucks. The company holds patents for many of its in-house parts and technologies. This also gave rise to all-terrain trucks designed for agricultural uses. However, it remained only a concept and never made it to market but was then developed for the oil industry. So a four-wheel and all-terrain version was included in the geophysical industry for use in the oil developments in the Sahara. With a range of just over 1,000 km on a single tank and operational capabilities in desert terrain, the vehicle offered an increased viability in a hostile region, which appealed to the military.
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Wikipedia