A Unimog is helping French cemeteries to recount stories.
Headstone manufacturer Maison Plessis from Normandy in France relies on the Unimog U 530 to ensure that the final resting place is not needlessly disturbed. The multipurpose vehicle not only allows the company to move heavy loads in tight spaces, but also to work without driving along the narrow cemetery rows.
A land steeped in history.
World history has been written in the northern French region of Normandy. From the Vikings through William the Conqueror to the Second World War. The cemeteries in Normandy also recount stories – their very own personal ones. Gilbert Plessis helps to mould these personal stories.
Gilbert Plessis manages Maison Plessis in Saint-Lô, France, which specialises in the production of granite burial monuments, but also operates funeral directors in the capital of the Manche Department and its surrounding area. For his work, the French service provider relies on a powerful, yet compact and manoeuvrable companion, which can install the heavy stones in a confined space.
We keep our trucks for 30 years.
We look after them. So you have to choose well.
Gilbert Plessis, marble dealer and funeral director, Maison Plessis
Heavyweight with small footprint.
"In our profession, you need the largest crane on the smallest truck," explains the Managing Director. Many cemeteries in Normandy have narrow access lanes, which often cannot be negotiated with a truck. The work undertaken by the 100 employees of Maison Plessis at 15 locations therefore usually has to be carried out from the outside, over high walls and sometimes on very soft ground.
It was not for nothing that they opted for the Unimog. Quality and durability were of paramount importance to Gilbert Plessis: "We keep our trucks for 30 years. We look after them. So you have to choose well," says the seventh generation marble dealer.
Gilbert Plessis, together with Unimog dealer Lemonnier in Isigny-le-Buat, has selected the optimal chassis from the range of universal vehicles to install its tipper – made by the body manufacturer Ledos in Ducey-les-chéris – and the required Palfinger crane, which delivers a huge 35 mt lifting torque, in a unique assembly.
