Land clearing equipment expert
50 years of PLAISANCE ÉQUIPEMENTS: half a century of mulching. It all began in 1976, when Jean-Marie and Jocelyne PLAISANCE decided to open a store to sell products to professionals and offer repair services for construction equipment in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, in France.
Customer expectations changed rapidly, and in 1979, the PLAISANCE couple decided to invest in the manufacture and sale of buckets for hydraulic excavators. Demand grew, and the company expanded its manufacturing operations by introducing new products, particularly in the forestry sector with stump grinders. A new workshop was then built in 1984 to expand production.
The forestry industry, which is very active in Lorraine, presented opportunities for Jean-Marie PLAISANCE. He found himself working with many customers who needed repairs on specialized forestry equipment. He therefore decided to manufacture and market forestry equipment under his own brand name. The first gyro-mulcher, followed by the first forestry mulcher, rolled out of the workshop-both designed to be hitched to a tractor. The mulcher’s teeth -the essential consumables for operating the machine- are also manufactured by PLAISANCE. Business grew, and a new workshop was built in 1992, covering a total of 2,600 m².
But it was by developing France’s first self-propelled wheeled forestry machine that Jean-Marie PLAISANCE entered the market that would establish the brand’s reputation. Accompanied by his eldest son Fabien, they worked together to build a self-propelled machine entirely dedicated to forestry mulching, adapting the entire powertrain and components to this specific task -unlike standard tractors, which are designed to accommodate various implements. The VARIOTRAC 300 rolled out of the workshop in 1994. From that point on, the line of wheeled self-propelled machines continued to expand.
In early 2000, following the storm, PLAISANCE ÉQUIPEMENTS decided to manufacture self-propelled tracked vehicles to enable logging companies to move more easily through muddy terrain. The GALOTRAX 200 was born. At the same time, the sales division expanded throughout France, growing the company’s business.
New workshops and offices were built in 2005 to accommodate the 35 employees and meet the ever-growing demand. The administrative side is managed by Jocelyne PLAISANCE, in addition to the store, which remains open. This new decade solidified the brand’s position in the mulching sector. Stone and ground crushers were also added to the product line.
As with the VARIOTRAC 300, since its inception, PLAISANCE ÉQUIPEMENTS has adapted to create new machines that did not previously exist on the market. The goal is to meet the needs of its customers. This is how the GALOTRAX 800 emerges from the workshop: the most powerful self-propelled tracked machine on the market. PLAISANCE ÉQUIPEMENTS is also expanding internationally by participating in various fairs and expanding its sales team. In 2012, the workshop area reaches 10,000 m².
In 2017, Fabien and Florian PLAISANCE took over the family business. They developed increasingly efficient lines of wheeled and tracked self-propelled machines with a reduced impact on the ground and the environment: the B Series, a unique system for direct power transmission from the engine to the PTO with two rotation speeds; and the H Series, a hydraulic drive system for compact self-propelled machines. Always attentive to the market and his customers, Fabien continues to innovate and create new models.
In 2022, the SKYCUT became the first French self-propelled tree-trimming machine equipped with a 25-meter fiberglass telescopic boom. In 2025, the GALOTRAX LCP rolls off the assembly line. It becomes the world’s first small tracked forestry machine. It meets strong demand from forestry contractors who need to perform maintenance on clear-cuts and brush clearing on small areas with high efficiency. In just 8 months, 10 machines have already been manufactured and sold. Others are already in production to fulfill new orders. PLAISANCE ÉQUIPEMENTS made the right move with the GALOTRAX LCP and is therefore celebrating its 50th anniversary on a positive note despite a sluggish forestry market. The company owes this success to its attentiveness to customer needs, its rapid design process, and its short manufacturing lead times.