M-Extend is a manufacturer of material handling equipment specializing in solutions for farmers.
Thanks to the quality and reliability of its products, the MX brand, developed by M-Extend, has established itself as the leading tractor loader brand in France and the second largest in Europe.
Today, the MX brand is present on all continents.
Interview with Rudy Gromas, Product Development Director
Presentation of the M-Extend Group
M-Extend is a family-owned group heading four complementary entities: MX, Manurob, Farmanip, and Mach Connectors.
MX is the group’s main entity. It specializes in the development of front loaders and implements designed to facilitate agricultural material handling.
Manurob specializes in robotics. This internal startup is dedicated to providing solutions for farmers through the design of autonomous machines.
Farmanip offers a 100% online loader-and-implement solution.
Mach Connectors develops electro-hydraulic connection and interface systems for machinery.
As Product Development Director, my scope covers the design office and the development of front loaders and implements, regulatory compliance, workshop technical documentation, and product validation.
An international agricultural handling brand
The Mailleux brand, now known as MX, is present on all continents and in 64 countries, supported by a strong network of dealers and importers.
The group is headquartered in France and also operates a design office and a production site in India, as well as a production site in Brazil. This global footprint involves high requirements in terms of industrialization and international regulatory compliance.
Why did you turn to SERMA Safety and Security?
M-Extend called on SERMA Safety and Security to achieve compliance with the ISO 25119 standard.
ISO 25119 aims to reduce risks related to failures in control systems that could lead to hazardous situations for operators, people in the vicinity, and the machines themselves. It fits directly within the framework of the European Machinery Directive by providing a recognized methodology to demonstrate compliance with safety requirements.
This standard applies in particular to:
tractors,
self-propelled or towed agricultural machinery,
forestry equipment,
whenever they integrate safety functions controlled by electronics, electrical systems, or software (e.g. emergency stop, speed limitation, motion locking, operator presence detection, function automation).
A major challenge around the ISO 25119 standard
For M-Extend, ISO 25119 represented a real challenge, both due to its complex implementation and from a technical and technological standpoint.
In particular, we needed to reassure one of our key customers of our ability to achieve compliance quickly. At that time, nothing was truly structured internally, neither in terms of understanding the standard nor regarding the associated documentation.
The teams at SERMA Safety and Security stepped in in a true “firefighting” mode, demonstrating strong responsiveness. They leveraged their functional safety expertise, notably drawing on ISO 26262 from the automotive sector, and transposed it in a relevant way to the requirements of ISO 25119.
A structuring and differentiating support
There are very few players on the market capable of effectively supporting industrial companies with ISO 25119 compliance.
SERMA Safety and Security clearly belongs to this small group of experts.
Beyond the purely regulatory aspect, SERMA Safety and Security supported us at every stage:
upskilling and safety awareness within our teams,
in-depth understanding of the standard’s requirements,
creation and structuring of processes and methodological support,
documentation compliance,
securing product development.
This support enabled us not only to meet our customers’ expectations, but also to establish strong and sustainable foundations for all our future developments.
Conclusion
The involvement of SERMA Safety & Security was decisive for M-Extend and proved to be a real success.
Beyond addressing a complex regulatory constraint, this support allowed us to turn an obligation into a lever for credibility, compliance, and professionalization of our functional safety practices.
We are extremely satisfied with both the quality of the expertise provided and the long-term value delivered to our organization.
