150,001 Hitachi mini excavators and counting

A landmark has been reached for the production of mini excavators in Japan, as Hitachi Construction Machinery Tierra Co., Ltd. (HCM Tierra) celebrates machine number 150,001 to roll off the production line. The delivery of the ZX52U-3 to Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) was marked with a ceremony on 9 May at the Oosterhout mini excavator factory in the south of The Netherlands.

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The handover celebration was attended by Masamichi Itou, Divisional General Manager Oosterhout factories, Geert Elsen of Belgium’s official distributor of Hitachi mini excavators, Elsen Traktor, and Bart Godts of construction and demolition company BVBA Godts, which purchased the machine.

The company known today as HCM Tierra began in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, in 1863 as a manufacturer of animal-drawn ploughs. It first began production of Hitachi construction machinery in 1989, with the EX60 and was taken over by Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (HCM) the following year. By 1996, 30,000 units had already been manufactured. The company employs nearly 500 people and owns a number of production sites around Japan. Its head office is in Osaka, the country’s third largest city.

“The delivery of unit number 150,001 is a tribute to the great quality of Hitachi mini excavators – I am delighted to be able to present it,” says Mr Itou. “We are as proud of our product today as we were when we produced our very first one 20 years ago.”

The ZX52U-3 will be the 11th Hitachi machine to join BVBA Godts’ fleet. The company has been a customer of Elsen Traktor for five years and owns a wide variety of models, including mini, wheeled and medium excavators, and a ZW310 wheel loader.

“I am very happy to receive this machine and expect to have a lot of work for it to do,” says Mr Godts. “It will mainly be used for drainage work and other similar construction jobs. We chose Hitachi machines for their quality and reliability, and the customer service provided by Elsen Traktor is also very important – we know we can rely on them 24/7.