Hitachi ZW wheel loaders gain market share in Norway

The official Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) dealer in Norway, Nasta AS, has gained a ten per cent share of the 100-350hp segment of the country’s highly competitive wheel loader market. This has been achieved within the three years of the Hitachi ZW wheel loaders being launched in Europe.

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In 2010, the Norwegian dealer sold a total of 27 units with the most popular models being the15-tonne ZW180 and the 18-tonne ZW220. Nasta AS supplies the full range of 15 Hitachi wheel loaders, from five tonnes to 50, but most of the machines sold to date have been in the 11-25 tonne category.

Kjell Sørensen who responsible for wheel loader sales at Nasta AS, says: “While we are delighted with our strong performance in the wheel loader market, we know this is only the beginning of the growth that we are capable of achieving.

“We have delivered wheel loaders to customers all over Norway and they have found that the quality of the machines has exceeded their expectations. We are confident that a 20 per cent market share can be reached within the next two to three years.”

One company Södra Cell – a pulp production factory based in Follafoss – was particularly pleased with their investment. Main safety delegate Tore Andreas Norum is so impressed with the ZW250 that he has written two letters to Nasta commending the wheel loader’s reliability and performance. With only one registered machine error after 11,500 hours on the clock, and travelling a distance of 62,000km overall, the machine has far exceeded their expectations.

He says: “We are impressed with the strength of the machine and the lack of downtime that we have experienced to date. The after-sales service provided by Nasta AS has also been second to none.”

Wheel loader sales contributed to Nasta’s annual turnover of approximately €65million in 2010. This makes it one of the four largest importers of construction machinery in Norway. Formerly known as Nanset Standard, Nasta AS, is located in Larvik and has promoted Hitachi construction machinery in Norway since 1982 and is one of the country’s oldest suppliers of construction and excavation equipment.