Sumitomo is looking to develop sales of its asphalt pavers outside of its Japanese home market, with the South East Asian market a particular focus. The firm is marketing two machines, both of which feature innovative Jpaver screeds with Sumitomo’s patented hydraulic extension system, which is said to offer greater paving widths than conventional designs.
Managing director Ichiro Shimada said that the firm is developing its profile in South East Asia already “We have 40% of the South East Asian market,
Managing director Ichiro Shimada said that the firm is developing its profile in South East Asia already “We have 40% of the South East Asian market, especially Indonesia and Thailand, two of the biggest countries in South East Asia,” he said.
Sumitomo is well established in Japan, with 70-75% of its home market for asphalt pavers, and Shimada said, “We want to be the same size in Indonesia and Thailand.”
The company has also sold its first HA90C-2 in Europe to Finnish contractor
The company wants to sell its pavers in Europe as it believes this will help establish the credibility of the brand outside of Japan - and the sale to a well-known and respected contractor like Lemminkäinen will help to raise its profile.
However, Shimada explained, “We are not looking for volume as there are so many players here.” He did add though that the company has been steadily chipping away at the European asphalt paver market for some time and said, “In Europe since we started we have sold around 70 units and those customers appreciate our paver’s quality and we want to serve those customers.”
The innovative screed design is key to the Sumitomo asphalt pavers. The 2360 screed is fitted to the smaller HA60W-8 wheeled and HA60C-8 crawler pavers, offering widths from 2.3-6m without bolt-on extensions. Meanwhile the larger HA90C-2 can be fitted either with the 2360 screed or the new 2875 screed, with the latter offering paving widths from 2.8-7.5m without bolt-on extensions. Screed heating is electric as standard although gas heating is available as an option if required. Strike off, tamper and vibration methods are used for compaction with the screeds, while the machines can be fitted with machine control systems from major suppliers such as
