Hitachi upgrades European mini excavator facility

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) has upgraded its European mini excavator factory to boost manufacturing efficiency. The firm has officially opened its mini and compact excavator factory at Oosterhout, in the Netherlands. The new 8,000m2 facility is the result of an extensive modernisation programme, which commenced in January 2018. The firm says that the upgrade will increase efficiency at the factory that is responsible for producing the ZX10 to ZX85 models. It will also meet the growing
July 19, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Hitachi has officially opened its new mini excavator facility in the Netherlands

233 Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (1139 HCME) has upgraded its European mini excavator factory to boost manufacturing efficiency. The firm has officially opened its mini and compact excavator factory at Oosterhout, in the Netherlands. The new 8,000m2 facility is the result of an extensive modernisation programme, which commenced in January 2018.

The firm says that the upgrade will increase efficiency at the factory that is responsible for producing the ZX10 to ZX85 models. It will also meet the growing demand for Hitachi mini and compact excavators across Europe.

The factory’s general manager, Marco Verhoef, said, “We have already doubled our output since 2014 from 2,500 to 5,000 machines by 2018. The renovation of the factory was necessary to help us grow further, and will enable us to produce more than 7,000 machines/year, according to market demand.”

As part of the upgrade, a state-of-the-art, semi-automatic assembly line has been installed, as well as new equipment and paint booths. The staff at the factory have adopted a new approach, which means completing tasks within a certain amount of time, optimising work flow. Inventory has also been reduced by following the latest lean manufacturing methods.


“Thanks to all of our dedicated personnel, we now have a fully redesigned and modernised factory, and are very proud of what we have achieved. We are ready for the future, to supply more machines at shorter delivery times and lower costs.”

Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Benningoven builds special plant for Norwegian firm
    August 18, 2015
    Benninghoven has built an asphalt plant specially to order for a customer in Norway. Contractor Veidekke had a tight timeframe in which the plant could be erected at the firm’s chosen site in Sörli, as well as specific requirements as to its configuration. Benninghoven was able to construct the special TBA 4000 UC asphalt mixing plant to the firm’s request. A notable feature of the plant is that its large capacity materials towers stand 33m high. The order was received in January 2014, with the plant the
    Read More
  • Volz makes headway in Hesse
    November 22, 2018
    A road contractor in Germany is making use of a sophisticated logistics tool to run its operations more efficiently. The contractor, Wilhelm Schütz, is a medium-sized company with a long history in road construction and civil engineering. Based in Hesse, the firm has its own mixing plant to supply material to its road construction crews.
    Read More
  • Volvo CE looks strong on healthy orders
    January 31, 2018
    Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) reports a strong performance for the fourth quarter of 2017. This helped its parent company, the Volvo Group, achieve the highest sales and operating income in its history. Improved competitiveness coupled with growing demand, especially in Asia, boosted Volvo CE’s performance in sales, operating income, and order intake.
    Read More
  • Kobelco’s “revolutionary” SK210HLC-10 hybrid excavator
    March 12, 2018
    Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe (KCME) says the SK210HLC-10 is a “revolutionary hybrid [excavator] that delivers the future today”. The SK210HLC-10 is also said by KCME to be the first true hybrid specialist excavator in the 21tonne operating class. Drawing on over 80 years of Kobelco design, technical innovation and manufacture, the Japanese company has been at the forefront of hybrid technology since 1999, when work on hybrid excavators began. With the new SK210HLC-10 and the introduction of its
    Read More

Highlighted Content