Skip to main content

German Joh. Sahler contractor goes down the Hitachi route

German contractor Joh. Sahler has changed its entire fleet of construction machinery to Hitachi Zaxis excavators. The two ZX38U-5s, ZX48U-3, ZX85USBLC-5, ZX145W-3, ZX170W-5 and ZX190W-3 were ordered by the Leverkusen-based company in June last year and delivered by the country’s authorised Hitachi dealer, Kiesel. Joh. Sahler was founded in 1945 and is now owned by a third-generation family member, Antonius Eisbach, and managed on a day-to-day basis by directors Dietmar Müller and Matthias Schindler. It has
April 30, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
German contractor Joh. Sahler has changed its entire fleet of construction machinery to Hitachi Zaxis excavators. The two ZX38U-5s,

ZX48U-3, ZX85USBLC-5, ZX145W-3, ZX170W-5 and ZX190W-3 were ordered by the Leverkusen-based company in June last year and delivered by the country’s authorised Hitachi dealer, Kiesel.

Joh. Sahler was founded in 1945 and is now owned by a third-generation family member, Antonius Eisbach, and managed on a day-to-day basis by directors Dietmar Müller and Matthias Schindler. It has a team of 50 employees who work on road and sewer construction projects for mostly privately owned clients but also some public sector customers.

All of the new machines are supported by a five-year maintenance and service package provided by Hitachi Support Chain and managed by Kiesel. “Kiesel contacted us at exactly the right time at the end of 2013, when we first considered changing all of our machines,” said Matthias.

“We wanted to buy established products that our customers would recognise and feel comfortable with. These machines need to be reliable and work well for at least five years and that is why we have invested in the after-sales package.”

The two-piece boom Hitachi ZX170W-5 wheeled excavator is the largest Zaxis-5 machine at Joh. Sahler’s disposal. It was delivered in July and one of its first assignments was a road construction project near Leverkusen. The €450,000 contract to build a roundabout started at the end of September and was scheduled to finish in December. The ZX170W-5 was the only wheeled excavator on the 3,400m² site, which includes 1,500m² of new road, 100m² of new foot and cycle paths and streetlights and the planting of trees.

“The ZX170W-5 is suited to this type of work, and along with the ZX145W-3 and ZX190W-3, we have a range of wheeled excavators to cover the full scale of our operations,” said Matthias. “It is a classic machine for working on roads, as it is fast and versatile, and can be used on and off road. We’re very happy with our current line-up of machines because our maintenance costs are lower than before and there is minimal downtime.”

“I’m really happy with the overall performance of the ZX170W-5,” explained the ZX170W-5’s operator Mario Tietje, who has been with the company for 30 years. “The cab has more than enough space and a comfortable seat, which is important when working on site for the whole day. It is perfectly suited to this type of road construction work and the best feature is the hydraulics, which work quickly and ensure that the machine is easy to operate.”

Related Content

  • Powerscreen XH320X’s first Crush
    December 3, 2013
    The new Powerscreen XH320X impact crusher was launched in late 2012 and the first prototype of the machine was sent to Crush Ltd in the UK for extensive testing. A customer of Powerscreen Distributor, Blue Group, Crush is a specialist crushing and screening contractor based in South Wales. They run and own an extensive list of plants that enable them to deal with customers’ crushing and screening needs quickly and effectively.
  • How Hitex changed its products to meet the demands of India’s roads
    December 7, 2016
    The Indian Government is keen to embrace new technologies and ideas from overseas but as Hitex International discovered, Indian roads need very special products - Kristina Smith reports
  • Bavarian workload for a Sennebogen 835 E-series material handler
    May 18, 2018
    Sand and gravel extraction in the Main valley has always been a mainstay of family-owned LZR - Lenz Ziegler Reifenscheid - in Kitzingen, Bavaria. Every day, around 800tonnes arrive at the gravel plant via the Main River. The company not only supplies ready-mixed concrete, but is active in demolition and waste disposal. Since mid-2017, a Sennebogen 835 E-series material handler has been operating at the Kitzingen site. Equipped for an 18m reach and with a 2000-l double-shell grab, operator Uwe Marx dredges
  • Volvo Group opens SDLG excavator factory in Brazil
    August 9, 2013
    Production has started in Brazil of excavators from Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery (Lingong). The SDLG-branded machines will be built in a US$10 million purpose-built assembly hall within the Volvo Group site in Pederneiras, São Paulo state. Initially, four SDLG crawler excavator models will be produced at the new facility – the LG6150E, LG6210E, LG6225E and LG6250E models, covering weight classes from 13.8tonnes to 24.3tonnes. The excavators will be sold to companies working in a variety of indust