Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) has been talking to Aggregates Business about current excavator and wheeled loader demand among European quarrying and mining customers. The major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is launching its next-generation Zaxis-7 crawler excavators for the European market in spring 2020, and its upcoming wheeled loader models will be introduced later.
“Our large quarry and mine-suited excavators are very reliable workhorses that are thoroughly tested before coming to market. Customers using our machines recognise all these aspects,” said Wilbert Blom, HCME’s excavator product manager. “When you look at our European market share for excavators, we have close to 20% share for the 50-tonne class and up to 30% for the 85-tonne class. Customers for these models demand uptime and performance. They do not want to lose money on excessive maintenance and other issues. The machines need to deliver.”
Blom said that as HCME large crawler excavators have Hitachi-designed and engineered hydraulic systems, the manufacturer has “total control” of their quality.
He continued: “I think we can grow our market share in around 50-tonne class excavators. The market is flattening a bit. Customers are a bit more hesitant on purchasing new equipment. In the short-term, this may help with lead times.”
Commenting on what quarrying and mining customers can expect from the next-generation large HCME Zaxis-7 crawler excavators, Blom said: “We’ve been able to make some significant improvements to the hydraulic system. This will deliver significant savings on fuel consumption, which equates to lower TCO [total cost of ownership].
“Since 2018, we’ve also had the ConSite oil sensor in our up-to-85-tonne class ZX890-6 model. It’s an oil sensor in the engine and hydraulic system, monitoring engine and hydraulic oil quality 24/7. What is unique about the oil sensor is that it’s Hitachi patented system. It detects various material contamination and the algorithms behind it measures the quality of the oil before something happens. This might, for example, detect an increase in iron particulates in the engine or hydraulic system oil and stop the main control valve from getting seriously damaged, preventing major maintenance work.”
Blom said that HCME had also listened to customers by making the new Zaxis-7 crawler excavator range cabin more spacious. Each cabin also has an eight-inch hi-res display screen and reduced noise and vibrations compared to its predecessors.
Focusing on another area of improvement, he said: “In 2018 we started supplying Hitachi-branded buckets for excavators, like we have done for some time with our wheeled loaders. Some of our excavator customers had been flagging up to their Hitachi dealer that their bucket attachments didn’t seem to work well with their machines. After exploring the root causes, we were finding that the installed bucket was too big. Now we can safeguard performance by supplying our own buckets.”
Asked about the potential for electric-powered large crawler excavators for quarrying customers, Blom said: “We already have electric-version machines for mining customers that hook up to the grid. I’ve not seen many requests from quarry customers to connect, say, an 80-tonne machine to the grid. If hydrogen fuel cell systems really become commercially viable for quarry machines, that will be interesting. Maybe some hybrid solutions can be developed which are less sophisticated. I think quarrying and other jobsite machines will become smarter, making more use of sensors to further measure productivity and safeguard their uptime. There will also be far more localised spare parts provision.”
Bill Drougkas, HCME’s wheeled loader product manager, said quarrying and mining customers are focusing on easy wheeled loader bucket filling, resulting in fast cycle times and very low total cost of ownership. “There are several sub parameters connected to this: the wheeled loader must be of high quality, come with low fuel consumption and maintenance cost, while also demonstrating an investment in operator cabin comfort, and an absolute focus on safety. With excavators, the machine is standing safely and operating in one area at a time. But for wheeled loaders, they are constantly travelling around a quarry or mine and there are on- and off-highway trucks coming in and going out of the work site. This means safety is of utmost importance.”
Drougkas said the current ZW-6 wheeled loaders have additional safety features compared to their predecessors. “One of these is for example our remote fleet monitoring system, ConSite, that could indirectly inform the operator that their operational behaviour will not result in a long lifetime for the machine. It’s important to note that doing this does not sacrifice in any way the performance of the wheeled loader. An identified problem might be, for example, an operator constantly pushing the brake pedal. Through our global e-Service platform we can detect operator behaviour that is below the average for Hitachi wheeled loaders globally. We can then pass on advice to the operator on how they can change their behaviour. By doing this, machine lifetime is significantly increased.
“We have also invested a lot of time on how to best position the engine on the frame in order to allow direct visibility to the rear two sides of the counterweight. Of course, operators use their rear-view monitor camera, but they are also always looking around as they drive the wheeled loader.”
The ZW-6 wheeled loader range also has improved traction force, said Drougkas, which has increased the filling capacity of their buckets. “Being Hitachi, we are experts in hydraulics, and can match a higher quality powertrain with high-quality components.
“In recent years Hitachi wheeled loaders have also been well received in quarries and mines due to their proven low fuel consumption. It depends on the customer work site and how they are used, but generally current generation ZW-6 wheeled loaders achieve a 10% reduction in fuel consumption than previous generation machines. Some of this is due to improved axle components and reduced friction meaning lower hydraulic losses therefore reducing fuel used to run. Overall, we have seen that the ZW-6 generation machine is very competitive.”
Drougkas said that HCME was also investing heavily in its aftermarket business. “Our Hitachi-branded buckets allow us to give a total solution to our wheeled loader customers. There are also many initiatives for our dealers, such as how to promote Hitachi Genuine Parts. We are also providing tools like a ‘preventive maintenance cost planner’. This enables dealers and customers to really prepare servicing and maintenance needs in advance, so that when a technician visits a customer work site, they have the correct replacement parts and will not need to make one or more repeat visits. Doing more preventive maintenance also means that customers will not experience unnecessary downtime and cost due to the need to replace major wheeled loader components.”
Highlighting what quarrying and mining customers will see in the heavier upcoming models of the wheeled loaders range, Drougkas said: “They will take the machine performance and health information available to the operator to the next level. This means using a smart monitor to convey key messages via this monitor about operator behaviour and what is happening to the machine. The messages might say: ‘If you do X, you will reduce fuel consumption by Y and increase the lifetime of your machine by Z. It is moving to a kind of artificial intelligence where it comes from machine to operator communication.”
Drougkas emphasised that the design of the upcoming wheeled loaders range will follow Hitachi’s concept to preserve their strong emphasis on safety. The “highly advanced” joystick control of ZW-6 models will be enhanced further on the next-generation machines, he added.
Turning his attention to current European heavier wheeled loader line market demand, Drougkas said: “The demand is still there thanks to the number of major infrastructure projects taking place. We are expecting demand to remain stable in 2020.”
In the November-December issue of Aggregates Business we reported on Hyundai Construction Equipment Europe’s (HCEE) launch of its new HL900 A-series wheeled loader range with three Stage V compliant wheeled loaders: the HL940A, HL955A and the HL960A.
For this issue, Stefan Schwill – HCEE’s wheeled loader product specialist, spoke to us about forthcoming quarrying-suited HL900-A series models. He also discussed HCEE’s plans to develop its market share for heavier, 20-tonne class plus wheeled loader models.
“We will be launching the 24.2-tonne HL970A with a 4.2m³ bucket and 31-tonne HL980A with 5.6m³ bucket models in the first half of 2020, and the 26.5-tonne HL975A with 4.8m³ bucket and CVT (continuously variable transmission) in the second half of next year,” said Schwill. “We also have the HL965 20-tonne Stage IV engine machine with 3.6m³ bucket, but there is no launch date currently for an A-series Stage V version of that model.”
Like the smaller models in the range, the 20-tonne plus A-series wheeled loaders come with an in-cabin menu allowing for three engine operation modes: Power, Power Smart and Economy, offering full engine power or reduced fuel consumption depending on the application. The new-for-Stage V models Power Smart mode in addition with EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) removal is said by Schwill to result in reduced energy losses and up to 5% fuel savings. In addition, the engine performance is optimised to deliver higher torque at lower rpm. This provides another means for improved fuel efficiency, while optimising engine power and improving engine response time.
Schwill said: “All Hyundai A-series wheeled loaders are equipped as standard with a rear-view camera developed in-house. Hyundai also offers an optional reverse-drive radar system, like a car’s, allowing the operator to quickly and reliably detect obstacles within 10 metres during day or night.”
For increased safety on the job site, Schwill highlights Hyundai’s new AAVM (advanced around view monitoring) four-camera system which is available as an option with Hyundai Stage V A-series wheeled loaders and crawler excavators. “The system has around view monitoring [AVM] and intelligent moving object detection [IMOD]. IMOD alerts the operator when a person or potentially dangerous object is moving too close to the machine. There are audio and visual alerts at five metres and three metres, giving the operator time to stop the machine. Four cameras film at each side of the machine which means the AAVM system offers a 360° overview of the machine’s surroundings. Both systems can be combined with an optional secondary monitor always displaying the camera screen. A seatbelt warning alarm is also integrated.”
Other new features of the 20-tonne plus class A-series wheeled loaders, outlined by Schwill, include an improved integrated weighing system, which informs the operator when their bucket has reached its optimum load. Data from the system can also be saved on a USB and analysed back in the jobsite office. The heavier A-series wheeled loaders also come with five-speeds and a lock-up function, offering further assistance with fuel saving.
Schwill continued: “A remote door opener allows you to use a small smart key to remotely open the door and unlock or lock the machine, like a car, from ground level. The A-series cabins are large and quiet, with a staged air filtration system. There are also seat-integrated electro-hydraulic control levers, which are on the Stage IV models, but will be even better with the Stage V A-series.”
Commenting on how HCEE 20-tonne class plus wheeled loaders stand out in what is a highly competitive European marketplace, Schwill said: “Our models are very robust. Their steel work benefits from Hyundai’s shipbuilding heritage. They have a lot of premium components, such as a ZF transmission, and the hydraulic system is from Bosch Rexroth. Our Stage V models will only have Cummins engines, which don’t use EGR and have increased engine combustion efficiency. Having only one engine supplier allows Hyundai to connect it through ECD (engine connected diagnostics) to their own telematics system, ‘Hi-MATE’, to increase uptime. This will deliver lower total cost of ownership.
“I think we have a lot of room to grow on our heavier wheeled loaders. We are looking to secure more big key accounts and are currently strengthening our European dealer network in countries such as Germany, which is a key market for us as it has the biggest wheeled loader population in Europe. The UK is also quite good currently in the waste and recycling sectors. In terms of market share, we are doing well in Eastern Europe, in countries such as Poland. I also see possibilities for us in Scandinavia.”
