HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY

High oil and gas prices, and plentiful natural energy reserves are fuelling a boom in Russia’s construction industry. Government funding is helping to transform the country’s infrastructure including road networks, airport runways and port terminals. We visited one of the companies involved and discovered a huge sense of pride, not only in improving the national transport network, but also in its growing fleet of Hitachi construction machinery

Driving west out of Moscow, an empty single lane in the middle of the busy Moscow-Minsk highway separates the traffic flowing on either side. This is reserved for the use of an important government official and his cortege, when he travels to the Kremlin from his home outside the city.

This highlights the crucial role played by the government in Russia’s road construction industry. Since 2006, the State has invested heavily in improving highways like this one, which link Russia’s largest cities and lead to those of its neighbouring countries. By 2020, the total distance of these major routes will have tripled, from 731,000km to approximately 2.2million km.

For motorists on the heavily congested routes in and around Moscow, the investment is vital. It amounts to an estimated one trillion Russian roubles (€27.8billion), which will bring much-needed improvement to the country’s infrastructure. Companies working in the road construction industry now have funds to buy the necessary machinery and equipment to complete the work. They also have many opportunities. For firms such as Transstroymechanizatsiya, it is a good time to be involved in the business.

A subsidiary of Inzhtransstroy Corporation, one of the largest construction companies in the Russian Federation, Transstroymechanizatsiya specialises in earthmoving and road construction. Its 1,500 employees can be working on up to seven projects at any one time, from as far north as St Petersburg, known as the ‘Venice of the North’, to the south-west city of Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Since it was founded in June 2005, Transstroymechanizatsiya has worked on several state-funded projects. This includes the construction of runways at Russia’s main airports including the third terminal runway at Moscow International Sheremetyevo Airport.

General Director of Transstroymechanizatsiya Gumenyuk A Yuriy says, “The company has also worked on earthmoving projects for the expansion of airports at Vnukovo, Adler, Yamar, Ufa and Sochi. We have completed construction projects on the Chita to Khabarovsk highway, worked on an oil station in the Nakhodka region and on other significant projects of federal importance.”

Transstroymechanizatsiya is highly regarded within the Russian road construction industry. It prides itself on completing high-quality construction projects on time and within budget. This is achieved by maintaining consistently high levels of productivity, using advanced building technologies and modern equipment.

The company has approximately 250 units of construction machinery, including 51 dump trucks. It has a total of 24 Hitachi excavators and wheel loaders, which represents more machines than any other manufacturer. A third of its Hitachi fleet, including four medium crawler excavators and three wheeled excavators, was delivered in 2008.

“Hitachi has a good reputation in Russia and many companies use its construction machinery,” says Chief Mechanic Andrey Markov. “Favourable costs and machine reliability were the main reasons why Transstroymechanizatsiya initially chose Hitachi. The market is very competitive, so price and reliability are important factors.

“Hitachi machines are also convenient to use and easy to maintain. You can reach all of the parts easily. Some of the first machines bought by the company in 2006 were the ZX350 and ZX450 excavators. They each now have 14,000 hours on the clock and haven’t required any significant maintenance.”

This is particularly important to the business, because it relies on its machines so heavily. Each has three operators and works for 20 hours a day. However, coping with challenging working conditions in remote locations and the harsh Russian climate is not an issue, according to Andrey.

“If you pick the right equipment for the job, there is no problem,” he explains. “The temperature can drop to -30°C in winter, but the machines are working round the clock so they don’t have time to cool down or have problems with starting up. Our excavators have also been specially reinforced for mountainous conditions.”

By contrast, one of the company’s less demanding sites is currently on the Moscow-Minsk highway, 35km west of Moscow. But it is no less significant – the 3,000km road leads not only to Minsk in Belarus, but on to Warsaw in Poland and as far as Germany. “It’s like Russia’s corridor to the West,” says Andrey, proudly.

Approximately 350 of its 1,500 employees have been working at this 4km-long site since February 2008. The job involves widening the two lanes into four either side, as well as repairing the original road, which was built in 1929. The existing surface is broken up and the loose material is dug up by the company’s excavators, then transported to an on-site crusher. Transstroymechanizatsiya recycles the material by using it to make the surface of the new, wider road, and for other projects elsewhere.

There are four Hitachi models at this site: ZX350LCH-3, ZX350H-3 (available in Russia and the Far East, but not in Europe) and ZX180W excavators, and a ZW310 wheel loader. The operators are working 12-hour shifts to meet the deadlines and the company’s Hitachi fleet is also playing its part.

“We are completely satisfied with the performance of Hitachi construction machinery,” says Foreman Sergey Tridenezhkin. “Compared with other manufacturers, Hitachi machines are more productive and reliable – there is no downtime.”

They also seem to have made life easier for operators. As well as cabin features such as air conditioning and a comfortable seat, most employees commented on how easy Hitachi excavators are to manoeuvre.

“It is as if they have been built for the convenience of the operator,” says Josef Karasik, currently working with a ZX350LCH-3. “At the end of my shift, I don’t feel as tired as I used to when working with other machinery.”

In summer 2008, Transstroymechanizatsiya was at a pivotal stage in its development. General Director Gumenyuk A Yuriy said the company was expecting to start work on another large state-funded project. “We are also trying to win a contract with Russian railways,” he confirmed.

The expected delivery of three new medium Zaxis excavators, plus a ZW220 wheel loader, will no doubt help Transstroymechanizatsiya to complete its new assignments. The machines will be supplied by Russia’s official Hitachi dealer Techstroycontract (TSC), with whom the company has established a good relationship over the past three years. “TSC meets all of our requirements for service and maintenance,” says Andrey.

TSC has 110 branches across Russia, the largest national market for Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME). It has helped HCME to rapidly expand its dealer network, thanks to effective distribution, logistics and a steady level of machine availability. TSC offers customers a wide range of services, including sales, support, parts, rental and logistics. It can also supply a large selection of Hitachi machines, which are almost all delivered directly from Japan.

As well as expanding on its stock, Transstroymechanizatsiya has also invested in a newly renovated workshop in Moscow, where machinery and trucks can be repaired. Andrey and his team have only recently moved in. As proof, there is a large display cabinet in one of the offices at the new depot, containing a single ZW220 model. There seems to be plenty of space for new miniature additions to the fleet.

“No, I just haven’t had time to unpack all my others yet,” says Andrey, smiling. Without realising it, he has summed up the mood within the Russian construction market at present – with so much investment and so many opportunities springing up across this vast, ambitious country, it’s time to think big.