HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY

The Heerema Fabrication Group is benefiting from the versatility of its fleet of Hitachi Sumitomo cranes operating at the Vlissingen-Oost yard in the south west of The Netherlands. The company’s five Hitachi Sumitomo crawler cranes offer excellent mobility over soft surfaces and can be used across a broad range of applications, ranging from civil engineering to port cargo handling projects.

Heerema specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of large and complex structures for the offshore oil and gas, and energy-related industries. This 200,000m² strategically located coastal site allows the company to have access to 720m of quayside, with 450m of this available for large load-outs.

The first of Heerema’s Hitachi Sumitomo cranes was delivered ten years ago and it currently has two SC2000s, one SCX2500 and two SCX2800-2s. They are used to aid the construction process by lifting large components into place for oil platform jackets and load heavy assembled equipment on to barges.

“Hitachi Sumitomo cranes are exceptional machines,” enthuses 66-year-old Hans Bezenber, who has been an operator for 35 years. “I have worked with other brands in the past, but the comfort and flexibility of the SCX series is second to none. They are easy to manoeuvre with the joysticks, and are fast and precise thanks to the hydraulics. The tilting cab is also beneficial.

“I’m very happy with the overall package offered by Hitachi Sumitomo. They provide a strong and stable base from which to perform everyday tasks, and are extremely mobile on the sandy and often damp conditions at this site. It’s also possible to lift at the same time as the machine is moving, which means that it finishes jobs much faster than an alternative machine.”

Hitachi Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Crane Co., Ltd. (HSC) was created in 2002 when Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (HCM) and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (SHI) joined forces with their combined vast experience of the crane market. The company manufactures a range of crawler cranes that have proved invaluable to owners and operators alike.

The current model line-up consists of the SCX series, which was unveiled in 2003 with the launch of the SCX900-2 and SCX1200-2. Since then, the range has expanded to include 12 products – from the SCX400T to the 6000SLX – covering lifting capacities of between 40 and 550 tonnes.

“Hitachi is one of the main manufacturers that sell both crawler cranes and construction machinery,” says Martin Visser of Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) International Sales. “Hitachi has also had dealer representation in The Netherlands since 1972, so it has a high level of knowledge and experience in the European market.

“The launch of the Hitachi Sumitomo SCX series coincided with the opening of the HCME factory in Amsterdam in October 2002 and so HSC has been able to integrate with the dealer network for construction machinery. Hitachi Sumitomo has an excellent reputation for quality, power and reliability, and operators also find that the latest SCX range offers a comfortable working environment and user-friendly control panel.”