The European construction industry gathers once a year to showcase its latest products and services at a major show. This year, it was the turn of the International Exhibition of Equipment, Machinery and Techniques for the Construction and Building Materials Industry (or Intermat for short!) in Paris.

From 24-29 April, more than 200,000 trade visitors flocked to the global construction event of 2006 at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre. All of the leading construction equipment manufacturers had a major presence among the 1,500 exhibits.

This of course included Hitachi Construction Machinery and Hitachi-Sumitomo with indoor and outdoor stands respectively. The full range of construction equipment was on view for Hitachi dealers and existing and prospective customers, featuring some of the new additions to the product line-up.

 

The new generation of large excavators was unveiled at Intermat, with the Zaxis ZX520LCH-3 and Zaxis ZX670LCH-3 displayed for the first time. The Zaxis ZX280-3 was also launched in Paris to join the other new mid-range machines which were introduced earlier in the year.

Hitachi continued to grab the headlines with the long-awaited first public appearance of the latest range of wheel loaders. The ZW series was one of the most eagerly anticipated new product launches at Intermat, with the ZW310, ZW250 and ZW220 all on show before an appreciative audience.

The Hitachi stand was designed in keeping with the brand's corporate identity. There were many reliable solutions demonstrated for various sectors of the construction industry. The main selling points of the new machines were also presented in the distinctive Ground Breaking News campaign.

There were hundreds of enquiries made about the purchase of new Hitachi machines. The hard working team of Hitachi staff answered a wide range of technical questions, with other personnel available from Zaxis Finance, product support and the merchandise shop.

"This was the biggest presence held by Hitachi at Intermat, so it was important to put on the best ever display", explains HCME Corporate Communications Manager, Raymond Hendriks. "We had an enthusiastic response from our corporate guests, dealers, customers and other visitors, so it was certainly worth all of the hard work".

"We produced a series of movies for the show and they made a huge impact on the stand. In addition, all of the photography, advertisements and promotional materials delivered a clear message. The new Hitachi products offer better performance, ultimate comfort and safety, and reduced running costs throughout the range".