Gap Services choose HCME again
New Hitachi machines prove their productivity and reliability at Italian steelworks
GAP Services, part of the Piantoni Group, have invested in 10 Hitachi wheel loaders and excavators – ranging from dash-3 and dash-5 to dash-6 machines – in the past two years. Three new machines have recently been added to the fleet and are currently working at Arvedi steelworks in Cremona, the largest in northern Italy.
The Hitachi ZW310-6 and ZW250-5 wheel loaders and a ZX290LCN-5 medium excavator have been given the task of maintaining a 44,000 square metre stockyard owned by Arvedi.
Two types of heavy and abrasive cast-iron materials are kept in stockpiles at the site. The first material (Inertex) is sorted and crushed into three sizes (0–20mm, 20–40mm and 40–90mm) that are used for concrete, asphalt, sub-base and filling material for construction. The second product is recovered cast iron and white slag (Calcetek), available in 0–3mm and 3–25mm sizes.
Each day, around 20–25 trucks deliver Inertex and a further 10 trucks deliver Calcetek. The ZX290LCN-5 excavator is used to move the materials and load the crusher, while the two wheel loaders transport the products to stockpiles and carry out other on-site housekeeping.
The ZW310-6 (pictured) and ZW250-5 machines also load materials on to trucks for transportation to customers – 70% is used for public works projects and 30% goes to private customers.
Alberto Gallini, director of Gap Services, said: ‘We are very happy with our investment in these machines; the Hitachi name is a guarantee in itself of quality and reliability. I have seen how the machines have evolved from dash-3 and dash-5 to dash-6 in terms of performance, hydraulics, electronics and stability. They are getting better with each generation.’
He added: ‘There are two advantages of the Hitachi machines – power and the hydraulic system. The most important factor for us is the productivity of the equipment. The wheel loaders are responsive, user-friendly and offer good traction and breakout force.’
Considering the abrasive nature of the materials at the stockyard, Gap Services have been supplied with HELP (Hitachi Extended Life Programme) on all three new machines – an extended warranty for 10,000h or five years.
