Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) has manufactured its 1,000th special application excavator for delivery to its Romanian dealer, Powertek Equipment S.R.L. The ZX250LC-3 material handling machine has been bought by Ductil Steel, a subsidiary of the Russian Mechel Group, one of the five largest steel companies in the world.

To honour the occasion, a special ceremony was held at the factory in Oosterhout, The Netherlands, on 18 November. Representatives of both HCME and Powertek attended the event, which included presentations, a tour of the factory and the official handover of the keys to Powertek Marketing Coordinator Anca Stefan.

“The production of the 1,000th Hitachi special application machine in Europe is a great achievement for both HCME and Powertek,” says HCME Product Sales Representative for Special Equipment Mark Burghoorn. “It highlights Powertek’s strong focus on special application machin es, and their positive and aggressive approach to this sector. Its established network will help Hitachi material handling machines to be successful in the growing Romanian market.”

The ZX250LC-3 was sold as part of a sales agreement with the Mechel Group for a total of six machines – three ZX250LC-3s and three ZX250W-3s. With a hydraulic elevating cab, short boom, straight arm with bucket cylinder and linkage, and a rotating selector grab, the ZX250LC-3 will be used to unload steel scrap from trucks at a site near Bucharest. Ductil Steel employs 1,340 people and also operates in Bulgaria, Switzerland, Hungary, Cyprus and China.

“We are delighted to take delivery of the 1,000th Hitachi special application machine,” said Powertek Sales Manager Stefan Patrascu. “We appreciate the support of a reliable supplier such as Hitachi and hope we can continue to develop our successful partnership.”

The delivery of the ZX250LC-3 marks the start of the dealer’s relationship with Ductil Steel. “This may be the company’s first experience of Hitachi, but we are confident the quality of the Hitachi machines and Powertek’s excellent after-sales service will mean it is the first of many,” he added.