Hitachi fleet offers quality and reliability to German contractor.

Baggerbetrieb Fred Walther has bought a new Hitachi ZX300LCN-6 for a long-standing contract on an asphalt recycling site belonging to Südwest Asphalt GmbH & Co. KG. The medium excavator has been assigned to the Karlsruhe facility, where the German contractor has been working for more than five years.

The company’s latest acquisition was delivered by the country’s authorised dealer Kiesel in 2016. It is used to separate and break up the asphalt materials, so that they can be loaded on to a mobile crusher. The Zaxis-6 model joins the ZX210LCN-3 crawler and ZX190W-3 wheeled excavators, as well as the more compact ZX30, ZX50 and ZX85 models in its fleet of Hitachi construction machinery.

Baggerbetrieb Fred Walther was founded in 1995 and currently has ten full-time employees. Based in Pfinztal in the district of Karlsruhe, the company offers excavation and demolition services for various construction projects.

“This is a very good machine,” says owner Fred Walther. “The most significant and positive development is the bigger engine compared to the previous model, which we used to rent. We opted for the new ZX300LCN-6 because we needed a machine of this size and capacity.

“We continue to buy Hitachi machines because they are of the highest quality and so reliable – and this is matched by the quality of service from Kiesel. Our ZX210LCN-3 has around 5,500 hours and hasn’t needed any repairs whatsoever. Our Hitachi mini excavators have also been completely reliable.”

To illustrate the importance of reliability to his company, Fred explains, “When you have ten trucks dependent on the performance of one excavator and it stops working, then the downtime could prove to be very expensive. With some of the tight deadlines imposed by our customers, we are always under pressure.”

Torsten Jost has been an operator since he joined Baggerbetrieb Fred Walther in 1998 and he has been entrusted with the new ZX300LCN-6. “The power, speed and overall efficiency of the machine have impressed me most,” he explains.

“It’s also very precise and responsive, which is just what we need on this site. The hydraulic system is the best ever – and this is not just talk – so it is very easy to operate. In addition, the cab is extremely comfortable and the controls are within easy reach.”