ZX670LCH-3: Cold at the Top

As the Zaxis ZX670LCH-3 was being unveiled at the intermat exhibition in Paris, one of the new generation of large Hitachi excavators was already making an impact elsewhere in the world.

Home to the first European delivery of the ZX670LCH-3, Iceland, we visited to witness the machine at work in rather unusual surrounding.

Leaving Keflavik International Airport to travel towards Reykjavik, the amount of construction work on the island is immediately evident across an ever-changing landscape. Iceland is growing rapidly and it needs new housing and roads to keep up with the pace of development.

"Time is everything," explains Sövli Jónsson, one of the owners of Verktakar Magni ehf, a local construction company. "We must work to tight deadlines and the schedules for projects are always being shortened. However, competition for contracts is extremely high, so we must be able to complete the job within the specified time frame and to a high standard."

Verktakar Magni's guarantee to achieve these objectives is the frequent rotation of construction machinery. Each model is only used for a maximum of three years, before being sold or traded in for a new machine.

This has been Verktakar Magni's policy since the company started ten years ago with just six employees. It has since grown almost ten-fold and during this period, Verktakar Magni was loyal to two Hitachi competitors. However, the introduction of the new Zaxis ZX670LCH-3 has changed this policy.

Sövli compared the benefits and specification of the new excavator against the competition. He felt that Hitachi offered the most competitive package in terms of productivity and reliability. Within weeks, another customer - who had also been loyal to a rival manufacturer - ordered a second ZX670LCH-3.

Verktakar Magni is one of four contractors working on projects within this area. It is at the halfway stage of the four-month project and it looks as if it will be the only company to complete its contract on time.

The job involves laying new roads and preparing the ground for housing close to a new aluminium factory - the third of its kind on an island with a population of only 300,000 people. Iceland's exclusive use of pure energy is attracting industry and boosting the economy.

Only geo-thermal and hydro-electricity are used on the island, which means that energy is cost-effective and in plentiful supply. In addition to this, a growing tourism trade more than doubles Iceland's population on an annual basis.
All of this means that the construction industry is booming. Sövli verifies this fact when he states that the company already has work guaranteed for the next three years.

"The Zaxis is working on a job that is usually undertaken by a smaller machine," explains Sövli. "The operator has found the ZX670LCH-3 to be so precise that it is capable of carrying out work that requires a high degree of accuracy. This is as a result of the greater control that is possible through the innovative new hydraulic system."

"The controls on the Zaxis make the operation of the machine extremely smooth. The tracks are relatively stable on the uneven surface of the lava rock on the job site. The machine's larger capacity and enhanced performance also enable the work to be completed much more quickly than before."