Hitachi Construction Machinery says it will begin mass production of the 120 t class EX1200 ultra-large hydraulic excavator at its Indonesian production base PT Hitachi Construction Machinery Indonesia in West Java from November 2024 to address the demand for ultra-large hydraulic excavators in the country.

Currently, Hitachi Construction Machinery primarily produces ultra-large hydraulic excavators and rigid dump trucks at the Hitachinaka-Rinko Works in Japan for delivery to customers around the world. In addition to the production of medium hydraulic excavators, Hitachi Construction Machinery Indonesia has also been in charge of producing front structures (booms, arms, and buckets) for ultra-large hydraulic excavators, truck frames, rigid dump truck beds, and other welded structures for mining machinery.

As the largest market for mining machinery in southeast Asia, Indonesia has a comparatively large number of small and medium-sized mines, and it is a region with a high demand for 120 t class hydraulic excavators. In addition, there was a need to strengthen the production capacity of the entire group to rapidly meet the demand for mining products throughout the world including the Americas market where the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group is accelerating its independent expansion.

Against this backdrop, the group decided to extend the Hitachi Construction Machinery Indonesia’s Cibitung 2 Factory and newly establish production facilities and assembly space to produce the EX1200 ultra-large hydraulic excavator. Furthermore, advanced welding technology will be applied in the extended area to expand the production items of welded structures for mining products.