Having initially launched a remanufactured parts programme in 2009, Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe (HCME) has now unveiled a new €1 million Remanufacturing Centre. After two years of “detailed planning, intricate development and the installation of the latest high-tech engineering and testing equipment”, the facility has officially opened its doors for business. There is already a wide range of remanufactured parts available for Hitachi customers throughout the European dealer network, and as a next step, Africa, the Middle East and the CIS. The quality of components is “as good as new” according to HCME’s Dealer Support Manager, Marten Bootsma and comes with a significant saving on the new list price.
The centre is situated in the vicinity of HCME’s Oosterhout factory in the south of The Netherlands. It specialises in the supply of the main pumps, swing and travel motors, and cylinders for most medium and large Zaxis excavators, and ultra-large EX-6 series mining machines. It also caters for the transmissions on ZW wheel loaders. While only Hitachi-manufactured components will be overhauled in the Remanufacturing Centre, HCME works with an extensive network of OEMs for other components. These include: ZF, the manufacturer of axles and transmissions for wheeled excavators; MTU, which supplies Mercedes engines for the ZW310; Allison’s Dutch dealer for mining truck transmissions; and a UK company that has been certified by Isuzu Europe for the DPF (part of the muffler filter) on Zaxis-5 medium and large excavators.
In addition, the remanufacturing of AC-drive components for the EH-series dump trucks has been licensed to a Dutch company. As an example, each EH3500ACII rigid dump truck in the Talvivaara Mining fleet in Finland will benefit from these remanufactured components being fitted at 20,000 h. This offer will be extended to other similar fleets that fall under HCME’s parts distribution network. HCME comments: “The tried-and-tested remanufacturing process is initiated when the required part is ordered by one of HCME’s dealers on behalf of a customer. The sales agreement includes the return of the ‘core’ product to HCME, where it is assessed for damage and evaluated for repair. It is then disassembled and replenished with new parts if required, and then assembled, checked and tested using rigid Hitachi standards, so that it is returned to the same specification as a new component. The remanufactured component is also sold with a six-month warranty – the same as a new component.”
“The competitive price, high level of quality and excellent availability of remanufactured parts mean that they are an attractive proposition for any Hitachi customer,” says Bootsma. “This programme is also a good example of HCME’s corporate social responsibility activities, as the core isn’t scrapped, but refurbished and supplied back into the market. HCME’s customers benefit directly from the Remanufacturing Centre, because they have now better access to an increased supply of components from Europe as well as Japan. In addition, the sustainable value of this facility may be evidenced by the diminishing need for raw materials in the supply chain.”