Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) has sold 11 rigid dump trucks to the leading Baltic energy company through its authorised dealer in Estonia (since January 2014), Rotator Estonia. Eesti Energia ordered the Hitachi EH1100-5 rigid dump trucks to work in the Narva oil shale mine, near the Russian border, which is operated by Eesti Energia mining division Eesti Polevkivi.
The first truck is already in operation and a further three were supplied from the Hitachi factory in Canada at the end of November 2014. Four more are following in December 2014 and January 2015, and one each in the months of July, August and September 2015. The decision to invest in the Hitachi dump trucks was based on criteria set by the state-owned company in an online tender process. This included a calculation of the capital cost of the machine and a guaranteed buy-back after a number of years.
After succeeding at this stage, Hitachi had to prove to Eesti Energia that the EH1100-5 could carry a nominal payload of 63.5 t. It sent a new EH1100-5 rigid dump truck to the site, to demonstrate this capability and says it “secured the order following its impressive performance.” Malcolm Edwards, HCME Manager of Mining & Quarrying, said: “Supplying the first dump truck gave the customer further confirmation of many of the other claims we were making about the EH1100-5s and confidence in the product. It had previously used Euclid dump trucks and still has one in operation that was supplied in the 1980s.”
The new Hitachi dump trucks will haul material on an unusually long route, ranging from three to 15 km (from loading to tipping), with slope increases of up to 9%. According to the company’s long-term strategy, the length of the route could increase to 25km one-way in the future. Hitachi will provide after-sales support for the new machines, including comprehensive parts support and training programmes, via Rotator Estonia. “Rotator already has a wealth of experience in the mining and quarrying industry in Finland, which will support Eesti Energia with all of its after-sales requirements,” says Edwards. “Rotator Estonia’s Product Support Manager, Toomas Salm, has completed training on the EH1100-5 at the Hitachi Construction Truck Manufacturing Ltd facility in Canada. He will coordinate support for the new trucks from the Rotator office in Tallinn, approximately 1.5 hours drive from the site.”
