News

First Hitachi ZX130-7 in Europe

The first Hitachi ZX130-7 Stage 5 medium excavator in Europe has been purchased by the specialist groundworks and infrastructure contractor MV Kelly. The new model was delivered by Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK) to one of the Birmingham-based company’s major housebuilding projects near Wallingford at the end of June.
 
MV Kelly has bought more than 3,000 Hitachi excavators from the UK’s Hitachi dealer, which is a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. The company currently has 543 Zaxis machines – ranging from the ZX33U-6 mini to the ZX300-6 medium excavator – working across 227 sites in central England.
 
Doug Curran is MV Kelly’s Asset and Fleet Director, who has responsibility for the purchase and disposal of the group’s machines, and said, “The Hitachi ZX130-6 is the perfect tool for the job that we do and so when Hitachi offered us the opportunity to buy the first ZX130-7, we were really pleased to add it to our fleet. The machine has been assigned to our experienced operator John Ritchie, who is very happy with the comfort in the cab, and the speed and performance of this latest model.”

John has been a machine operator for over 30 years, the last five of which he has been working with MV Kelly. During that time he has operated the ZX130-5 and ZX130-6, and so is well qualified to test the new ZX130-7 to its full potential. He uses the machine for digging foundations, drainage, grading and all other works to get each house plot up to floor level.
 
Hitachi has redesigned the Zaxis-7 cab with the aim of creating the perfect workspace, something that has gone down well with John. “The quality of the cab is first-class, with less vibration and noise than the previous generation, and more storage for my phone, lunch bag and drinks. My view is also better when it’s raining, as the windscreen wiper has an increased sweeping area and it now covers the lower front window. The longer refuelling hose saves time and is more convenient. And finally, the pilot shutoff lever is easy to reach and safer, as it won’t activate if you accidentally touch a lever.
 
“Overall, I really like the look of the machine – the decals on the side and rear really set it off,” John continued. “The biggest improvements between the ZX130-6 and ZX130-7 are the speed, power, cab comfort and all of the small details, such as the mute and wiper buttons on the joysticks. I have to say that this machine has been designed with the driver in mind.”

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