My

My name is Dennis Pimblett and I have driven a wide range of excavators, from the Hitachi EX30 mini up to the current new ZX470LCH-3, over the past 15 years. I work for Ovenden Earthmoving Co. Ltd., who are based in Canterbury in the south of England and have around 80 employees.

The company was established in 1973 and now specialises in land reclamation, beach replenishment, port and road construction, and earthmoving. I am currently working on the Lincshore project, which renourishes the level of sand on the beaches between Mablethorpe and Skegness on the Lincolnshire coast to reduce the risk of flooding caused by coastal erosion.

Hitachi

Ovenden has purchased a new Hitachi ZX470LCH-3 medium excavator to work on the Lincshore project and other similar job sites. It was delivered by the UK Hitachi dealer, HM Plant, in July 2010 and sent directly to Lincolnshire on its first assignment.

I am one of two operators for this machine and we work on 12-hour shifts over seven days and seven nights. This is our first Hitachi Zaxis excavator and we need a machine of this size on beach reclamation projects for lifting pipes and other heavy tasks.

Experience

I can’t really fault the Zaxis – it’s smoother and more precise than some of the other brands I’ve operated.

There’s good all-round vision from the cab and the rear-view camera has proved useful. Health and safety is the main priority on this project, so these features are important. I also find it to be a productive machine for excavation work on the beach and it manoeuvres well on the sand.

It is also very user-friendly and a pleasure to operate on our long shifts. The engine is reliable and powerful. The low-noise means that it is also good for working on a site that is always close to everyday life. It’s already delivering excellent fuel economy.

United Kingdom > ZX470 > Earthmoving