My
My name is José Gomez and I operate a ZX180W with a raised cab. For 12 years, I have worked for Carrières du Lessus in the Swiss region of Valais, which specialises in disposal and recycling.
The company owns a quarry at St Triphon, which is being refilled with burnt material from a nearby incineration plant. The process started in 2000 and 180 million tonnes were used to fill in the first of three spaces. A further 900 million tonnes will be needed for the second.
Carrières du Lessus extracts iron, aluminium and other useful materials from the ashes. It also recycles waste from construction companies, and has on-site crushing and screening facilities. A railway track runs directly to the site, so stones from the tracks can be delivered. They are either cleaned then sold, or crushed to fill in the quarry.
HITACHI
As well as the ZX180W, I also operate a ZX350LC-3 in the quarry. The fleet at Carrières du Lessus includes a Hitachi ZX130W and ZX470LCH-3. Company owner Luc Briquet bought his first Hitachi machine from distributor Probst Maveg in 1980 and has been a loyal customer ever since.
Experience
The ZX180W’s raised cab is invaluable on this site. It gives me greater visibility when I am unloading stones from train wagons.
The ZX180W is also fast, productive and fuel-efficient – the perfect machine for the job. Its lifting capacity is very good, too. Occasionally I use this excavator with a grapple attachment for loading steel into lorries, which also demonstrates its versatility.
SWITZERLAND > ZX180W > WASTE/SCRAP RECYCLING
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My name is Luc Briquet and I am the owner of Carrières du Lessus in Valais, south-west Switzerland. The company was founded by my grandfather in 1930 and now employs 11 people.
Until 1994, our quarry was a valuable source of limestone for road and general construction. In 1994 the regional authorities withdrew our licence to excavate the stone. I had to rethink our business strategy when I knew that the quarry had to close. I needed to find another way to continue the family story here and look towards other potential interests. So I transformed our quarrying business into a recycling and waste disposal company.
We are now refilling the quarry with construction materials such as stone, bricks and concrete. We also process incinerated waste from a nearby plant. Iron, copper and aluminium are extracted using on-site magnetic devices, and then sold to customers in France. The remaining waste is used to fill in the quarry in an approved, environmentally friendly way.
HITACHI
Our history with Hitachi is all about excavators. Our first model was a second-hand 45-tonne UH171, which we bought in 1988. Then we bought a new EX330, which was also very good. Other machines in our fleet have included an EX165 and EX17.
They have all been sold now and replaced with Zaxis excavators. The fleet currently includes a ZX22U-2 mini excavator, ZX130W and ZX180W wheeled excavators, and a ZX350LC-3 and ZX450LCH-3.
Our policy is to replace the machines after 3,000 or 4,000 hours. Technology moves forward every three or four years and our aim is to benefit from all the latest advanced features. This also helps with the resale value, of course.
Experience
The quality of the Zaxis range is very good. They are well finished, reliable and comfortable for our operators. I am very happy with the service we receive from Jean-Marc Probst, Gaston Monney and the rest of the team at the Swiss Hitachi dealer, Probst Maveg. We have a strong relationship, which is based on many years of friendship as well as business.
Overall, it’s a winning combination. I have seen for myself the high levels of discipline and organisation in the Hitachi factory in Japan, and that’s one of the reasons why Hitachi is such a strong brand.