Zaxis-7 excavators are number one choice for contractor Carmac

With demand for new houses remaining high across the UK, Northamptonshire contractor Carmac Building and Civil Engineering Ltd has decided to expand on its existing fleet of construction equipment. The successful company requires efficient machines to help fulfil contracts for their large customer list, which includes: Vistry Homes (Bovis Homes and Linden Homes); Taylor Wimpey; and Crest Nicholson.

The latest excavators

Carmac has now purchased seven of the latest Zaxis-7 models from Hitachi Construction Machinery UK (HCMUK), bringing their total number of Hitachi medium excavators to 26: 13 ZX130s; seven ZX210s; three ZX160s; and three ZX135US short-tail swing radius machines.

Founded by Tom McGowan in 1984, the groundworks business has doubled their turnover in the past four years, with the proportion of residential housing, infrastructure and roads work rising to 90% of this figure.

Hitachi Construction Machinery: a part of the story

Carmac has been using Hitachi Construction Machinery excavators since they were established – and have owned all generations, from the original Zaxis-1 up to the current Zaxis-7 series.

“Hitachi is a big part of our story,” says company Director Colm. “When other manufacturers come knocking on our door, we say, ‘We run Hitachi!’ and our customers – the housing developers – even recognise our distinctive orange machines on site.”

And thanks to the durability of Hitachi machines, the contractor has been able to establish a new policy with excavators being kept for up to four years (5,000 hours). According to Colm: “Hitachi has the name for reliability and affordability, as well as a high resale value. This is one of the main reasons why we remain loyal to Hitachi.”

He also has some great feedback on the latest additions to his fleet, saying: “There is no better machine than the ZX130LCN-7 for reliability and performance – it’s the best machine in the market! The ZX210LC-7 is also extremely reliable and popular with our loyal, hard-working and experienced operators.”

Carmac also enjoys great service from HCMUK, as Colm explains, “The product support and sales teams are second to none – especially compared to other suppliers – and can be trusted to assist us with any technical issues, usually within 24 or 48 hours.”

Operator approved

The new Zaxis-7 machines are proving popular with Carmac’s on-site team too. Gary Draper, who’s been an operator since 1985, has ran every generation of Hitachi excavator with his current machine being the new ZX210LC-7.

“I prefer the latest Zaxis-7 machines, because everything is where you want it to be,” says Gary. “In particular, the hydraulics on my ZX210LC-7 are far superior to any other machine that I’ve worked with. The seat is comfortable, and the cab is spacious. I can’t fault the design of the controls, and everything is within easy reach.”

This sentiment is heavily shared by his colleague Jim Lonergan, another Hitachi Construction Machinery fan with experience of all generations, most notably the ZX130, ZX160, ZX210 and ZX290 models. He thinks the latest range is much better than previous models, saying: “There have been several improvements with the -7 range, especially – and most importantly – inside the cab, with the fully adjustable seat and more room for storing my sandwiches and drinks. There is better visibility, greater comfort, and more information available on the monitor, and the Bluetooth connectivity for my smartphone and DAB radio are much appreciated.”