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Hitachi excavator picked for Norwegian rock removal

7 Oct 16 Norwegian contractor Morten Gultvedt Entreprenør has bought a new Hitachi ZX490LCH-6 large excavator to work on a demanding housing scheme on the outskirts of Oslo.

Rock blasting and removal are taking place in order to lay the foundations for 121 new homes.

Morten Gultvedt Entreprenør is overseeing the construction of the new apartments in the community of Kolbotn. The construction process begins with seam drilling, which is necessary to blast the rock into manoeuvrable fragments. These are then broken up further by the Hitachi ZX490LCH-6, before it loads a fleet of trucks for onward transport. Once the bedrock has been completely removed, Gultvedt will prepare the groundworks.

The project involves the removal of more than 30,000m³ of materials within a short timeframe. This prompted managing director Morten Gultvedt to look for a reliable large excavator that could work quickly, and keep up with the rigorous workload. “We needed a powerful machine to help us meet the tight deadline within the short working windows available to us,” he said. “We opted for the Hitachi ZX490LCH-6, because it is ideal for the work we do. It is more than capable of handling the substantial amount of large rock. Smaller machines with less capacity would simply not have been productive enough.”

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The input of Gultvedt’s operators was also important in making the final decision. “At the time we were testing a few different models,” he adds. “One of my most experienced operators advised that I had to purchase the ZX490LCH-6. In addition, they all said that not only were the hydraulics excellent, but the cab was so comfortable it was like sitting in your living room!”

Experienced operator Rune Romsdal has also praised the large excavator: “I was surprised by the precision of the ZX490LCH-6. The responsiveness and hydraulics are highly impressive.”

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