UK contractor celebrates a decade of Hitachi construction machinery

Shannonside Civil Engineering Ltd has utilised more than 200 Hitachi excavators over the last ten years, and currently has a fleet of over 100 Zaxis models ranging from three to 30 tonnes. The Midlands-based company specialises in housing, infrastructure, and commercial projects, operates on multiple sites within an 80-mile radius of its Redditch headquarters.

Two recent additions to its Hitachi fleet, a ZX225US-7 and ZX350-7, are working alongside two other medium excavators, a ZX130-6 and ZX225USLC-6, on a housing development for Persimmon Homes in Cheltenham. Shannonside is responsible for preparing the infrastructure, roads and drainage system for 260 houses, and the project is expected to last four years.

Hitachi is the construction machinery of choice for Managing Director Brendan Carty, who founded Shannonside in 2004. “Since I moved here in the 1980s from Ireland, I have operated and supervised Hitachi machines, from the UH063 and EX150. They were all reliable and user-friendly. When I set up my own company, there was no doubt what colour the machines would be!”

Reliable machines make easy relationships

Thanks to the reliability, high residual value, and consistent quality of Hitachi excavators over the last decade, Brendan has developed a strong working relationship with Hitachi Construction Machinery UK (HCMUK). “I think that if the product is good, the relationship is easy. The sales team is knowledgeable and there when you need them. Representatives of other brands don’t come near me, they know I’m Hitachi through and through, and they’d be wasting their time!”

The latest Zaxis-7 machines are equipped with Leica Geosystems machine control and Engcon tiltrotators, supplied by HCMUK’s Hitachi Connected Technology team. “I like the fact that the machines go to work site-ready,” says Brendan. “We’re not waiting a week for other suppliers to come and calibrate the bucket, for example.”

Brendan is not the only advocate of Hitachi construction equipment within the company – the operators are also enthusiastic about the brand. Tim Philpotts has worked for Shannonside for eight years and was the first to work with the company’s Zaxis-7 models. “I’ve been working with the ZX225USLC-7 since July 2023. It’s versatile enough to fit into any space, but also big enough to make an impact – it’s a small machine with a big attitude!

“The layout of the cab is good, with controls in easy reach – everything is where you need it to be. And the Engcon tiltrotator makes life easier, as less movement of the machine is required, and it makes it quicker to do the work.”