Ground-breaking investment in Israel

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) and its official dealer, CMD, have supplied six EH3500ACII rigid dump trucks to a phosphate mine in Israel. The order by Rotem Amfert Negev Ltd represented the largest sale of mobile plant equipment in the country’s history.

The trucks were delivered to the Mishor Rotem Mine, near the Negev Desert, in April and began production in May. They are used to remove overburden, and haul the phosphate to storage areas, the crusher and processing plant at the mine. "The trucks are scheduled to complete 6,400 working hours a year, doing three shifts per day, working in ambient temperatures exceeding 40°C," explains HCME Manager of Heavy Equipment Sales Malcolm Edwards.

Rotem Amfert Negev Ltd ordered the new models from Hitachi to update its fleet of Euclid trucks, three of which began working in 1986 and had more than 100,000 working hours. "Rotem chose Hitachi because it could offer the lowest owning and operating cost, and its own electronics for the truck’s drive system – it is a one-stop shop that is unique to the industry," says Malcolm. "They also saw the successful operation of the EH3500ACII trucks working at the Talvivaara nickel mine in Finland in temperatures as low as -32°C and as high as 35°C."

HCME and CMD provided training for 90 operators, who will keep the trucks moving 24/7. CMD was also involved in the partial assembly of the machines and one of its engineers will remain on site for two years to perform routine maintenance and supply spare parts. "Rotem has a good working relationship with CMD and they are happy with the support they have received over the past years," says Malcolm.

Senior management from Rotem and its parent company, ICL, joined representatives of HCME, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (HCM) and CMD in a special handover ceremony for the trucks in April.

Speaking at the presentation, Kiyomitsu Yamanaka, Special Advisor for HCM, said: "Since Hitachi gained ownership of Euclid in 2001, it has introduced new AC drive technologies, as seen in the EH3500ACII. These and other innovations will enable Hitachi to become further established as a world leader in the design and production of large rigid dump trucks."