Wajax recently let its customers put its new line of Hitachi wheel loaders to the test.
To introduce the new machines, Wajax hosted its first demo day for the wheel loaders at Miller Paving in Richmond Hill, Ont. on Oct. 20.
With Miller Paving as the host, Wajax — the exclusive dealer in North America for Hitachi wheel loaders — was able to give operators the chance to tryout the machines on a variety of material.
“We’ve partnered with Miller in this case. They can run the machines, they can move material and test drive them,” said Richard Perzan, Wajax’s regional sales manager for Ontario. “And they’re not just coming to the demo area jumping on and driving away. They’re getting a proper walk around. If we’re going to take them out of their jobs there has to be value.”
In March, Wajax announced its plan to import the Hitachi wheel loaders from Japan to Canada. In the following months, the company began importing the machines and training its staff on the new product line.
“Hitachi has been one of Wajax’s main brands for about 20 years. It’s good quality and the product is well respected in the marketplace,” Perzan said. “It’s a good alliance we’ve had historically. It makes sense we’re aligned selling those products.”
Wajax variety
While Wajax offers more than a dozen models of Hitachi wheel loaders, Chris Cheney, director of construction and forestry for Wajax, sees the ZW50, ZW180PL and ZW370 as the most popular machines in the company’s lineup.
“The product line, across the board, looks good as far as production and fuel efficiency,” he said. “Those three will be really key sellers for us.”
The ZW50 is a compact loader with a 0.6 to 0.9 cubic metre bucket capacity and a 46 hp engine with a maximum travel speed of 17 km/h.
“I think it creates really good value. You may see customers purchase that model over say a skid steer loader,” Cheney said. “As far as the price point, we feel we can compete in that skid steer market.”
The ZW180 features a 2.5 to 3 cubic metre bucket capacity and a 173 hp engine with a maximum travel speed of 38.5 km/h. Alongside a parallel linkage front end, the loader doesn’t require a DFP filter.
“It meets Canadian regulations. It’s a very simplistic emissions system that I think is going to appeal to the customer base,” Cheney said.
For “pure production,” Hitachi offers the ZW370, which is equipped with a bucket capacity of 3.9 to 5 cubic metre, a 389 hp Isuzu water-cooled turbo engine with a max speed of 39 km/h.
“It’s a workhorse,” Cheney said.
