Keyway has so far taken delivery of 34 of the new machines, ranging from 1 tonne to 21 tonnes. The remainder will be delivered over the next few months.
This order will take the total number of Hitachi machines in Keyway鈥檚 fleet to 120.
The hire firm was established by Eamonn McGurk in 1966. His two sons, Eamonn and Brian, and grandsons, Eamonn Jr and Patrick, are now responsible for the business. Several other members of the McGurk family are also involved, including Brian鈥檚 two sons, Ryan and Gerard.
The company specialises in operated and self-drive plant hire. It also supplies aggregates, and offers earthmoving, demolition and recycling, transport and waste removal services.
Keyway has been buying Hitachi machines for more than 17 years. 鈥淚 first noticed the benefits of Hitachi excavators when we worked on the construction of the Cirencester bypass in 1995,鈥 Eamonn McGurk said. 鈥淚t was a large project and I saw how perfectly the two EX300s performed 鈥 they were user-friendly, so the operators weren鈥檛 fatigued, and really amazing to watch. We were able to move 500 truck loads of earth a day on this project, a total that has yet to be beaten.鈥
He added: 鈥淔or me, Hitachi is like the Mercedes of the excavator world: the machines do exactly what they鈥檙e designed to do, and they do it with style. I think they are among the best in the construction industry.鈥
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