Based in Ulfborg, Vestjysk Kloak & Anlaeg (VKA) has recently expanded on its utilities experience by taking on more climate protection projects in response to Denmark’s extreme rainfall. Due to this shift to new projects and an increased workload, the company requires larger equipment that is both versatile and reliable. Company director Bjarne Korsdal Nielsen explains: “We require both an extra effort from our 35 employees, and that our machinery operates at the highest level.” 

As VKA’s projects get larger and more complex, “it is natural that the machinery keeps up with size,” says Nielsen. The recent acquisition of a ZX300LC-7 medium excavator means the company can stay on top of its busy workload. “We want to be as flexible as possible, so we had no doubt that the next machine we invested in would be another 32-tonne Hitachi.” 

In addition to their five large excavators and smaller 15 to 16-tonne machines, VKA chose the ZX300LC-7 because of its capacity. “The pipes we lay in the cities are getting bigger and the excavations are deeper,” says Nielsen. “Smaller excavators will not become redundant – but the bigger a machine you can use for a task, the cheaper it is to solve, so this new investment makes us more flexible and economical.”

To bolster climate protection outside of cities, VKA is also building artificial lakes or basins to store water. “This prevents several thousand litres of rainwater per second from flowing into the watercourses and damaging the water environment,” says Nielsen. The water from the artificial lakes will then seep back into the ground via smaller pipes when dry weather returns. 

These projects not only function as essential climate protection but are popular as well. “Everybody likes to live by the water!” Says Nielsen. “We are happy that we can bring joy out of something that is a technical necessity, and help Denmark achieve greater sustainability as part of the green transition.”

With more projects and a larger range of machinery in their fleet, fast and experienced customer service makes a huge difference for VKA: 

“One weekend we had a problem that damaged one of our machines. I sent pictures to HPE and by 8:30 AM on the following Monday, a service technician came to look at the machine – before lunch we already had a plan of when we could be using it again! HPE are 100% aware that we cannot afford downtime, so we have once again been confirmed in our decision to trade with them.” 

Thanks to HPE’s rapid service turnaround and firm understanding of VKA’s needs, an issue that could have halted construction was solved quickly and with complete transparency. As Bjarne Korsdal Nielsen puts it: “We know we can get the help we need, when we need it!”