Hitachi Construction Machinery

Having graduated in law from Waseda University in Tokyo, Mr Yamazawa joined Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (HCM) in 1983, with his first role as a sales representative for the company’s domestic business. After eight years, he was transferred to HCM’s International Division for ten months before a subsequent transfer to the company’s subsidiary in Thailand.

Mr Yamazawa held the positions of Marketing and Sales Manager in Bangkok from 1992 until 1998, and Managing Director of HCM’s Malaysian subsidiary from 2005 to 2010. In between these assignments, he took up various managerial roles at the Tokyo head office within the Asia and Oceania (1998-2000), Mining (2000-02, 2004-05 and 2010-16) and Construction (2002-2004) departments.

He was appointed HCME President in April 2016. He is also the regional CEO of Hitachi Construction Machinery for Europe, the Middle East, and North, West and Central Africa.

As HCME Area Sales Representative/Product Specialist, Joep van den Maagdenberg is responsible for the sales, support and marketing of Hitachi’s compact line machines sold in Europe, ranging from the ZX10U-2 to the ZX85USB-5 excavators and ZW65-6 to ZW95-6 wheel loaders.

Joep has extensive knowledge and experience of the European compact machinery markets and has worked for HCME since 2000, starting in the Domestic Sales department, until he moved to International Sales in 2005. Between 2004 and 2006, Joep led a project to investigate product requirements in Europe for compact machines.

Joep is a member of the promotion and technical committee of the European Rental Association. He speaks fluent Dutch, English, German, Spanish and has a basic knowledge of  French.

As HCME Manager International Sales, Wilbert Blom oversees the sales of Hitachi construction equipment to the dealer network in northern Europe. Based in Amsterdam, he: is responsible for sales of medium excavators (seven to 45 tonnes) and wheel loaders to the UK, Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, France and Switzerland; creates sales budgets and action plans to increase sales; and has a coordinating role for wheel loader sales across Europe.

With nine years of sales and logistics experience at HCME, Wilbert’s expertise is extremely beneficial for advising the Hitachi engineering department on technical developments on current product ranges and requirements for future models. His job also includes maintaining strong working relations with the members of the Hitachi European dealer network and representing HCME at international exhibitions. He speaks fluent English and German in addition to his native tongue (Dutch).

As HCME General Manager Product Management & Engineering, Burkhard Janssen is responsible for the integration of all engineering and product development activities for Hitachi mini and medium excavators, wheel loaders and special application machinery.

One of the main responsibilities of his department is identifying and effectively marketing new products, options and product improvements throughout the product life cycle. Based at HCME’s factory in Amsterdam, Burkhard heads a multinational team.

With more than 20 years’ global experience in the construction equipment industry, Burkhard has gained extensive knowledge and expertise, particularly concerning excavators and demolition machinery. He is a member of the German Demolition Association (Deutscher Abbruchverband) and its committee, Demolition Technology. He holds a diploma in mechanical engineering, as well as degrees in sports and geography from the University of Hanover. Born in Lower Saxony, Germany, Burkhard is a native German speaker and fluent in English.