Established by parent company HD Construction Equipment, the facility will take fully assembled machines directly from the factory, reducing delivery times to the customer and ensuring that the highest quality standards are maintained. Until now, machines destined for UK users had been first delivered to Hyundai’s EUCUP facility in Antwerp for checks.
The site will receive complete machines to satisfy existing dealer orders and for stock. Excavators and wheel loaders that are delivered without booms or loader arms, for specific customer builds, will continue to be delivered to the EUCUP facility, where there are stocks of booms and arms to allow further customisation.
The centre is operated by established international partner Wallenius Wilhelmsen. Machines are received at the facility and power washed to remove any salt and dirt that may have been picked up in transportation. A larger wash bay is already being planned to cope with Hyundai’s growing range of equipment.
Once cleaned, every machine is inspected in detail, with up to 100 photographs taken and stored on a system that can be accessed at any time by Hyundai. The company operates with one inspector per machine, to ensure continuity throughout the process. Any damage to paintwork, or corrosion caused during shipping, is noted and repaired. The facility can handle full panel resprays and it holds decal sets for Hyundai machinery, to replace anything that may have been damaged.
The site has a six-bay workshop, capable of handling any of Hyundai’s machines. Additional lighting around the machines ensures that every scratch or defect can be located and rectified. Again, digital photographs are taken at each stage of the process, to ensure quality standards.
Gillian Schluter, quality lead Europe, has been working to establish the facility. “Everything is done digitally,” he says. “We can track everything back through photographs. We even take photographs of the machines when they are being transported from the site on trucks, to show that they have been lashed down correctly.”
Equipment is shipped directly to the supplying dealer, for individual livery, buckets and other attachments, with any updates to meet individual customer order requirements.
“Dealers remain essential for customer handover, final checks and aftercare support,” adds Schluter. “However, having the PDI completed at the UK centre significantly reduces the dealer workload and speeds up final delivery.”
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