Hawaiian Cement turns to Liebherr for excavator

By Edited by Kevin Yanik| December 14, 2023

Liebherr USA says it will support Hawaiian Cement with training and development for on-site personnel focused on the operation and mechanics of the R 9150 excavator. Photo: Liebherr

Hawaiian Cement earlier this year became the first end user in Hawaii to receive an excavator from Liebherr.

According to Liebherr USA, it delivered and commissioned an R 9150 excavator with an in-face shovel configuration to Hawaiian Cement. The 150-tonne (165-U.S. ton) excavator was delivered to Hawaiian Cement’s Halawa Valley Quarry in Oahu.

Liebherr USA says Hawaiian Cement is the only cement producer in Hawaii. Thus, on-site productivity and fleet cohesion are vital to the company’s daily activities.

Those factors are among the reasons why Hawaiian Cement selected the R 9150 excavator, according to Liebherr. As the primary digging equipment at the Halawa Valley Quarry, Liebherr says the new excavator has helped to increase productivity by providing a better pass match for the haul trucks in the operation’s existing fleet. With the R 9150, haul trucks can now be filled in three passes rather than the four that were previously needed.

“Because of the R 9150’s class-leading payload capacity and its increased fuel efficiency, we believe that this excavator will be a fantastic asset to help Hawaiian Cement meet its expanded productivity targets,” says Nathan Goerke, regional sales manager for the Southwest and mining at Liebherr USA.

Other details

The Halawa Valley Quarry is capable of producing more than 1 million tons of aggregates and manufactured sand per year, Liebherr says. Those materials are provided to businesses throughout Hawaii, as well as to Hawaiian Cement’s three concrete plants.

For Hawaiian Cement, customer service is one factor that’s critical when selecting vendors. That component played a role in Hawaiian Cement selecting the R 9150.

“Because we’re located on an island, responsiveness is critical to our success,” says Sean Haggerty, vice president of support services at Hawaiian Cement, which is a Knife River Corp. company. “There is no such thing as ‘next day’ for us in Hawaii.”

Information for this article courtesy of Liebherr USA.