Hitachi Redraws Its West African Map: MDA In, SMT Out, and a Direct Presence for Mining

HCME splits the region between two dealers and will run mining in Morocco and Mauritania itself

Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe (HCME) is reorganising how its machines reach customers across Northwest and Central West Africa. The plan brings in a new dealer, widens the territory of an existing one and, for mining, puts Hitachi’s own people on the ground.

The changes follow the end of the current arrangement with SMT, which will stop acting as authorised Hitachi dealer in the affected territories at the end of the year. HCME thanked SMT for its partnership and its work developing the Hitachi business across Africa, and said the two are working together on a smooth transition.

Two dealers, 23 countries

Machinery Distribution in Africa (MDA) becomes the authorised dealer for Hitachi Construction Equipment in 13 countries: Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali. HCME says MDA will provide sales, aftermarket support, parts distribution and technical services across these markets.

Movicortes, already part of the HCME network, gets a larger territory. Its Hitachi dealership will extend to Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe. HCME points to the dealer’s reputation for customer support, technical expertise and operational excellence, and says the expansion shows confidence in its capabilities.

HCME will establish a direct presence in Morocco and Mauritania to manage and support the business itself, with dedicated support for mining customers.

It describes this as part of a strategic focus on mining, meant to strengthen customer engagement and technical responsiveness.

Construction equipment in those two countries will stay with Movicortes under the current market structure and the proposed expanded dealership arrangement.

HCME lists best-in-class equipment solutions, strong aftermarket support, genuine parts availability, technical expertise and training, and long-term regional investment. It says it will work with MDA and Movicortes to ensure there is no disruption to customer operations.

“This transition marks an important step in strengthening our presence across Africa,” the company said, welcoming MDA and expanding its partnership with Movicortes into additional markets.

The handover falls at year end, so the real test is the first months of 2027: how quickly MDA builds parts stock and service capacity in 13 countries, and how smoothly SMT’s customers move across. The release gives no figures on machine parks, workshops or investment.

Hitachi Redraws Its West African Map: MDA In, SMT Out, and a Direct Presence for Mining published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.