On September 10–11, the first LANDCROS European Operator Challenge final was held at the Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe headquarters in Amsterdam, featuring national selection winners from Lithuania, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Italy.
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Operators completed eight different tasks using tracked and wheeled excavators as well as wheeled loaders. Not only speed was evaluated – each event could earn up to 100 points: 40 for speed, 50 for accuracy, and 10 for equipment handling skills. Penalties were given for mistakes, and safety rule violations could lead to disqualification.
The European champion was Belgium’s representative Guy Jacobs. He and the runner-up from the Netherlands, Tjerk Segers, scored the same number of points, so the winner was decided by faster task completion. The third place went to Portuguese Márcio Romão.
10-meter trench – only 20 mm deviation
Lithuania was represented in the European final by Litvar company operator Sergej Fronskij. He earned the right to compete in Amsterdam by winning the Lithuanian LANDCROS selection organized by the loading, warehousing, and other specialized equipment company Alwark during the RESTA exhibition in Vilnius in April.
The Lithuanian representative performed best in the trench digging event. Operators had to dig a trench approximately 10 meters long with a target depth of 75 cm. The depth was measured at several points, and the smaller the deviation from the set size, the more accuracy points were awarded.
S. Fronskij deviated only 20 mm from the set 75 cm target. This was the best result among all nine European finalists and allowed the Lithuanian to win the trench digging event.
He also did well in another precision task, where he had to arrange the letters LANDCROS with an excavator – he missed a perfect score by one fallen letter.
“All events were very interesting. Some seemed quite simple at first glance, but once you started performing them, it became clear that everything was much more complicated. It required not only accuracy but also quick adaptation to different equipment and tasks. I return with good experience and promise myself to dedicate more time to improving technical skills,” says S. Fronskij.
A versatile operator needs more than experience with one type of equipment
According to Vaidotas Kviklys, marketing manager at Alwark who participated in the final, such competitions differ from everyday operator work in that it is not enough to master just one type of equipment.
“Sergej’s strength is extensive experience working with excavators, which we clearly saw in the trench digging event. However, in the championship, operators have to switch from one machine to another and adapt to it in a very short time. At the same time, they need to think about speed, accuracy, and safety. This is a completely different challenge than daily work with well-known equipment,” says V. Kviklys.
Two final events were performed with wheeled loaders. In one, participants had to complete an obstacle course, and in the other, load a specified weight of material as accurately as possible and transport it. According to V. Kviklys, this was the area where the Lithuanian representative lacked experience the most.
“The overall placement does not tell the whole story in this case. Winning the trench digging event showed Sergej’s very high professional level working with an excavator. At the same time, the final clearly revealed the broad preparation required for a versatile operator – the ability to quickly understand different equipment and control it precisely even when you don’t work with it daily,” notes V. Kviklys.
Lithuania among the first European final participants
The first European LANDCROS final took place at the Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe central headquarters in Amsterdam. Hitachi Construction Machinery is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of construction and quarry equipment, and from April 2027, the company will change its name to LANDCROS Corporation.
According to V. Kviklys, not only S. Fronskij’s result was important but also Lithuania’s participation in the first European final of this format.
“It’s great that Lithuania was among the nine European countries from the very first championship that had their representatives here. Lithuania’s name was visible at the Hitachi Construction Machinery European headquarters, and Sergej even won one of the events. Such competitions also very well show the level of equipment operators we have in Lithuania – when the result of a ten-meter-long trench is determined by only 20 millimeters, you understand how much accuracy, experience, and equipment sensitivity this work requires. We bring back new task and evaluation ideas from Amsterdam that we will be able to apply in organizing operator competitions in Lithuania in the future,” says V. Kviklys.
Alwark is the official Hitachi Construction Machinery partner in Lithuania and the organizer of the Lithuanian LANDCROS selection.
About Alwark
Alwark Group is an international group of equipment and industrial solutions companies operating in the Baltic States and Ukraine. The group sells, rents, and services new and used loading, warehousing, port, construction, quarry, municipal, and other specialized equipment, supplies spare parts, and provides service, intralogistics, and automation solutions.
Alwark Group represents 32 international equipment manufacturers and brands, including Linde, Konecranes Lift Trucks, Mantsinen, Bucher, Hitachi, Fuchs, Terberg, Knapp, and others.
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