Countries across the Middle East and North Africa don’t all pick the same hydraulic breaker models.
In the UAE, Oman and Morocco, Soosan SB breakers are the mainstream pick, while Furukawa HB units rarely show up on job sites. This gap does not mean one product outperforms the other. It comes down to long-term brand distribution, local job site conditions, repair costs and import trading habits. Let’s break down the key reasons one by one.
1. Soosan built an early foothold in Gulf and North African markets
Soosan is one of South Korea’s earliest hydraulic breaker manufacturers. Back in the 1990s, the brand set up dealer networks in Dubai, Muscat and Casablanca. Local machinery shops and spare parts stores across these three markets have stocked SB series parts for decades.
Furukawa entered this region nearly ten years later. The brand focused most of its resources on large-scale mining projects in Saudi Arabia, ignoring small-to-medium municipal jobs popular in the UAE and Morocco. Rental firms and local contractors have relied on SB breakers for years, and they’re unwilling to switch to unfamiliar HB units that require new maintenance know-how.
2. Soosan SB matches local construction and quarry working conditions
Most jobs in the UAE and Oman involve city expansion, road renovation and building demolition. Morocco’s main projects are highway construction and shallow aggregate quarrying. Large hard granite mines are extremely rare in all three markets.
The SB line features a built-in integrated valve block with powerful single-strike impact force. It’s simple to take apart and works great for breaking concrete and soft stone. Fewer sealing points mean less oil leakage when temperatures hit over 40°C in desert areas.
Furukawa HB hammers use an external separate valve setup with more sealing spots, which leads to higher leak risks in hot, dusty environments. HB models shine with continuous heavy-duty crushing on hard rock — a demand barely seen in UAE, Oman and Morocco. Local buyers don’t get much value out of the HB’s core strengths.
Why do the UAE, Oman, and Morocco prefer the Soosan SB series hydraulic breakers over the Furukawa HB series?
3. Cheaper, easier-to-source spare parts lower downtime
Spare parts for Soosan SB breakers are widely available everywhere in the UAE and Morocco. Chisels, bushings and seal kits stay in stock at local machinery stores, so repairs never stall construction for long.
Furukawa HB spare parts have a much smaller local footprint. Most stock must be shipped overseas, and component prices run 20% to 40% higher than equivalent SB parts. The HB hydraulic circuit design is also more complex; few local mechanics have the training to service Furukawa hammers properly. For rental shop owners, long repair waits cut directly into profits.
4. Import and second-hand excavator supply chains push SB sales
Large volumes of used excavators imported into the UAE and Morocco come straight from South Korea, factory-fitted with Soosan SB breakers. This creates a standard matching set that contractors stick with.
Trading companies based in Yiwu that serve Gulf and North African clients also prioritize Soosan SB units. SB stock is abundant, factory prices sit lower, and full-container shipments deliver better profit margins for exporters. Furukawa HB carries higher base costs, leaving less room for traders to compete locally.
5. Rental business economics favor lower-cost SB breakers
Equipment rental competition stays fierce across the UAE and Oman. Business owners aim to cut upfront purchase costs and ongoing maintenance fees to recoup investments faster.
SB breakers carry lower price tags and cheaper replacement parts. Furukawa HB sits at a premium price point, only viable for well-funded large mining firms — a customer base that barely exists in UAE, Oman and Morocco.
Quick market comparison: Why Furukawa HB sells well in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia hosts massive hard rock mines and megaprojects like NEOM, requiring round-the-clock crushing of tough stone. These sites leverage the HB series’ steady high-frequency impact power. Major Saudi construction firms hold bigger budgets and care less about maintenance expenses, making HB and SB equally common there.
On the other hand, UAE, Oman and Morocco focus on small demolition and shallow quarry jobs, creating a market heavily tilted toward affordable, easy-to-repair Soosan SB hydraulic breakers.
Zhengzhou Hanyun – A Professional Chinese OEM Manufacturer of Hydraulic Breakers
Zhengzhou Hanyun has long specialized in the R&D and manufacturing of hydraulic breakers. We primarily produce Soosan SB-series and Furukawa HB-series hydraulic breakers and provide OEM services to clients worldwide.
As a manufacturer covering the entire production chain, we independently produce core components—such as breaker housings, cylinder sections (front, middle, and rear), pistons, inner and outer bushings, retaining pins, and chisels—allowing us to control product quality and production costs right from the source.
Our factory is equipped with advanced machinery, including South Korean Doosan 805 machining centers and Austrian Aichelin heat treatment furnaces. We also maintain long-term partnerships with premium domestic raw material suppliers to ensure consistent machining precision, wear resistance, and product longevity.
Whether our clients are based in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, or Europe, we tailor our recommendations to local market characteristics, suggesting the most suitable SB-series or HB-series hydraulic breakers. Our goal is to help distributors enhance their market competitiveness and foster long-term, stable partnerships.
