Eliminate months of lead time with HKX’s first kit for wheel loaders

HKX, Inc., Hydraulic Kits for Excavators, the construction equipment division of Multi Parts Solutions (MPS), has released a new line of Wheel Loader 3rd Spool Auxiliary Field Installable Kits, giving equipment dealers and owners a way to add attachment capability to wheel loaders already on the lot or in the fleet — this is the company's first kit line developed for wheel loaders, extending more than three decades of auxiliary hydraulic work on excavators into a new machine category.

HKX is improving uptime for wheel loader owners 

The kits address a timing problem familiar to any dealer. Ordering a wheel loader with auxiliary hydraulics from the factory can mean a plant lead time of 12 to 20 weeks. A dealer with a customer who needs a machine to run a grapple, snow blower, or broom next month has had few options other than waiting. Instead, an HKX kit can be ordered and installed in a fraction of that time, letting a dealer configure a machine already in inventory for the work in front of it.

The kits change what a dealer needs to stock. Rather than holding equipped and unequipped units side by side and guessing at demand, a dealer can carry simpler base machines and add capability when the needs arise. The same unit remains available to any buyer until the moment it is configured, which frees up floor plan and reduces the risk of holding a specialized machine no one wants.

The kits power a wide range of mounted tools, including rollout buckets, grapples, bucket screeners, snow blowers, brooms, mowers and hammers. Coverage at release includes the Komatsu WA200-8, WA270-8, WA320-8, and WA380-8, with the WA475-11 to follow. Optional jumper hose subkits with quick disconnect terminals are available, and fourth and fifth spool options are in development.

Expanding options for dealers 

The kits use a bolt-on external valve design that mounts to existing OEM locations, so the machine's main control valve is never removed or opened. Plug and play controls connect to the machine's existing joystick and proportional control switch, with flow adjustment made through the operator's own monitor rather than an added switch box in the cab. Adjustable relief protection is provided on the added function. Each kit ships pre-assembled with a complete installation and parts manual, backed by a one-year warranty, lifetime technical support and same-day availability on nearly all replacement parts.

HKX is asking dealers to help shape what comes next. The company is actively gathering input on which machine makes, models, and size classes should be developed first, and dealers with wheel loader demand in their markets are encouraged to weigh in. That feedback will directly inform development priorities as the portfolio expands.

"Dealers have told us for years that lead time is the constraint, not the hardware," said Robert Burnett, vice president and general manager of HKX. "A loader sitting on the lot is a versatile machine if you can equip it quickly. These kits let a dealer say yes to a customer this month instead of pointing at a plant schedule, and they let that dealer stock a simpler machine that stays sellable to everyone."