Monroe, Wash. – September 15, 2026 -- HKX, Inc. has released its first Wheel Loader 3rd Spool Auxiliary Field Installable Kits, extending more than three decades of excavator hydraulic work into a new machine category as it targets a factory lead time of 12 to 20 weeks that has left dealers unable to quickly equip machines for attachment work.
Factory lead times of up to 20 weeks push dealers toward field-installable kits
Ordering a wheel loader with auxiliary hydraulics direct from the plant can take 12 to 20 weeks, a delay HKX says leaves dealers with few options when a customer needs a machine to run a grapple, snow blower or broom within a month. The company says its kits can be ordered and installed in a fraction of that time, allowing a dealer to reconfigure inventory already on the lot.
Kits target Komatsu WA200-8 through WA380-8, with WA475-11 coverage to follow
Initial coverage includes the Komatsu WA200-8, WA270-8, WA320-8 and WA380-8, with the WA475-11 model to follow. The kits power mounted tools including rollout buckets, grapples, bucket screeners, snow blowers, brooms, mowers and hammers. Optional jumper hose subkits with quick disconnect terminals are available now, while fourth and fifth spool options remain in development.
Bolt-on valve design leaves OEM control valve untouched
The kits use an external, bolt-on valve design that mounts to existing OEM locations without removing or opening the machine's main control valve. Controls connect directly to the machine's existing joystick and proportional control switch, with flow adjustment made through the operator's own monitor rather than an added cab switch box. Each kit ships pre-assembled with an installation and parts manual, a one-year warranty, lifetime technical support and same-day availability on nearly all replacement parts.
Dealers can stock simpler base machines instead of pre-configured units
HKX says the kits let dealers carry unequipped base machines rather than holding both equipped and unequipped units against uncertain demand. A unit stays sellable to any buyer until it is configured for a specific job, freeing floor plan capacity and reducing the risk of holding a specialized machine with no buyer.
Robert Burnett, vice president and general manager of HKX, said dealers have identified lead time, not hardware availability, as the constraint, and that the kits let a dealer commit to a customer within the month rather than citing a plant schedule.
HKX gathers dealer input to prioritize which loader models get kits next
The wheel loader line joins HKX's existing excavator kit portfolio, which covers multiple machine brands and size classes for breakers, thumbs, shears and rotating tools using the same control integration and parts support. HKX is collecting dealer feedback on which additional wheel loader makes, models and size classes to develop next, with that input set to guide development priorities as the portfolio expands.