The s brought expansion of global operations. In , after a number of incentives from the state of Tennessee, Komatsu purchased a acre empty plant in Chattanooga, a purchase that reflected a decision by the firm to challenge its principal rival, Caterpillar, in its home market.
This move gained Komatsu its first U. Canadian operations expanded as well, as two plants were built in Quebec and Ontario. The year marked expansion in other areas, such as the establishment of two financial subsidiaries in Europe, the marketing of plastics injection molding machinery, and the development of a telephone with a data terminal.
At the same time, the construction market was changing, and Komatsu's sales began to slump. From to , construction equipment sales dropped each year. As a result, the company president, Shoji Nogawa, was dismissed by Chairman Ryoichi Kawai, and changes were instituted. In an international business division was set up in the Tokyo headquarters. The division had three regional groups that were the main focus of the firm's international business operations: the Americas, Europe, and Japan.
The goals of the division included development of joint ventures around the world and overseas purchase of parts. In the company established a new subsidiary, Komatsu Trading International, to increase imports to Japan, in response to the Japanese government's commitment to reduce its trade surplus by importing more foreign products. As a result, logging machinery from Canada, backhoe loaders from Italy, and high-powered motor boats from Norway were brought into Japan for sale in the domestic market under importer agreements between Komatsu and companies in the respective countries.
Also in , Komatsu sharpened its competitive edge in the U. Included within the venture were Komatsu's two U. The combination enabled Komatsu to move assembly of its construction equipment to the United States, using Dresser plants that were running at 50 percent capacity while Komatsu was unable to fill all of its orders.
A new president, Tetsuya Katada, took over in Katada decided that Komatsu's management had been hampered to some extent by the company's goal of catching Caterpillar. Whereas this strategy had worked remarkably well in expanding the company while the global market was growing, now that worldwide demand for construction equipment was down, Komatsu did not have the flexibility to adapt.
Katada believed that the creativity of Komatsu's middle managers had been sacrificed while everyone was concentrating on Caterpillar, and that managers had grown afraid to question the direction of the company.
Katada's solution was to stop comparing Komatsu to Caterpillar. He encouraged managers to think of Komatsu as a "total technology enterprise," and to find new products and markets that fit the wider definition of the company. Komatsu's new goal became the somewhat broader "Growth, Global, Groupwide," with a more concrete aim to double sales by the mids.
Katada's success became clear quickly. Sales had been declining since , but after Katada initiated the new business strategy, sales began to climb again.
Komatsu's nonconstruction business grew by 40 percent between and Nevertheless, the Komatsu Dresser Company lost money, because of deteriorating markets for heavy equipment and problems with the merger.
The Dresser and Komatsu product lines were to remain distinct under the merged company, but this resulted in dealers within the company directly competing with each other. Dresser managers also reported problems communicating with their Komatsu counterparts. This was to some extent remedied when Komatsu began bringing its American employees to Japan to learn more about Japanese culture and work. Steep appreciation of the Japanese yen also ate into Komatsu's profits.
In Komatsu introduced cost-cutting measures, including some cuts in its workforce and streamlining of its manufacturing facilities in Japan. The firm had shown a quick response to the integration of Europe by the European Common Market. British operations included purchase agreements with the British firm of Perkins Engines Ltd. The U. Other parts came from Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany. An additional agreement with the Italian firm of FAI to manufacture under license mini-hydraulic excavators added to a strong European presence.
Komatsu also began expanding its production of large trucks in the United States and Brazil in , and increased its imports of parts from Brazil, South Korea, Indonesia, and China. Komatsu also continued its longstanding relationship with Cummins Engine Company.
In the companies formed two joint ventures to manufacture and sell diesel engines. A Japan-based unit was created to make Cummins' small engines, and a unit based in the United States was formed to produce Komatsu's large engines. There were a number of ownership changes that affected the Komatsu Dresser venture in the early to mids. In August Dresser Industries spun off its industrial businesses, including its 50 percent stake in Komatsu Dresser, to its shareholders, forming Indresco, Inc.
Then in September Komatsu increased its stake in the venture to 81 percent by buying out part of Indresco's interest. Finally, in Komatsu purchased Indresco's remaining stake, taking full control of Komatsu Dresser. In January the U. A key to Komatsu's continued growth was its diversification into new markets, including nonconstruction businesses.
Electronics became Komatsu's second most important business area. To increase its presence in this area, Komatsu made a strategic alliance with Applied Materials, Inc. Komatsu invested tens of millions of dollars in a 50 percent share of a new joint venture with the U.
By the venture, called Applied Komatsu Technology Inc. Meanwhile, in Komatsu expanded into the local area network LAN equipment market by beginning production of two types of hubs and a print server. Komatsu also began to focus more on business ventures related to recycling. Material handling. Special applications. Surface mining. Underground hard rock mining. Underground soft rock mining. Waste solutions. Our locations Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Komatsu facilities, distributors and dealers are in more than countries and directly employ more than 60, people.
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