Komatsu

Since 1st April 2019 Ralf Petzold, until then member of the management of Komatsu Germany GmbH, Düsseldorf/Germany, took on the overall management of all three business areas, namely the Mining, Construction and Industries Divisions, as Chairman of the Board. He succeeded Taiichiro Kitatani, who took over a new leadership role in the group headquarters of Komatsu Ltd. in Tokyo/Japan.

The former long-term Chairman of the Board of Komatsu Germany GmbH, Norbert Walther, departed from the management to start his retirement.

On the 1st April 2019 Ansgar Thole was appointed as the Managing Director and Executive Vice President of the Mining Division. Thole was previously responsible for the areas of production control, purchasing, logistics and cost control in the mining division as Vice President and Supply Chain Manager.

Following an invitation by Komatsu Germany GmbH, Düsseldorf/Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia´s State Minister for Economic Affairs, Digitalisation, Innovation and Energy Prof. Andreas Pinkwart visited on 22nd August 2018 the Kalkwerke Oetelshofen quarry in Wuppertal. Together with the members of the company management of Komatsu Germany GmbH, Taiichiro Kitatani, Ralf Petzold and Göksel Güner, the minister learned about the use of digital technologies in modern mining operations, e. g., with data acquisition and analysis on a construction site of the future. At the same time, the minister was also given the opportunity to operate a 400 t hydraulic excavator (Figure 1) in the quarry.

Prof. Pinkwart: „This visit offers for me the unique opportunity, to operate one of the world’s biggest hydraulic excavators by myself and to experience the strength of this machine. I really appreciate that this impressive technology is manufactured in Düsseldorf. By means of innovative production technique and digital product development network the most modern machines of the world are made in North Rhine-Westphalia.“

In the future, Komatsu Germany GmbH will be able to react even faster and more flexibly to customer requirements due to strengthened cooperation between the two sites in the fields of production and development. And with this step, the brand Komatsu will also become stronger in Germany and Europe.

The site in Düsseldorf-Benrath is responsible within the Komatsu group for the development, production and marketing of large hydraulic excavators for international mining. Through continuous product development and innovation with a focus on quality and reliability, the name is synonymous with top quality around the world.

Further information:
Komatsu Germany GmbH
www.komatsu.eu
www.komatsu-mining.de

Komatsu is one of the leading construction equipment manufacturers globally with its head office in Tokyo/Japan and employs around 47,000 employees in 140 companies worldwide. In Germany, the company is active in both the construction equipment sector and in the mining business.

Komatsu Hanomag was founded in 1835 as the “Hannoversche Maschinenbau Actien-gesellschaft” (HANOMAG) and has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global corporation Komatsu Ltd. since 2002. At the Hanover site, wheel loaders and mobile excavators are developed and produced. The workforce in Hanover consists of around 600 employees.

Founded in 1907, Komatsu Mining Germany GmbH can also look back on a long company history, and it has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Komatsu since 1999. In Düsseldorf, large hydraulic excavators are developed, produced and marketed worldwide by around 700 employees.

The merger will allow cooperation between the two sites to be optimised, so that the company can respond to customer requests more quickly and with greater flexibility in future. This move will also strengthen the Komatsu brand in Germany and in Europe.

Further information/Weitere Informationen:
Komatsu Germany GmbH
www.komatsu-mining.de