This study examines Komatsu’s activities in Europe, and is an update of the profile last published by Off-Highway Research in May 2016.

Komatsu has continued to grow its construction, mining and utility equipment sales and profitability in Europe over the past two fiscal years, during which time it has benefited from continued low energy costs in Japan, and a favourable exchange rate between the Euro and the Japanese Yen. However, it has had to overcome supply chain constraints during that period, especially with engines, and as a result the company has lost market share in some sectors, in particular skid-steer loaders.

Looking at the period between 2018 and 2022, Komatsu raised its construction equipment unit sales by an average annual rate of 7 per cent, while achieving a market share between 5 and 6 per cent in the European region. With a share of over 30 per cent in crawler dozers, and around 50 per cent in rigid dump trucks, it is among the market leaders, while it has an 8 per cent share in the high volume crawler excavator and wheeled loader sectors.

The European headquarters of Komatsu Europe International n.v. (KEISA) is based in Vilvoorde, on the outskirts of Brussels. Its regional manufacturing footprint includes Komatsu Italia Manufacturing S.p.A. (KIM) in Este, Italy, where it produces crawler excavator models in the 8 to 20 tonne range, two standard wheeled excavators of 10 and 14 tonnes and mini excavators, while Komatsu UK (KUK) focuses on standard crawler excavators of 22 tonnes and above. Komatsu Germany GmbH (Construction Division) in Hanover concentrates on the production of wheeled excavators of 14 to 22 tonnes and a range of wheeled loaders.

As part of its corporate strategy, the European region is regarded as the company’s traditional market. Komatsu emphasises on topics such as digital transformation and the development of automation and carbon neutrality. Whilst it has already developed new hybrid and electrification technologies, the manufacturer acknowledges the challenges ahead of electric charging along with associated costs for operators. As part of its sourcing strategy, the company is increasingly establishing supply chains which can prove to be more resilient to change by increasing the ratio of procurement from multiple sources.

Looking at its structure of distribution, Komatsu still maintains wholly owned sales subsidiaries in France, Spain, and Poland, although most of the territory is in the hands of independent distributors. Among these are a series of multi-national partners, some of which have steadily increased the size and number of territories where they market Komatsu products.