160
1963 Joined Komatsu Ltd. after graduation from Osaka City University in
Engineering
1989 Director
1990 COO of Komatsu Dresser Company (Currently Komatsu America Corp.)
1999 Executive Vice President
2001 President
2007 Chairman & Representative Director of the Board
2010 Chairman of the Board
2013 Director and Councilor
2013 Councilor
Komiyama I see.
Sakane There are plenty of customers, so we sell a lot in Japan, but we don’t make
money. To put it very bluntly, in order to survive in Japan, we are selling machinery
as a service. On the other hand, for giant mines in Chile and Australia, Komatsu
develops transport systems with driverless dump trucks, and they are a big factor in
improving the mine operations. They bring significant added value for the customer,
in safety as well as productivity, and the returns for us are significant too. In order
to bring the solutions that work for that type of worksite into construction sites in
general, our first step was the SMARTCONSTRUCTION initiative that began in
Japan in 2015. You see, the work at almost any civil engineering site is managed
with two-dimensional drawings, which means the terrain is not accurately understood. Komatsu built capability for 3-D surveys, using drones. With the depth
dimension added, we rolled out smart, semi-automated machinery for general construction use. That alone immensely speeded up the completion of construction
jobs. Now we’ve moved on to issues like efficiently scheduling the arrival of the
Masahiro Sakane, Councilor, Komatsu Ltd.
Interview
1963 Joined Komatsu Ltd. after graduation from Osaka City University in
Engineering
1989 Director
1990 COO of Komatsu Dresser Company (Currently Komatsu America Corp.)
1999 Executive Vice President
2001 President
2007 Chairman & Representative Director of the Board
2010 Chairman of the Board
2013 Director and Councilor
2013 Councilor
Komiyama I see.
Sakane There are plenty of customers, so we sell a lot in Japan, but we don’t make
money. To put it very bluntly, in order to survive in Japan, we are selling machinery
as a service. On the other hand, for giant mines in Chile and Australia, Komatsu
develops transport systems with driverless dump trucks, and they are a big factor in
improving the mine operations. They bring significant added value for the customer,
in safety as well as productivity, and the returns for us are significant too. In order
to bring the solutions that work for that type of worksite into construction sites in
general, our first step was the SMARTCONSTRUCTION initiative that began in
Japan in 2015. You see, the work at almost any civil engineering site is managed
with two-dimensional drawings, which means the terrain is not accurately understood. Komatsu built capability for 3-D surveys, using drones. With the depth
dimension added, we rolled out smart, semi-automated machinery for general construction use. That alone immensely speeded up the completion of construction
jobs. Now we’ve moved on to issues like efficiently scheduling the arrival of the
Masahiro Sakane, Councilor, Komatsu Ltd.
Interview