Komatsu Germany manufacturing merger

2300 Komatsu is merging its manufacturing operations in Germany. The Komatsu Hanomag (KOHAG) plant in Hanover and the Komatsu Mining Germany facility in Düsseldorf are to merge. Both factories will remain but they will be operated jointly as Komatsu Germany. The Hanover factory specialises in making wheeled loaders and Komatsu bought the German Hanomag firm in the late 1980s. Meanwhile the Düsseldorf plant makes large mining shovels and Komatsu bought the facility and the product range, formerly Demag, in the 1990s.

According to Komatsu the merger will optimise operations between the two sites. The firm says that this will allow the company to respond to customer requests more quickly and with greater versatility in future. This move will also strengthen the Komatsu brand in Germany and in Europe. The management board of the new company is composed of Dr Norbert Walther, Taiichiro Kitatani, Göksel Güner and Takeshi Asanuma.