Komatsu

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Komatsu Limited 株式会社小松製作所

Type	Public (TYO: 6301 )
Founded	Jan, 1917 (Komatsu Iron Works)
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Masahiro Sakane, President and CEO
Industry	Heavy machinery
Products	Construction equipment Mining Equipment Industrial machinery
Revenue	$13.41 billion USD Consolidated (2004/2005) $4.89 billion USD Non-Consolidated (2004/2005)
Employees	33,008 (Consolidated) 5,666 (Non Consolidated)
Website	http://www.komatsu.com/

For the city called Komatsu in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, see Komatsu, Ishikawa.

Komatsu Limited (株式会社小松製作所, Kabushiki-gaisha Komatsu Seisakusho^?) or Komatsu (コマツ) (TYO: 6301 ) is a Japanese company that manufactures construction and mining equipment, silicon wafers, lasers, and thermoelectric modules.

Its headquarters is at 2-3-6, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Its name was taken after the current city of Komatsu, Ishikawa at the company's foundation there in 1917. Its main plants are located in the city.

Komatsu makes the largest bulldozer in the world, the D575.

[edit] History

Komatsu Iron Works was started by Takeuchi Mining Industry as a subsidiary to make industrial tools for the parent company. Komatsu eventually became large enough to sell to the public, and was spun off on 1921-05-13 as Komatsu Ltd.

Komatsu produced its first tractor prototype in 1932. Through the 1930s, Komatsu also produced military tractors for the Japanese military. After World War II, Komatsu added bulldozers and forklifts to its line of equipment, and by 1957 was advanced enough technologically that all of its models were also using Komatsu engines.

Komatsu began exporting its products in the 1960s, looking to counteract the postwar image of Japanese products as being cheap and poorly made, and entered the U.S. market in July 1967, taking on Caterpillar, the world's largest bulldozer maker, in its home market.

Komatsu and Dresser Industries established Komatsu Dresser to make mining tractors and related equipment. This 50-50 ownership lasted from September 1988 to August 1994, when Komatsu bought out Dresser's share, and Komatsu's mining products were consolidated under the name Komatsu Mining Systems in 1997. To prevent brand name confusion during corporate changes, the name "Haulpak" is used for the product line Komatsu began with Dresser.