Digging for success Komatsu Italia Manufacturing

DIGGING FOR SUCCESS

As Italy’s second-largest producer of earth-moving machinery, Komatsu Italia Manufacturing SpA is expanding its range of products and geographical markets while always maintaining the highest quality, as Barbara Rossi finds out from managing director Enrico Prandini.

Komatsu Italia Manufacturing SpA is part of the Japanese-headquartered Komatsu Group. Specifically, it is part of the European division of the group, which comprises one company in the UK, two in Germany and one in Sweden. Recently the group has also acquired a specialist in quick coupler and attachment manufacturing – the German company Lehnhoff. At group level production is organised into three main categories: Utility, Construction and Mining. The Utility range features small and medium machines (ie. up to 12 tonnes), while the upper limit for the Constructions models is 50 tonnes and Mining offers machinery above this limit.

Komatsu Italia Manufacturing employs almost 400 people and the 2016 turnover is expected to be close to €200 million. It operates from a sole plant in Este, near Padua, in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. This area also hosts its warehouse, which is located near Vicenza (Noventa Vicentina). The company’s facilities already have the potential to accommodate a doubling of production.

Mr Prandini explains, “Komatsu Italia Manufacturing is specialised in machines from one to 12 tonnes, therefore we mainly (but not exclusively) manufacture for the Utility category. Our main range of products features mini excavators, midi excavators, backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders. However, in the last three years we have added two larger excavators belonging to the Construction category to our range: the hydraulic models PC170LC and PC138US. Another recently launched product is the PW98 midi-excavator, which will be followed by a similar, but larger, model. Many other models are also in the pipeline.

“Our qualitative standards are well above average, and this obviously puts an extra demand on our suppliers. Our relationship with them is very close. The fact that they are our partners is fundamental for a company with more than 130 suppliers, such as Komatsu Italia Manufacturing. Some of the products and components we purchase come from Japan and with regard to these quality checks and supplier selection are conducted at group level. We have to create and maintain similar quality and reliability standards for local purchases, in other words for European suppliers. With our strategic suppliers we have recently signed partnership agreements, which ensure mutual growth in terms of production volumes and quality. These agreements go beyond simple supply contracts and include the training of their staff at our premises and the presence of our staff at their premises to offer help and support.”

Increasing efficiency

“There are two paths that can followed to improve performance: a production capacity increase or an improvement in production efficiency. We have really focused on improving efficiency and have invested several million euros in two main areas: a new painting plant and a new assembly line. Our new painting plant is one of the most advanced in Italy and it allows us to carry out in-house painting of all the components used in our machines. We paint the interior and exterior of our components prior to machine assembly. This means that even the hidden parts of our machines are properly protected, because they have been painted before assembly. Another advan-

tage of this new painting plant, which we have built from scratch over a few thousand square metres at our Este site, is that we can decide what we want to paint, therefore maintaining a very high degree of painting flexibility. Thanks to this plant we take care of the whole production process, from raw materials or components to the final product. We start with components that we produce or are supplied to us, and then proceed to clean, process, dry, treat and paint them. Finally, this painting plant offers maximum levels of workplace safety and environmental friendliness.

“The new assembly line is the most innovative in Europe. It is a continuous variable movement assembly line, which means that speed can be changed according to the products to be assembled.

Instead of using rollers, it employs a plastic support system, including for the belt conveyor. The belt conveyor is five metres wide and 75 metres long. Cranes move at the same speed as the belt, and so does the machine’s lubricant filling system. This is a real advantage in terms of preventing spillages. Moreover, this assembly line features a very low energy consumption level. I would say that this is close to that of a washing machine! In fact, some of the energy used is recuperated through one of the line’s engines.”

Market outreach

The company mainly serves the earth moving and residential construction sectors thanks to its utility products. It is increasingly offering tool carrier, multi-purpose machines, rather than simple excavators. Part of the quick couplers and attachments used in its tools carriers are supplied by Lehnhoff, the German quick coupler and attachment specialist recently acquired by the Komatsu group.

Geographically Komatsu Italia Manufacturing’s domestic market is Europe. This is also its main market and will continue to be so in the future. This means that the mission of its European-based companies is mainly that of serving the European market. However, Komatsu Italia Manufacturing is increasingly supplying non-European markets through the existing Komatsu Group global distribution network. This mainly happens for backhoe loaders and steer skid loaders, of which it is the sole producer for the whole group. While Africa has always been an important market for the Italian-based company, Latin America and South East Asia are also rapidly expanding. Thanks to the new products it is launching, the company will also increase its market penetration in Europe.

“Our mission is to focus on machines under 20 tonnes, because otherwise we would invade the markets of our Komatsu sister companies. We aim to return to our pre-recession production volumes and turnovers and we are on track to achieve this. At group level the Komatsu strategy is increasingly focused on developing smart machines, which can be used, even in complex jobs, by operators with limited experience. I am also very proud of the fact that for several years health and safety and human resources have been central to our philosophy. We consider our staff to be an irreplaceable asset of our company and a key ingredient to our success.” n