| 1917 |
Established Komatsu Iron Works, the parent company of Komatsu, to manufacture mining machinery for Yusenji Copper Mine. With the belief to promote industry in rural areas and develop industry, and driven by the high aspiration that "Good products know no borders," we started manufacturing with the founding principles of overseas expansion, quality first, technological innovation, and human resource development. |
| 1917-01-01 |
Takeuchi Mining Co. (founded in 1894), established Komatsu Iron Works, producing machinery for company use and mining equipment |
| 1921 |
Anticipating the closure of Yusenji Copper Mine, we separated from Komatsu Iron Works and established Komatsu Ltd. |
| 1921-05-01 |
Komatsu Iron Works separated from Takeuchi Mining Co. and established Komatsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |
| 1924 |
Started as a press manufacturer |
| 1931 |
Completion of Japan's first domestically produced tractor |
| 1931-10-01 |
Completion of Japan's first domestically produced agricultural tractor |
| 1934-07-01 |
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (initial price 85 yen 50 sen) |
| 1935-10-01 |
Started research and manufacturing of high-grade castings and special steel materials |
| 1938-05-01 |
Atsu Factory established |
| 1941-11-01 |
Started production of large hydraulic forming presses |
| 1943 |
The original domestic bulldozer "G40" |
| 1943-01-01 |
Produced the prototype of domestically produced bulldozer "Komatsu Type 1 Leveling Machine" |
| 1947-12-01 |
Completion of the first D50 bulldozer |
| 1948-02-01 |
Started production of diesel engines |
| 1952-10-01 |
Started production of motor graders |
| 1953-01-01 |
Started production of forklifts |
| 1953-11-01 |
Started production of dump trucks and special vehicles |
| 1955-01-01 |
Signed export contract for motor graders to Argentina (first construction machinery export) |
| 1955-08-01 |
Established "Komatsu Mountain Construction Machinery Company" in China |
| 1956-09-01 |
Started production of shovel loaders |
| 1956-10-01 |
Exhibited at the Japan Product Fair in Beijing and Shanghai, signed first construction machinery export contract to China |
| 1960 |
To counter the entry of American construction equipment manufacturers into Japan, we launched a company-wide A (Maru A) quality improvement project aimed at enhancing bulldozer quality, and successfully produced mass-produced vehicles within a short period of over two years through quality control activities (QC activities), creating vehicles of world-class quality. |
| 1961-09-01 |
Implemented company-wide Quality Control (QC) |
| 1962-12-01 |
Koyama Factory established |
| 1963-06-01 |
Market introduction of medium-sized ICT bulldozer equipped with the world's first automatic blade control function |
| 1964-11-01 |
Receiving the Deming Award Implementation Award |
| 1964-12-01 |
Establishment of a joint venture with International Harvester in the United States (dissolved in January 1982) |
| 1965-01-01 |
Start of wheel loader production |
| 1966-03-01 |
Completion of new headquarters building (Komatsu Building) at the current address |
| 1967-01-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu Europe Ltd.' in Belgium (first overseas local subsidiary) |
| 1968-05-01 |
Start of hydraulic excavator production |
| 1968-12-01 |
Komatsu's snow vehicle KD60 reaches the South Pole |
| 1970-02-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu America Ltd.' |
| 1971-01-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu Singapore Pte. Ltd.' |
| 1972-12-01 |
Expansion into small press field |
| 1973-04-01 |
Completion of Himi Steel Casting Plant |
| 1974-09-01 |
Establishment of 'Dina Komatsu S.A. de C.V.' in Mexico |
| 1975 |
Establishment of Komatsu Europe |
| 1975-04-01 |
First overseas local production machine 'D50A' completed at Komatsu Brazil Ltd. |
| 1977-10-01 |
Launch of small diameter pipe pushing method Iron Moller |
| 1979-02-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd.' in Australia |
| 1980-07-01 |
Development of ultra-large combination press line |
| 1981 |
Started overseas production in Brazil |
| 1982-12-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu Indonesia Ltd.' in Indonesia |
| 1984-03-01 |
Launch of laser processing machine |
| 1985-02-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu America Manufacturing Inc.' in the United States |
| 1985-08-01 |
Establishment of 'Komatsu America Industries Inc.' in the United States |
| 1985-12-01 |
Established Komatsu UK in the United Kingdom |
| 1986-08-01 |
Established Komatsu Industries Europe in Germany |
| 1988-09-01 |
Established Komatsu Dresser Company in the United States |
| 1989-09-01 |
Launched fine plasma processing machines |
| 1989-12-01 |
Established European Komatsu in Belgium to oversee European operations |
| 1991-04-01 |
Founded the Komatsu Women's Judo Club |
| 1991-10-01 |
Established NS Komatsu in Australia (renamed to Komatsu Australia in June 2000) |
| 1991-11-01 |
Participated in capital investment in Fai Corporation in Italy |
| 1993-10-01 |
Established Komatsu Cummins Engines in Japan and the United States, and Cummings Komatsu Engine Company |
| 1994-06-01 |
Established Komatsu Sanki and Komatsu Koki |
| 1995-04-01 |
Started commercialization of the next-generation stepper light source, Exima Laser |
| 1995-08-01 |
Established Komatsu Shanxi Construction Machinery in China |
| 1995-09-01 |
Established Faikomatsu Industries in Italy (renamed to Komatsu Utility Europe in June 2000) |
| 1995-11-01 |
Established Komatsu Changzhou Construction Machinery in China (renamed to Komatsu Changzhou Construction Machinery in November 2000, became a 100% subsidiary in January 2022) |
| 1996-01-01 |
Participated in capital investment in Modular Mining Systems in the United States |
| 1996-01-01 |
Established Demarg Komatsu in Germany (now Komatsu Germany) |
| 1996-05-01 |
Established Komatsu (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in China |
| 1997-02-01 |
Established Komatsu South Africa (Pty) Ltd. for mining and construction machinery sales in South Africa |
| 1997-10-01 |
Separated the casting division and established Komatsu Castings (Pty) Ltd. |
| 1998-01-01 |
Established I.P.A., a joint venture with Cummings for diesel engine development |
| 1998-02-01 |
Established 'L&T Komatsu Ltd.' in India |
| 1998-09-01 |
Established 'Komatsu Dresser Company' in the United States |
| 1999-05-01 |
Established 'Komatsu Cummins Chile Ltd.' in Chile |
| 1999-09-01 |
Launched the world's largest mechanical drive wheel loader 'WA1200' |
| 2000-01-01 |
Acquired Swedish company Partek Forest and established 'Komatsu Forest AB', a forestry machinery manufacturing and sales company |
| 2000-06-01 |
Participated in capital investment in Italian company Fai |
| 2000-11-01 |
Renamed to 'Komatsu (Changzhou) Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.' in China and became a 100% subsidiary |
| 2001-01-01 |
Established regional headquarters for construction machinery in China, 'Komatsu (China) Investment Co., Ltd.' |
| 2001-07-01 |
Started standard installation of Komtrax (machine operation management system) |
| 2008-06-01 |
Market introduction of the world's first hybrid hydraulic excavator |
| 2008-08-01 |
Yumiko Tanimoto won the gold medal (two consecutive wins) at the Beijing Olympics |
| 2008-10-01 |
Market introduction of unmanned dump truck operation system (AHS) for the first time in the world |
| 2009-04-01 |
Reorganized domestic sales and service business for construction machinery and established 'Komatsu Construction Machinery Sales Co., Ltd.' |
| 2010-04-01 |
Komatsu Indonesia received the Deming Prize |
| 2011-04-01 |
Merged Komatsu NTC Co., Ltd. and Komatsu Koki Co., Ltd., absorbing and merging Komatsu Engineering Co., Ltd. |
| 2011-04-01 |
Absorbed and merged Komatsu Utility Co., Ltd. |
| 2011-05-01 |
Fully acquired GigaPhoton |
| 2011-05-01 |
Established 'Komatsu no Mori' in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, the birthplace of the company |
| 2013-06-01 |
Market introduction of the world's first medium-sized ICT bulldozer equipped with automatic blade control function |
| 2013-10-01 |
Komatsu Yamatake Construction Machinery Company received the Deming Prize |
| 2014-10-01 |
World's first intelligent machine control realized ICT hydraulic excavator introduced to the market |
| 2015-02-01 |
Construction site ICT solution "Smart Construction®" launched |
| 2017-04-01 |
Acquired US major mining equipment manufacturer Joy Global, renamed to "Komatsu Mining Co." |
| 2018-10-01 |
Komatsu Indonesia received the Deming Prize |
| 2020-03-01 |
Market introduction of battery-powered mini excavator |
| 2021-05-01 |
100th anniversary of founding |
