VP/GM of Mining says those are the main reasons for our success

QUESTION: Komatsu has continually gained market share in the mining industry. Why is that?

ANSWER: There are several reasons why Komatsu continues its solid reputation in the mining industry, including a dedication to outstanding customer service, not only from the company but from our distributors. Our mining division is now 100-percent ISO 9001 certified, which we believe is important because it shows our customers we’re serious about our manufacturing processes, and in turn, their success. We believe we know the market better than our competitors, and we’re building solid relationships and trust with our customers.

We have a saying: “Quality beats time-to-market,” which means that we won’t rush a product just to get into the marketplace. When we build a mining product, we take the time to ensure that it’s going to be productive and efficient. Anyone involved in the manufacturing process has the ability to stop production if he or she believes there’s an issue that needs to be dealt with before it can move on to the next stage of development. When customers buy Komatsu mining products, they’re making a long-term investment that they expect to last 10 to 15 years. It’s our duty to make sure they’re making a wise investment by buying Komatsu.

Finally, we’re committed to innovative products that will make our mining customers more profitable. For instance, in the past three years we’ve introduced several new products, such as our 960E and 860E electric-drive trucks that offer greater hauling capacity with more efficient operation to improve per-ton costs. We’ve gone from DC to AC drives, which are more efficient and reduce maintenance. We’ve matched the engines to the drive systems to maximize efficiency.

QUESTION: What other innovations are in development or have been implemented?

ANSWER: We’ve begun to introduce our autonomous, or driverless, trucks. We now have two fleets running in mines and are working to add additional fleets. Autonomous haulage allows the user to run a 300-ton payload 930E, for example, through the entire load cycle without having a driver. The results have been very good. Again, it’s going to lower the per-ton costs versus having a truck and driver. It’s a specialized tool and it’s not for everyone, but in the right application — where the user has a long haul, for instance — it’s fantastic.

Komatsu’s new 280-ton 860E-1KT trucks are the first of their kind to use a Komatsu drive-trolley system. They work with overhead electrical trolley lines and a pantograph mounted on the truck. As the truck comes under the lines, up to 1,800 volts of electricity go through the system to drive the wheel motors. It produces faster propulsion uphill, while reducing engine rpms. The result is lower fuel consumption and emissions.

All our new machinery comes standard with Komatsu’s Vehicle Health Monitoring System (VHMS), which monitors the health of major components, so owners, users and fleet managers can remotely evaluate a machine’s condition and operations. Information from the machine is transmitted via satellite and the Internet to the user, Komatsu and our distributors. VHMS reports vital information such as operating condition, service meters, trends, fault and event codes, engine performance and machine operating history. Each day, users can log onto a secure Web site and check their machinery as easily as they check the latest news, weather and sports online.

QUESTION: How much input does the customer have in developing these products?

ANSWER: A lot. All our product development comes from a combination of ideas from our engineering and product-development personnel, our distributors and our customers. We collect feedback from our customers about the key priorities they need and want in their machinery. Then we set about building those machines by incorporating their ideas into emissions and other mandated standards. Because of their input, we’ve developed other products to help them run not only their equipment, but their mining practices more efficiently. One example is our Modular Mining software products, such as the IntelliMine Management System for open-pit mines. It has a dispatch system that tracks auxiliary equipment, water trucks, blending, crew lineup, fuel-service management, inventory reporting, payload analysis and other information.

QUESTION: What does the future hold for Komatsu mining and the industry as a whole?

ANSWER: We’ll continue to work on improvements in our current products and develop new ones. This generation of Komatsu mining equipment is revolutionary, and we expect to see continued growth in market share as our customers experience the results of our focus on quality. We expect mining to remain strong overall, and Komatsu is committed to being a leader in the industry.