Kiwi Komatsu Forest customers on Japan and China trek
KOMATSU RECENTLY PLAYED HOST TO A VISITING GROUP OF New Zealand customers at its plants in Japan.
The focus of the trip was to visit the Komatsu factory in Osaka and the Techno Centre in Atami and enjoy the sights of Japan and China along the way. The group was hosted by John Kosar, Sales Manager for Komatsu Forest in New Zealand, and his wife Kay, affectionately referred to by the group as Team Leader and Camp Mother.
The Osaka plant is known as a ‘Mother Plant’ within the Komatsu System, as it not only produces machines but also manufactures large components for other plants, such as final drives, slew motors, hydraulic pumps etc.
The machines built at this plant are medium and large excavators (PC160-to-PC2000), hybrid excavators (HB205-to-HB365), medium and large dozers (D85-to-D575), automated excavators and dozers (PC200-to-D155) and recycling machines (BR100-to-BZ210).
While at the Osaka plant, the group was taken into the Global Hansei Operation Centre where the contractors could ‘view’ their machines working back in New Zealand on a large screen using Komtrax, the Komatsu satellite machine monitoring system.
The Techno Centre is based in a quarry at Atami and is a facility specifically set up for operator training and operating/viewing of the latest machinery from Komatsu. Mr Kosar says the New Zealand group members were very impressed with the facility and managed to get behind the controls of several machines, including a WA900 wheel loader, D475 dozer, PC1250 excavator, 785 dump truck etc.
“As you can imagine the guys couldn’t get out there quick enough,” says Mr Kosar, “but the ladies didn’t miss out – they were all individually driven around the quarry in one of the large dump trucks by a trainer.”
NZL