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 13 May 1921, as Komatsu Ltd and founded by Meitaro Takeuchi. Komatsu produced its first agricultural tractor prototype in 1931. Through the 1930s, Komatsu also produced tractors for the Japanese military, as well as
bulldozers,
tanks and
howitzers. After
World War II, under its new president Yoshinari Kawai, Komatsu added non-military bulldozers and
forklifts to its line of equipment. In 1949 it began production of its first diesel engine. Its growth as a company was aided by the strong demand for its bulldozers during Japan's post-war reconstruction in the 1950s. the largest bulldozer maker, in its home market. This was done under the company slogan of "Maru-C", translating into English as "encircle Caterpillar" (from the game of
Go (board game), where encircling an opponent results in capture of his territory). Expansion overseas was a major focus in the 1970s, with Komatsu America Corporation being established in February 1970 in the
United States. A year later, in January 1971, Komatsu Singapore Pte. Ltd. was established in
Singapore. September 1974 saw the founding of Dina Komatsu Nacional S.A. de C.V., a joint venture with truck maker
DINA S.A. in
Mexico. April 1975 was the founding Komatsu do Brasil Ltda. in
Brazil. This company produced the
Komatsu D50A bulldozer, marking Komatsu's first offshore production of construction equipment. Komatsu Australia Pty., Ltd. in
Australia was established in Feb. 1979. In the 60's the company entered the small engine market partnering with Fuji Motors Corporation building hand held engines. This partnership became the current brand Zenoah in 1973 under the company name Komatsu-Zenoah. Their products are sold in America under the name RedMax This brand's products of brush trimmers and leaf blowers were sold under many names including Stihl, Echo, Shindaiwa, Toro, among others. They also are a large part of RC selling under the name Zenoah. 2 April 2007 Komatsu-Zenoah was sold to Husqvarna. In the 1980s, Komatsu and
International Harvester of the
United States had a joint venture to produce compact tractors called
KIMCO. In 1982, PT Komatsu Indonesia was founded and production began in 1983 in
Indonesia. In 1985, two manufacturing divisions were established in the
United States, including the company's first U.S. plant in
Chattanooga, Tennessee, Komatsu America Manufacturing Corp. and Komatsu America Industries LLC. Komatsu Industries Europe GmbH was set up in 1986 in then-
West Germany. This 50-50 ownership lasted from September 1988 to August 1994, when Komatsu bought out Dresser's share. In 1989, Komatsu bought a share of
Hanomag AG and since 2002 Komatsu Hanomag GmbH has been a 100% subsidiary of the global company. During the 1990s Komatsu had a joint venture in Europe with
Moxy were Komatsu designed Articulated Dump Truck were built under license for the European market by Moxy. (In 2008 Moxy was taken over by
Doosan of Korea.)
FAI of
Italy was invested in during 1991. As Komatsu's equity increased, the company was renamed in 1985 to FKI Fai Komatsu Industries S.p.A., which was then renamed in 2000 to
Komatsu Utility Europe S.p.A. when Komatsu assumed 100% ownership. In 2019, Komatsu withdrew from the military sector. They cited the shrinking Japanese defense budget, poor performance, restrictions on exporting Komatsu-made military vehicles, heavy competition with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and lack of synergy with its other businesses. As of 2014, Komatsu is manufacturing the NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle for the JGSDF. In December 2022, it was announced Komatsu had acquired the
Gelsenkirchen-headquartered manufacturer of underground mining, tunnelling and special civil engineering equipment, GHH Group GmbH. In November 2023, Komatsu announced the acquisition of American Battery Solutions to accelerate equipment electrification. ==Product range==