Komatsu wants to ‘optimize’ your construction business at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023

The HB365LC-3 hybrid excavator offers environmentally friendly performance, while helping customers reduce their carbon footprint and control costs

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 is approaching quickly and major OEMs are preparing their exhibits and their message for visitors looking to learn more about their products and services. At Komatsu, the message is about helping construction professionals optimize their operations for maximum success.

To find out what the Japanese manufacturer has planned for the show, we talked to Mike Gidaspow, vice president, products, service and solutions at Komatsu.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 365: What is the message Komatsu would like to deliver to its existing and potential customers with its presence at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023?

Gidaspow: For CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, our theme will be ‘Creating Value Together.’ With the right products, latest technologies, actionable data and dealer support, we will work closely with our customers to create value and to help our customers achieve their vision for productivity, efficiency, sustainability and safety.

This year at the show, we want to demonstrate that Komatsu’s goal is to support operational optimization and the tools we offer will largely fall under the three categories of sustainability/electrification, implementing technology and workforce optimization. By working together with our customers, Komatsu can help optimize fleet capabilities and extend the life and improve the value of our machines. We understand that our customers want to operate with safety as a priority and reduce downtime and by leveraging the latest technology, we can help them improve efficiencies and productivity.

Additionally, we want to help our customers meet increasing environmental requirements and reduce their carbon footprints as well as help support them in upskilling and retaining employees so they can deploy their employees in the most productive ways by leveraging the right training and the right technologies.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 365: What can attendees expect to see on display from Komatsu in Las Vegas?

Gidaspow: In our booth, visitors will find new technology, tools for workforce optimization as well as machines that offer sustainable solutions - including electrification.

Under the category of ‘sustainable solutions,’ we’ll be showing products and technologies that are engineered to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint by helping them plan for and implement sustainable solutions, including electrification. We’ll showcase our PC210E, an electric excavator that was first displayed last fall at

Smart Construction Field offers real-time insights from the field to easily record job site activity and analyze operational efficiencies in near real time

Bauma. It’s powered by a lithium-ion battery system from U.S.-based Proterra and will be operating on U.S. job sites this year.

Visitors will also find our HB365LC-3 hybrid excavator fitted with Smart Construction Retrofit. The hybrid technology on these machines offers environmentally friendly performance, while helping customers reduce their carbon footprint and control costs. These hybrid excavators are engineered for performance with high-performing swing, a high-response engine and two boom mode settings and there are thousands operating globally.”

Another thing that we will be focusing on in our booth is how we can help customers best utilize their workforce to optimize operations, from meeting worker shortages to reducing employee downtime. Komatsu offers training options to help optimize operation and the service of machines. In addition, using machines with the latest technologies such as our family of intelligent Machine Control 2.0 dozers and excavators can also help contractors maximize efficiencies.

To also help with workforce optimization, our Komatsu simulator products feature real-motion technologies designed to provide machine operation training with realism, that is focused on operator safety, productivity and minimizing unscheduled maintenance.

These simulators enable a range of specific operator errors and events to help contractors achieve maximum operator safety. This kind of machine operation training can also help minimize equipment damage, while helping eliminate potentially life-threatening scenarios. By offering interchangeable simulator machine modules, this allows training on a wide range of equipment.

Komatsu recognizes that each operation is unique, and we have options for when and how customers can implement the latest technology offerings to best meet their needs — no matter where they are on the technology journey. By leveraging technology, we can help contractors instill predictability into their operations, and with the right technology, we can help operators optimize their productivity.

On the show floor, Komatsu will feature our latest electrical offerings alongside brand-new and recently introduced machines that are in operation around the world.

Here’s a sampling of Komatsu machines that will be on display at CONEXPO-CON/AGG:

• PC210E (with Smart Construction Retrofit) electric excavator
• PC900LC (with Smart Construction Retrofit) excavator
• HB365LC-3 (with Smart Construction Retrofit) hybrid excavator
• D71PXi-24 intelligent dozer
• HD465-8 mechanical haul truck
• PC230F-11 processor
• PC360LCi-11 intelligent excavator
• WA600-8 wheel loader

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 365: What are some tech trends attendees might expect to learn about through a visit to Komatsu at the show?

Gidaspow: Visitors to our booth can fully experience the benefits that our Smart Construction technologies can offer. We know that by merging advanced automation and integrated technologies we can help our customers transform their job sites through predictability because projects can go more smoothly when robust data is easily shared, replicated and updated. Komatsu can help support this transition with decisions that are reflective of job site, culture and budget.

The currently available suite of Smart Construction products will be featured at the show including Dashboard, Design, Drone, Field, Fleet, Office, Remote and Retrofit.

The Komatsu WA320 wheel loader will be on display at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023

I’d like to especially note a couple of the Smart Construction products. Smart Construction Remote is a brand agnostic remote solution that makes job sites effective by allowing contractors to stay connected to their machines from anywhere, even if you have a mixed fleet from various OEMs. The native app allows contractors to easily and quickly pinpoint the location of machines through an online map and send data remotely to the machine.

Additionally, you can download machine data right to your computer and transfer files to a single machine or multiple machines with two-way file transfer.

The other Smart Construction product I’d like to point out that visitors to our booth can learn about is Smart Construction Field. This technology offers real-time insights from the field to easily record job site activity and analyze operational efficiencies in near real time. With Smart Construction Field, contractors can automate the collection of all job site activity to more accurately manage the costs that arise each day, generate daily reports to review all activity and information collected on the job site and monitor and report on all job site activity from machine utilization and fuel tracking to receipts, timecards and subcontractor work.

We will also be showcasing our Smart Quarry technology in Vegas. Smart Quarry solutions are designed to help customers understand, visualize and optimize their job sites. Solutions such as Smart Quarry Site take it a step further with continual production monitoring aimed to help increase efficiency, improve production and maintain a high level of performance.

Designed to quickly lessen the skills gap between new and experienced operators, and improve the bottom line for contractors, our intelligent Machine Control (iMC) 2.0 integrates with the our suite of Smart Construction products, services and digital solutions that incorporate a host of advanced, proprietary machine technology. Developed with input from leading construction companies, iMC gives contractors sophisticated, productivity-enhancing automation along with cutting-edge job site design. Among the iMC 2.0 machines in Komatsu’s booth will be the PC360LCi-11 excavator, as well as three dozers: D39PXi-24, D51PXi-25 and D71PXi-24.