Skip to main content

IHI and Kato joining forces for machines

A new agreement between IHI and Kato will see the two firms joining their construction machine operations together. IHI Corporation (IHI) announced has agreed to transfer all the shares in its wholly‐owned IHI Construction Machinery business to Kato Works. The move will expand the product line-up for mini‐excavators, crawler cranes and other crawler equipment. All current facilities and network including overseas will remain without major changes for the time being. The two companies will assimilate ove
October 25, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A new agreement between IHI and Kato will see the two firms joining their construction machine operations together. IHI Corporation (IHI) announced has agreed to transfer all the shares in its wholly‐owned IHI Construction Machinery business to Kato Works.

The move will expand the product line-up for mini‐excavators, crawler cranes and other crawler equipment. All current facilities and network including overseas will remain without major changes for the time being. The two companies will assimilate over time, and develop synergies in the market.

IHI has explained that the decision is in keeping with IHI Group Management Policies 2016, which adopted a new portfolio management approach to reinforce IHI’s earnings base. This forms part of moves by the group to refocus its business operations.

IHI Construction Machinery focuses on mini‐excavators, cranes, crawler carriers, and other construction machinery. The sector has experienced a tough operating climate owing to slower growth in emerging nations and more uncertainty in the global economy. Construction machinery companies have endeavored to accommodate these dramatic changes and reinforce their business by forming alliances or restructuring.

Kato Works is pushing forward with Medium‐Term Management Plan 2016‐2018, targeting net sales exceeding ¥100 billion. It is deploying measures to reach the global market, develop highly competitive products and expand its lineup.

IHI considered its business structure with regard to IHI Construction Machinery and management concluded that integrating that subsidiary’s operations with those of Kato Works as a specialized construction machinery player would reinforce competitiveness. It would also deliver higher added value to customers by bolstering the lineup and leveraging IHI Construction Machinery’s Italian and Chinese business units and sales networks.

As part of the Kato Works group, IHI Construction Machinery will continue to make and sell products. The Kato Works group will broaden its lineup, expand its sales network, and reinforce development and design to boost its development capabilities. The transfer is subject to regulatory approval, with a scheduled transfer date of November 25th, 2016.

Related Content

  • Doka and MFE in Malaysia join forces
    March 11, 2024
    Doka's purchase of MFE Formwork Technology, based in Kuala Lumpur, comes after its acquisition early last year of US-based scaffolding manufacturer and rental business AT-PAC.
  • XCMG reports record results
    May 14, 2024
    XCMG is reporting record financial results.
  • Make the case for electronic tolling, ASECAP conference delegates heard
    September 14, 2015
    Mobility pricing and electronic tolling is the future, delegates to a recent ASECAP Study Days conference, reports Geoff Hadwick at the Lisbon event. The international road tolling industry is failing to make its case and the sector is losing out to other social and political lobby groups. As a result, “tolling is still on the sidelines”, according to the head of the Washington-based International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association. IBTTA chief executive Pat Jones issued his stark warning at the
  • Metro Pacific pushes for Cebu-Mactan bridge in the Philippines
    January 19, 2015
    Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) is in discussions to form a joint venture for construction of a toll bridge connecting the islands of Mactan and Cebu in the Philippines. Cebu is an island province that incorporates 167 surrounding islands and islets, one of them being Mactan, which lies immediately off Cebu Island, across from Cebu City. MPIC’s subsidiary, Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp (MPTDC), is proposing an 8.3km bridge costing around US$380 million, according to local media reports