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

  • Changing face of global construction industry
    February 28, 2012
    David CA Phillips reports on the changing structure of the global construction equipment industry. In 2007, the year of peak historical demand and before the onset of the international financial crisis, estimated total sales of key equipment types stood at just over 1,000,000 units, valued at approximately US$100 billion. By 2009 sales had fallen to around 600,000 units valued at around $65 billion. The consequences of the global financial recession were dramatic and immediate, and remain with us today, and
  • China gears up for its giant CICEE construction equipment show at the Changsha exhibition centre in May 2023
    January 19, 2022
    China has announced that its CICEE International Construction Machinery Exhibition will be held from May 12-15, 2023 in Changsha, and forward bookings are looking very strong.
  • Liebherr’s record year – 2022
    April 4, 2023
    Liebherr claims a record year for 2022.
  • Manitowoc president sets out company strategy for Chinese market success
    January 6, 2017
    Manitowoc has released details of its strategy for capturing a greater share of crane sales in the crucial Chinese market. The American firm offers four brands in China: Grove mobile hydraulic cranes, Manitowoc high capacity crawler cranes, Potain tower cranes, and Dongyue truck cranes. It believes that continuing to import its latest cranes to meet local customer needs, while expanding its product and development team, increasing the speed of local sourcing of components, enlarging distribution networks i