The old adage that everything’s bigger in Texas proves true in Longview, Texas. The AEM Manufacturing Express arrived for our event at Komatsu, their largest facility in North America, and by acreage, their largest facility in the world.
There’s a reason this facility is so big. This is where Komatsu manufactures the WE2350, the largest front-end loader in the world. A titan of the mining industry, the WE2350 weighs 587,000 pounds, lifts material in a 40 cubic meter bucket, and boasts 2,300 horsepower. The WE2350 is so large that it requires 10 trucks to haul the pieces onsite for assembly. No other wheel loader moves more material more efficiently.
The Longview facility has been building advanced mining equipment for generations – long before joining the Komatsu family. It was founded in 1945 by R.G. LeTourneau to produce earth-moving machines of his design. LeTourneau became a local legend, also founding LeTourneau University, a world-renowned technical school in town. He even designed and built the famous LeTourneau domes, one of Longview’s most recognizable landmarks.
The LeTourneau legacy is a source of enormous pride here at Komatsu. Having acquired the company in 2016, Komatsu is focused on honoring the past while building for the future. Rod Bull, CEO of Komatsu North America, still remembers his first meeting with Komatsu after it bought the company. “I’ll never forget the first tough question Komatsu asked me during my presentation,” Bull said. “They said, ‘How does this impact the next generation?’”
Komatsu takes a long-term approach to how they do business, ensuring their operations provide for the community for generations to come. “It’s not about maximizing the quarter,” Bull said. “It’s about setting us up to be sustainable for 10, 15, 20 years down the road.”
Komatsu offers stability in an area long subject to the ups and downs of the oil industry. This attracts many talented people to come to work at Komatsu here in Longview. Longview Mayor Kristen Ishihara, attending the event, acknowledged the significant role Komatsu has in the community here:
“The city of Longview wants to be your partner,” Ishihara said. “We are so grateful for the partners that you, the employees, are, but also Komatsu as an employer to the city. When I drive up to the plant here, I am so grateful for the investments and the capital improvements. You guys are an entryway into Longview, and now that entryway is magnificent because of the investment you’ve made.”
There are 700 workers here at Komatsu in Longview who benefit from the great job opportunities the company provides. “It’s pretty cool to work here because obviously we make the biggest loader in the world, so being a part of that is something that motivates me to come to work every day,” said Jaime Currano, Senior Lead Inspector at Komatsu. “I’ve been doing the same job here for over 20 years. So that quality means a lot, making sure these loaders make it out in a safe way and are a quality product always.”
Delivering quality products safely is a top priority for the workers at Komatsu. There’s a phrase that they use here: “Go to gemba.” Gemba, a Japanese word meaning “shop floor,” was introduced to Longview by the Komatsu leadership team. The idea of going to gemba implies that the best way to find opportunities for improvement in the operation is by going to see the production firsthand. According to Kraig Green, General Manager at Komatsu, this philosophy is a key part of the Komatsu Way: “One of the most important things about building equipment they’ve told me here at Komatsu is ‘don’t do it because you were told to do it, but because it is the right way to do it.’”
The biggest things made at Komatsu are based on the smallest details. Incredible skill, engineering, precision, and care go into every part of every piece of equipment they produce. That attention to detail leads to industry-leading equipment that mines iron, copper, coal, gold, and more. The Texas pride here is more than justified. The people at Komatsu in Longview are building very big equipment and a very big future in Longview, Texas.
