Ryoichi Kawai
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Caterpillar was preparing to produce in Japan through a joint venture with Shin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In August 1961 Komatsu set up the Maru-A Countermeasures Headquarters and put Senior Managing Director Ryoichi Kawai in charge. The effort identified 182 issues through user critique sessions and 1,657 problem points through claim analysis and field operation surveys, and extended improvements to about 3,200 of the 4,000 parts, roughly 80%. Total quality control was introduced company-wide, and the company bent its policy of in-house development to fit engines from Cummins of the U.S. As of September 1963 he was Executive Vice President.
Selection
In September 1963 the first improved machines went on sale, and when the D50A, reflecting the quality improvements, was launched as the Super Series, claims fell to one-fifth of their former level. The warranty was also extended from 300 hours/three months to 600 hours/six months. The company held the top position in the domestic bulldozer market with a share of about 60%. Comparing the first half of 1958 with the first half of 1963, capital grew from ¥2.25 billion to ¥15.0 billion and sales from ¥5.9 billion to ¥29.6 billion. The company appears to have made president the very man who led its response to capital liberalization, in the year the results showed in the numbers.
Initiatives
In May 1968, about ten years behind the industry average, the company fully entered the hydraulic excavator business, starting production of the 15-H on the basis of a technical alliance with Bucyrus-Erie of the U.S. An improved 15HT-2 followed in 1972. In February 1970 it established Komatsu America to develop the U.S. market, and in April 1985 it opened a new research laboratory for mechatronics and new materials. What decided its competitive edge was not product superiority but the scale of its direct sales system, with a network of branches and sales offices in every prefecture since 1957.
Career
Career
Komatsu
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Feb 1963 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President |
| Jul 1964 | President |
| Sep 1982 | Stepped down as President |
| Sep 1982 | Chairman |