Inspection of Komatsu's UK factory
2026/2/10
On Tuesday, 10th February, Consul General Katsutoshi Takeda visited the Komatsu UK Ltd. factory located in Birtley, Gateshead.
The factory was opened on 16th July 1987 by King Charles (then Crown Prince). It occupies a site of 20 hectares and manufactures medium to large crawler excavator shovels and shovels equipped with work attachments, ranging from 17 to 50 tons. The factory is a major hub for producing and supplying high-quality construction machinery, mainly for the European market. It is characterised by operations rooted in local production technology and quality standards, and directly employs around 400 people.
The city of Komatsu and the Gateshead municipality established a sister city relationship in 1991, prompted by the opening of this factory in Birtley, Gateshead.
On the day of his visit, Consul General Takeda received a briefing from Stuart Reid, Managing Director of Komatsu UK. He then inspected the manufacturing plant and observed how productivity improvements through the use of robots coexist with the management of manual processes requiring advanced skills.
The factory was opened on 16th July 1987 by King Charles (then Crown Prince). It occupies a site of 20 hectares and manufactures medium to large crawler excavator shovels and shovels equipped with work attachments, ranging from 17 to 50 tons. The factory is a major hub for producing and supplying high-quality construction machinery, mainly for the European market. It is characterised by operations rooted in local production technology and quality standards, and directly employs around 400 people.
The city of Komatsu and the Gateshead municipality established a sister city relationship in 1991, prompted by the opening of this factory in Birtley, Gateshead.
On the day of his visit, Consul General Takeda received a briefing from Stuart Reid, Managing Director of Komatsu UK. He then inspected the manufacturing plant and observed how productivity improvements through the use of robots coexist with the management of manual processes requiring advanced skills.