Jan,1917 Takeuchi Mining Industry (founded in 1894) established Komatsu Iron Works to manufacture machine tools and mining equipment for in-house use. May,1921 Komatsu Iron Works separated from Takeuchi Mining Co. to beco......Jan,1917 Takeuchi Mining Industry (founded in 1894) established Komatsu Iron Works to manufacture machine tools and mining equipment for in-house use. May,1921 Komatsu Iron Works separated from Takeuchi Mining Co. to become Komatsu Ltd. 1924 Komatsu built its first press, a 450-ton sheet-forming press. Oct,1931 Produced Japans first crawler-type farm tractor. Oct,1935 Began production of high-grade castings and special steel materials after years of research. May,1938 Established the Awazu Plant. Nov,1941 Began production of large hydraulic presses. Jan,1943 Produced the Komatsu Model 1 Ground Leveling Machine (the prototype of Japans bulldozers). Dec,1943 Completed construction of a large press-assembly shop at the Komatsu Plant. Dec,1947 Introduced the D50 bulldozer. Feb,1948 Began diesel engine production. Aug,1951 Relocated head office from Ishikawa(Komatsu City) to Tokyo. Oct,1952 Opened the Osaka Plant. Oct,1952 Began production of motor graders. Dec,1952 Established the Kawasaki and Himi plants following the acquisitions of Ikegai Automobile Manufacturing Company and Chuetsu Electro Chemical Co., Ltd., respectively. Jan,1953 Began production of forklift trucks. Nov,1953 Began production of dump trucks and special purpose vehicles. Mar,1954 Started production of shell-mold precision castings. Jan,1955 Exported motor graders to Argentina (Komatsus first export of construction equipment). Aug,1955 Exported 400-ton multipurpose hydraulic presses to Argentina (Komatsus first export of presses). Sep,1956 Began production of shovel loaders. Sep,1958 Signed a technical assistance agreement with Indias Ministry of Defense to locally manufacture tractors Sep,1961 Introduced the company-wide quality control (QC) program. Nov,1961 Signed a technology tie-up agreement for the diesel engines with Cummins Engine Co., Inc. of the United States. Dec,1962 Opened the Oyama Plant. Jun,1963 Entered technology license tie-up with Bucyrus-Erie of the United States concerning hydraulic excavators (terminated in March 1981). 1964 Opened Komatsus first overseas liaison office in India. Nov,1964 Received the Deming Prize for quality control. Dec,1964 Reached agreement for a joint venture with International Harvester of the United States (terminated in January 1982). 1965 Began production of wheel loaders. Mar,1966 Completed construction of the present Tokyo Head Office (Komatsu Building). Jan,1967 Established N.V. Komatsu Europe S.A., Komatsus first overseas subsidiary in Belgium. Oct,1968 Began production of hydraulic excavators. Dec,1968 Completed construction of an integrated production facility for diesel engines at the Oyama Plant. Feb,1970 Established Komatsu America Corp. in the United States. Jan,1971 Established Komatsu Singapore Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. Dec,1972 Launched the business of small presses. Apr,1973 Completed construction of the Himi Plant for steel-castings. Sep,1974 Established Dina Komatsu Nacional S.A. de C.V. in Mexico. Apr,1975 Komatsu do Brasil Ltda. produced the D50A bulldozer, marking Komatsus first offshore production of construction equipment. Oct,1977 Marketed the small-diameter pipe jacking system. Feb,1979 Established Komatsu Australia Pty., Ltd. in Australia. Jul,1980 Developed a super-large combination press line. Nov,1981 Received the Japan Quality Control Prize. Dec,1982 Established PT Komatsu Indonesia (production began in 1983) in Indonesia. Mar,1984 Introduced laser machines on the market. Feb,1985 Established Komatsu America Manufacturing Corp. in the United States. Aug,1985 Established Komatsu America Industries LLC in the United States. Dec,1985 Established Komatsu UK Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Aug,1986 Established Komatsu Industries Europe GmbH. in Germany. Sep,1988 Established Komatsu Dresser Company in the United States. Jul,1989 Made equity participation in Hanomag AG of Germany. Dec,1989 Established Komatsu Europe International N.V. in Belgium to coordinate and expand Komatsus operations in Europe Dec,1990 Completed construction of a leading-edge FA facility for hydraulic equipment at the Oyama Plant. Dec,1990 Completed construction of a leading-edge FA facility for hydraulic excavator assembly at the Osaka Plant. May,1991 Introduced a new corporate brand logotype and announced a corporate message. Oct,1991 Established NS Komatsu Pty. Ltd., in Australia. (renamed Komatsu Australia Pty. Ltd. in June 2001) Nov,1991 Completed construction of casting plant at Komatsu Indonesia. Nov,1991 Made equity participation in Fai S.p.A. in Italy. Aug,1992 Komatsu UK launched wheeled excavator on the European market. Sep,1993 Established Applied Komatsu Technology, Inc., a joint venture to produce LCD manufacturing systems, with Applied Materials, Inc. of the United States (sold to Applied Materials in October 1999). Oct,1993 Established Komatsu Cummins Engine Co., Ltd. and Cummins Komatsu Engine Company, in Japan and the United States, respectiv