Komatsu announces temporary plant closures

Komatsu is temporarily closing its manufacturing facilities in Europe, Brazil and India. Its factories in Japan continue to function, as do its Chinese facilities which were fully functional by 17 February.

In a statement, the Japanese manufacturer said; “In response to the policies of different governments, we…are working to prevent coronavirus from spreading as it places top priority on the health and safety of customers, local communities, and employees.

“In compliance with the policies, some manufacturing plants of the Komatsu Group are going to halt production temporarily…At business bases in operation, we are implementing a wide range of countermeasures, including fever checks, the use of face masks, flex commuting, the prohibition of business trips, and teleworking.”

Komatsu’s Italian plant closed on 26 March and will remain so until 3 April. Komatsu Germany’s plant will close from 4 to 13 April, and the UK factory from 30 March to 17 April. Its Indian facility will close from 24 to 31 March, and the plant in Brazil from 6 April to 21 April.

Komatsu said it was working on global cross-sourcing and procurement of finished machines and parts to absorb the impact of changes in demand and exchange rates.

“Although we are planning to halt production at some manufacturing plants, there are no critical effects on Komatsu Group’s production for FY2019, due to alternative procurement and inventory reallocation”, said the company.