Kobelco opens European headquarters in the Netherlands

Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe (KCME) has opened a new European headquarters in Almere, the Netherlands.

The new office is one element of Kobelco’s strategy to develop excavator sales under its own brand in Europe following the ending last December of the 10 year excavator joint venture with CNH.

The 5300 m2 facility will serve as Kobelco’s sales and marketing center, technical support, and spare parts distribution center, covering Europe, the Middle-East, Africa and CIS.

Kobelco has already started to sell excavators and has appointed a small number of dealers in Europe. Early customers have been located in the Benelux and Scandinavia. The company’s range covers models in the 1 t to 50 sizes.

In the compact equipment segment Kobelco is producing two short-tailswing minis - 1 t and 1.7 t sizes - and next year will see the launch of 2.7 t, 3.0 t, 3.5 t and 5.5 t short tailswing machines.

“We are very much excited to directly serve our customers once again after 10 years”, said KCME managing director Makoto Kato, “This new office will strengthen our brand and presence as a leading construction equipment manufacturer. Our staff will be able to interact more closely with our customers and gain deeper knowledge of the needs of each local market”.

Kobelco and CNH announced the ending of their joint venture in late December 2012, although the two companies continue to cooperate in some products.