We proudly introduced the first continuous miner package to India back in 2002.

Helen Gibson, General Manager, Underground Soft Rock, India, Komatsu

What do you think are the market for your products in India?

We are working with customers of mixed experience levels in underground soft rock, requiring either individual units of equipment or full packages of Joy room and pillar equipment, including Fletcher roof bolters. A common thread ties our customers together, in that they seek proven equipment that produces well and performs consistently. We are now excited to be making global-standard products indigenously and have a strong local team with over two decades of experience in underground mining in India. We are fully supported by a large global network of product experts, engineering & manufacturing excellence and mining expertise allowing us to offer solutions that solve customers’ challenges, large or small.

We seek to create lasting value with our customers so that they have safe, sustainable and productive operations – we are fully committed to serving the Indian market in the long term through continued investment in technology innovation and infrastructure.

How is Komatsu different from other competitors?

We proudly introduced the first continuous miner package to India back in 2002. However, we’re not resting on past achievements; instead, we’re leading a technology transformation in underground coal to elevate our customers’ performance to new heights. Yet, the current performance expectations in India seem a bit subdued and our customers are more than capable of achieving tonnages that match up to global benchmarks.

In October, we took a huge step forward on this technology transformation journey by establishing a crucial data connection from an underground Joy continuous miner allowing us to transmit data to the surface. This is India’s first underground-to-surface connected continuous miner and it’s the beginning of an exciting journey towards smart mining using data analytics. Data is used to provide a window into operational and machine performance to improve overall mine productivity.

Are you doing any technological advancements in machines?

In 2024 we are bringing several technology upgrades to India to facilitate the introduction of automation – a control system upgrade to the latest version (Faceboss 2.0), two-way ‘BPX’ continuous miner remotes, proximity detection, the data communication system I already mentioned and service digitization. By automation, I don’t imply the replacement of people, but rather operator-assist features that transform how repetitive tasks are performed and moving operators further from the working face and out of harm’s way. Our goal is to ensure safe, consistent production.

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