Komatsu New Zealand has announced it will open a new South Island Hub facility in Christchurch in mid-2020, greatly enhancing its service and support capabilities for customers throughout the South Island.
Almost triple the size of Komatsu’s existing Christchurch branch, the new South Island Hub is being built in the new industrial subdivision of Hornby South, on Gallagher Drive.
The facility backs onto the new Christchurch Southern Motorway, which is due to be completed later this year, giving easy road access to the main highways serving the entire South Island.
“Our new South Island Hub will be a step forward in terms of the service and support we can offer our customers throughout the island,” said Rob McGregor, Komatsu NZ’s South Island Regional Manager.
“It will have a total of about 10,000 sq m of floor space, including an eight-bay workshop and two-bay warehouse. That’s a significant expansion when you consider we currently only have around 4000 sq m of floorspace, a single-bay parts warehouse and a three-bay workshop.
“We have well and truly outgrown our existing facilities; when we moved here in 2007, we had just six staff members,” said Rob.
“Now we have 26 people based at the branch, including sales reps and satellite service technicians working out of other locations.
“We’ll really be able to step up the service we can offer customers, including our own clean rooms for rebuilds, a painting booth so we can spray paint our own machines.
“And we’re also likely to be engaging more service and technical staff, as well as a trainer who can meet all our iMC (intelligent Machine Control) training and support requirements,” said Rob.
Komatsu NZ’s Managing Director Phil Pritchard said that in the 12 years since Komatsu had opened its Christchurch branch in 2007, the company’s machine population in Canterbury and the South Island as a whole had grown significantly.
“When we opened the branch, we had around 200 Komatsu machines throughout the South Island; today, we have a population of more than 1500 – and that number is growing all the time,” he said.
“We need to increase our service capabilities so we can support this growing population, which is why we’ve decided to expand into this new South Island Hub.
“In addition, our customers’ requirements are becoming more complex as we introduce new technology and new systems to help them become more efficient, productive and profitable through their use of Komatsu equipment.
“Our new South Island Hub will play an important role for many years to come in supporting Komatsu’s existing and future customers throughout the region,” Phil said.
“It’s also a symbol of our growing presence throughout New Zealand, and a key element in building a comprehensive nationwide service and support network that will ensure we can meet our customers’ needs no matter where they are based – from the tip of the North Island, to the very south of the South Island.”