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Founder's Challenges and Company Progress
1963
Establishment of Takeuchi Manufacturing
In 1963, Takeuchi Manufacturing established "Takeuchi Seisakusho" in Sakaki-machi, Hanishina-gun, Nagano Prefecture, and began operations as a subcontractor for an automobile parts manufacturer. One day, he was asked to repair construction machinery. At the site, the work was being done with "pickaxes and shovels," which was extremely hard work. Hearing the question, "Is it possible to do house foundation work mechanically?", Akio Takeuchi, who had experience digging holes with "pickaxes and shovels" when laying water pipes, knew how difficult it was to dig into hard ground. From this experience, he thought, "I must try to do something about this," and began creating a prototype.
1971
Development of compact excavators
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When we took a prototype to a local construction company and asked them to test it, they requested that it "rotate 360 degrees." The initial prototype didn't have the full rotation mechanism we have today, so the work space would quickly fill up when the excavated soil was piled up to the side. After that, every time we delivered a prototype to a construction company and received a complaint, we incorporated their feedback into the development process.
After much trial and error, the world's first fully rotating compact excavator was developed in 1971. At the time, only large excavators were available, and this tiny piece of heavy machinery, unlike anything anyone had ever seen, became the target of ridicule, with people saying things like, "It looks like a toy, are you going to display it in the alcove?" However, contrary to these comments, the small, lightweight, and highly efficient compact excavator gained overwhelming support from local construction companies.
1975
OEM supply
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In 1975, Takeuchi Manufacturing signed an OEM agreement with Yanmar, a major construction machinery manufacturer, and began its nationwide expansion. At the time, the construction boom was expanding the construction machinery market. Coupled with the housing boom and urban development, the demand for mini excavators increased dramatically. However, no matter how excellent a product is, it cannot be sold if there are no places or people to sell it. Therefore, Takeuchi Manufacturing decided to focus on manufacturing by undertaking contract manufacturing (OEM) for major construction machinery manufacturers.
Compact excavators bearing the brand names of their OEM suppliers, such as Yanmar, IHI, and Kobe Steel, became widespread throughout Japan. The compact excavator market expanded steadily and seemed to be on a smooth path, but major OEM suppliers began to switch to their own production one after another, realizing that "this will sell." Sales, which had exceeded 20 billion yen in 1991, fell below 10 billion yen by 1994. With numerous manufacturers already established in Japan and no established sales channels (sales mechanisms), Takeuchi decided to concentrate management resources on the European and American markets, which he had been pursuing for some time.
1979
Overseas expansion of our own brand
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In 1979, Takeuchi Manufacturing established its first overseas sales base in the United States. Normally, overseas expansion involves building a sales strategy based on thorough market research, but this approach had its limitations because the market for compact excavators itself did not exist. Therefore, it was thought that it would be better to first uncover potential demand, and adopted a strategy of actively advertising and increased opportunities for people to see their products at trade shows. At trade shows, they exhibited sample machines and appealed to people about the specific applications and conveniences of their products, resulting in a business offer from a delegation visiting from France. This led to offers from other European countries, and sales expanded. Even then, Takeuchi visited users' construction sites to listen to their evaluations, requests, and complaints, and used that information to improve products and develop new models.
Construction machinery in Europe and the US operates for approximately 2,000 hours per year, significantly longer than the roughly 1,000 hours in Japan. To address this difference, the company reviewed components such as steel plates, pursuing improved quality and durability. Excavators reflecting these user needs were developed, and sales increased.
1986
Development of track loaders
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When Takeuchi visited the United States in 1985, he observed a situation where tire-type loaders were not in operation at a construction site.
Because the US has a very clayey soil, when it rains, mud sticks to the tires, causing them to get stuck and making work impossible. To make it usable even on rainy days, development began to change the undercarriage to a crawler type (continuous track type), and in 1986, the world's track loaders was developed. Subsequently, the convenience of track loaders was recognized, and the number of manufacturers entering the market increased, causing the market size to grow to a size comparable to that of compact excavators.
Addressing customer needs
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There are features that are included in large excavators but not in compact excavators. This is because it is profitable for high-priced models like large excavators, but not for low-priced models like small ones. However, from the customer's perspective, wouldn't they be willing to pay a little more for a useful feature? Takeuchi decided not to compete on price, but to thoroughly address customer needs. This marked a turning point in their strategy to create fans who would choose TAKEUCHI even if it meant paying a little more than the market price.
They focused on improving the smooth movement and work precision of the excavators, and successively introduced world-first "functions" that reflected customer needs. These new approaches, which were not found in existing compact excavators, were highly evaluated by customers.