Contribution Through Our Products
Takeuchi supports people's daily lives.
In developed countries such as Japan, Europe, and the United States, essential utilities like electricity, gas, and water are taken for granted in every household. However, the aging of these infrastructures is a serious social issue in many countries around the world. Inspecting and maintaining these infrastructures is not something that can be completed in a few years, but rather a "never-ending project" that spans several decades.
Our construction machinery is indispensable for maintaining and upgrading essential infrastructure.
Japan
In Japan, essential infrastructure, which was developed intensively during the period of rapid economic growth (around 1955 to 1973), is now aging. For example, water pipes were developed intensively in the 1970s. Since the legal service life of water pipes is 40 years, they all need to be replaced at once. Despite exceeding their service life, the replacement rate is only about 1.5% per year, meaning it will take more than 65 years to replace them all.
US
In the United States, the New Deal policies of the 1930s led to the development of large-scale infrastructure 30 to 40 years earlier than in Japan. Because the US was the first country in the world to develop infrastructure, the problem of aging infrastructure became apparent early on in the 1980s, leading to the phrase "America in ruins."
UK
In the UK, even older infrastructure than in the US, including water and sewage systems, roads, and railways built during the Victorian era in the late 19th century, is still widely used today. However, the water pipes built at that time are aging and experiencing numerous leaks and bursts. The National Infrastructure Development Plan 2016-2021 was formulated, investing £483 billion (approximately ¥87 trillion) over five years in infrastructure such as roads, railways, energy, and water and sewage systems.
Electrification of construction machinery
Battery-powered construction machinery offers the following advantages and is environmentally friendly and suitable for the work environment during use.
| Low GHG emissions | Other harmful exhaust gases: Zero | Low noise level | Low vibration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmentally friendly (Global warming, air pollution, etc.) | 〇 | 〇 | ||
| Urban areas and enclosed environments (underground/indoors) Suitable for construction work in [location] | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | |
| Factors reducing the burden on operators. | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
However, currently, most construction machinery used on construction sites worldwide, both our products and those of other companies, are diesel-engine based, with only a very small number being battery-powered. Decarbonization is a common global goal, but achieving this goal is impossible through performance improvements and fuel efficiency enhancements of conventional diesel-engine construction machinery alone; the widespread adoption of battery-powered construction machinery is a prerequisite.
Challenges to the widespread adoption of battery-powered construction machinery (the imbalance between the environment and the economy)
| assignment | Social responses to the challenges |
| (1) High product price | Government subsidies (e.g., the GX Construction Machinery Certification System in Japan). |
| (2) Long charging time | Battery technology innovation |
| (3) Unable to charge at operating sites | Abundant charging infrastructure |
The inability to charge equipment at the construction site is a critical issue for construction companies. It's rare for a construction project to be completed in a single day. Therefore, once the day's work is finished, construction machinery is left at the site, refueled the next day, and work resumes. If the equipment is battery-powered, it must be transported back to the base by truck, charged there, and then transported back to the site the following day. This is not only inconvenient but also adds extra time and cost for the user.
The electrification of construction machinery is progressing at a much slower pace than we anticipated due to economic and efficiency disadvantages. However, we continue product development while monitoring social and market trends, assuming that the wave of electrification will eventually arrive.
Automation and remote control of construction machinery
Our products are also used in disaster recovery work. Disaster sites involve many dangers, such as removing partially destroyed buildings, so ensuring the safety of operators through remote control operation is desirable. Furthermore, looking at recent social issues, labor shortages are progressing at construction sites in various countries, and the shortage of construction machinery operators, as well as a lack of skills, is becoming a problem. Therefore, we are working on developing machines that can automatically perform certain excavation and leveling tasks even if the operator's skill level is low.
In the future, we hope to help alleviate labor shortages by enabling remote operation of construction machinery even when workers are not on-site.