Our DANTOTSU Medium-Sized Bulldozer Wins Silver of International Design Excellence Awards '08 in United States

Komatsu Ltd. (President & CEO: Kunio Noji) announced that its D51 medium-sized bulldozer won the Silver award of the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) '08, the most prestigious award of its kind in the United States. This is the first time for our construction equipment to receive an internationally reputed design award.

The D51 bulldozer represents the first joint design development by our Design Group, the Product Planning Department of Komatsu Ltd. and the North American R&D Division of Komatsu America Corp. This DANTOTSU bulldozer features our original 'super-slant nose' engine hood design which became possible with our successful allocation of its radiator in the rear of the machine. Also, with its innovative structure and style, the D51 defies the stereotypes of bulldozers and achieves unrivaled front visibility. With the blade visible from the cabin, the operator can use all its fundamental dozer work parameters with ease. As a result, the D51 offers an important improvement in work efficiency and productivity in addition to operability. We won the IDEA award for effective utilization of this 'super-slant nose' design.

We have also enjoyed outstanding customer evaluations for the D51's unrivaled visibility from the cabin. By incorporating this 'super-slant nose' design into our small bulldozers, we have been working to penetrate the market with these new bulldozers of superior functionality, productivity and design.

The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is a program co-sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and BusinessWeek. As the most prestigious design awards of the United States held annually, IDEA is dedicated to fostering business and public understanding of the importance and value of industrial design in and outside of the United States.

For the IDEA '08, out of 1,517 entries around the world, the Gold awards went to 35 entries, the Silver to 77, and the Bronze to 93. The D51 bulldozer received the Silver award, being one of the eight winners in the Commercial & Industrial category.