Kobelco excavator technology recognised at SaMoTer Innovation Awards

Takemichi Hirakawa, managing director at KCME, accepting the award (Image: KCME)

Kobelco stated that this distinction awarded to its SK165SRLC crawler excavator technology underscores its “commitment to redefining the boundaries of excavator design by delivering purpose-built machinery tailored to niche, high-demand sectors.”

This philosophy is centred on developing machines that address the precise operational requirements of industries such as demolition, material handling, forestry and dismantling.

“At Kobelco, innovation means anticipating the evolving needs of specialised industries and delivering solutions that are ready for real-world deployment at scale,” said Takemichi Hirakawa, managing director at KCME.

“This recognition validates our approach of combining deep application expertise with serial production capabilities, ensuring that highly customised solutions are also reliable, efficient and widely accessible.”

According to Kobelco, the technology reflects a strategic focus on:

• Application-specific engineering designed from the ground up
• Serial standardisation, enabling consistent quality and performance across specialised machine variants
• Operational efficiency and safety, tailored to demanding and often complex working environments
• Sustainability and reduced environmental impact, aligned with modern regulatory and societal expectations and working space restrictions.

The award trophy was handed to Mr Hirakawa during the opening dinner and awards ceremony held on the evening prior to the opening of the SaMoTer exhibition in Verona, Italy.