Caterpillar Excavators Vs Komatsu Excavators

Professionals consider buying an excavator which must have the power of getting the job done on time with low cost. This has huge implications on the project. Most construction companies offer their clients a choice between a Caterpillar or Komatsu products. While both of these brands are familiar names in the market but which one is the best? To learn, we compared excavators made by both brands.

From 21st century, Caterpillar has shown outstanding performance when it comes to quality products and customer satisfaction in the heavy construction community. However, in recent years some of its competitors have managed to improve their quality. Caterpillar has also struggled with certain issues at its foreign branches, as manufacturing got outsourced. Before 1990s, Caterpillar had an excellent repute in the construction equipment market, but soon had to look for ways to maintain its market share.

Komatsu has kept increasing its quality day by day. They also manufacture units abroad. Both brands are popular for excavators but Komatsu parts are difficult to find in many areas but Caterpillar parts are much easier to find. Hence from ownership point of view Caterpillar makes the better choice.
Caterpillar machine are much expensive then Komatsu. Caterpillar rentals are also high priced. In recent years, Komatsu has increased its price due to its quality and performance. Also the rental companies have to import a replacement part which means their repair cost increases. Collectively, due to these two factors rental companies are charging same amounts for Caterpillar and Komatsu excavators.

Both Caterpillar and Komatsu are making many different models of excavators. Caterpillar’s mini excavators are nearly half the size of Komatsu Mini Excavators. The machines weigh in between 50,000 and 75,000 with horsepower between 160 and 210. Large excavators weigh up to 250,000 lbs for both the brand and have horsepower between 1,000 and 2,100. Dig depth of Caterpillar’s larger machines can go up to 248 inches while Komatsu machines rarely go above 196 inches. So Caterpillar makes a better choice for deep digging. For this reason Cat 330BL is ideal.

Which one should I choose?
It depends upon the project requirements. Komatsu is a good choice when it comes to moving a large amount of dirt and turn around a large amount of radius. For those projects which require a deeper or precise work, it would be better done with Caterpillar Excavator.