Pictured from left to right are Erik Wilde, vice president, product marketing, Komatsu America Corp.; Dan McGrew, vice president, business development, Griffith Co.; Leonard Savala, CEO, Savala Equipment Co.; Dave Grzelak, chairman & CEO, Komatsu America Corp.; Stephen Cheung, vice president, mayor’s office of economic and business policy, City of Los Angeles; Sean Savala, president, Savala Equipment Co.

Komatsu America Corp. was recognized by the office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for its commitment to green technology and its Hybrid PC200LC-8 excavator. Chairman and CEO of Komatsu America Corp., Dave Grzelak, accepted the certificate of recognition from Los Angeles from Stephen Cheung, vice president mayor’s office of economic and business policy, City of Los Angeles, and representative of Mayor Villaraigosa.

“I want to recognize Komatsu and their partners for bringing this innovative technology to the City of Los Angeles and the Port of Los Angeles,” said Cheung. “The Mayor has set a very high goal of greening and growing the port at the same time and this hybrid technology will contribute to both goals.”

The Komatsu Hybrid PC200LC-8 excavator is one of a number of other kinds of “green” machines that the Port of Los Angeles has introduced or tested, resulting in reduced diesel emissions that comply with a Clean Air Action Plan that was adopted in November 2006 by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Komatsu introduced the first of 10 Hybrid PC200LC-8 excavators into the U.S. market to test the equipment designed to reduce environmental impact by saving fuel and reducing green house emissions. Currently, there are 700 Komatsu hybrid excavators already in use at construction sites in China and Japan.

In tests comparing the standard PC200LC-8 hydraulic excavator to the Hybrid PC200LC-8, the hybrid model reduced fuel consumption by approximately 25 to 40 percent, depending on the application. Powered by the Komatsu Hybrid System, the Hybrid PC200LC-8 uses a newly developed electric swing motor, power generator motor, capacitor and diesel engine. This hybrid system works on the principle of swing energy, regeneration and energy storage using the Komatsu Ultra Capacitor system.

Headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Ill., Komatsu America Corp. is a U.S. subsidiary of Komatsu Ltd., which manufactures and supplies construction, mining and compact construction equipment.