A pioneer in rubber crawler heavy machinery for rough terrain opens up new frontiers in the global market

Changing steel crawlers to rubber for transportation over soft ground

Heavy machinery that transports earth and other materials must be able to move efficiently under all kinds of adverse conditions, including in disaster areas or steep mountainous terrain. What makes this movement possible are the rubber crawlers fitted on the undercarriage of the vehicle for easy maneuverability on uneven ground. Morooka was the first company in the world to develop this technology, driven by the pioneering spirit of its founder.

The eldest son of a farming family in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, MOROOKA Kazuo would go on to found the company that bears his name. During Japan’s post-war reconstruction period, he worked to expand the family’s paddy fields by digging wells and using groundwater for the mass production of rice. While farming, he developed a proprietary technology for well-digging, launching Morooka as a civil engineering and construction company in 1966.

However, even after wells were dug, the soft terrain made it difficult to transport the equipment and materials needed to install water pipes, with the undercarriage of the vehicles often sinking into the ground and getting stuck.

After many attempts to find a solution, he came up with the idea of replacing the construction machinery’s heavy steel crawlers with lighter rubber ones. First, he developed a small rubber crawler carrier for personal use. The lighter weight led to less pressure on the ground and made it more maneuverable.

The technology proved so popular that he approached a major rubber manufacturer and together they developed a large rubber crawler carrier. This became the prototype of Morooka's globally unparalleled technology. The company obtained numerous patents and its tech was used as far afield as the Showa Station research facility in Antarctica and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

“My father, who founded the company, had an enormous spirit of challenge and was not afraid of failure. And when he did fail, he applied what he learned for his next development. He never gave up,” recalls MOROOKA Masami, who succeeded his father as the second president, and now serves as the company’s chairman. He still has vivid memories from his childhood of his father drawing sketch after sketch of machines at home.

Diversifying business from the bitter experience of the collapse of the bubble economy

MOROOKA took over as president from his father in 1989, when he was 30 years old. Just as he was expanding its sales channels, the bubble economy burst, forcing him to restructure the business. In response to the fluctuating demand for construction equipment, he diversified the business, setting his sights on the forestry sector. Leveraging the company’s expertise in off-road technology, it developed a forestry carrier customized for use on mountain slopes.

Then in 2000, the Act on Waste Management and Public Cleaning was amended to prohibit the open burning of waste, increasing demand for recycling and accelerating the trend to reuse shredded construction waste and other materials. Almost all grinding machines were imported at that time, so Morooka started to produce wood grinders domestically. The company moved into new fields, keeping pace with the shift to sustainability.

When MOROOKA was president, he won over customers through demonstrations in which he drove the company's heavy equipment at the operations site himself to show what the technology could do. The pioneering spirit he inherited from his father sometimes got him in sticky spots. “I've been in some dangerous situations on steep slopes,” he admits somewhat sheepishly.

Leveraging brand power to enter overseas markets and expand sales channels

Alongside diversifying its business, Morooka also expanded overseas in the United States and European markets. A U.S. subsidiary was established in 2003, and local production began in 2012. In 2016, the U.S. production company became a wholly owned subsidiary, while a sales company was established in Germany in 2017. And in April 2024, in response to growing demand, Morooka utilized a JBIC loan to acquire companies in the U.S. and established sales and rental companies there.

“We had been delegating sales responsibilities in the United States to local distributors, but this did not enable us to respond comprehensively to customer needs. By creating a system that allows us to directly propose services to customers, we aim to further expand our business in the U.S.” Morooka’s goal is to raise the overseas sales share from the current 40 percent to 50 percent.

The reputation Morooka's technology enjoys overseas was highlighted during a visit to an Indonesian oil palm plantation. When he introduced himself as the president of Morooka, he was greeted by cheers. There was a second-hand Morooka carrier at the site, which the workers affectionately called “Morooka” and maintained with great care.

“This made me realize that Morooka had already gained a global reputation in locations we were unaware of through the used equipment market. It convinced me that we can compete in the market with confidence in our brand.” The company also has ambitions to eventually develop business in new markets such as Southeast Asia.

MOROOKA Masami became chairman of the company in April 2024, passing the baton to the third president, MOROOKA Noboru. The company faces a slew of management challenges as it moves into a new era, including the electrification of heavy machinery and digital transformation. Morooka will continue to take on the challenge “to open a new frontier where no path has ever existed.”