Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

Episode: Rod Bull w/ Komatsu – DT 408

Date: January 15, 2026
Host: Aaron Witt (BuildWitt)
Guest: Rod Bull, CEO of Komatsu North America

Episode Overview

In this episode, Aaron Witt sits down with Rod Bull, the newly appointed CEO of Komatsu North America. The conversation traces Rod's unique journey through the mining and construction equipment world—from humble beginnings in the Midwest to running Komatsu's North American operations. Aaron and Rod dive deep into industry culture, equipment innovation, the global mining workforce, sustainability, and how the Komatsu brand and values are evolving. The episode is a candid, passionate look at the people, the engineering, and the spirit driving the dirt world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rod Bull's Background and Early Career Origins

• Rod's Midwest upbringing: Grew up in Canton and Pekin, Illinois, immersed in family equipment and tree removal business.
• Hands-on experience: Worked full-time at a Menards lumberyard while attending Eastern Illinois University.
• Entry into the industry: Chose Caterpillar in Peoria over corporate analyst roles in Chicago after college, drawn to the tangible dirt world.
• (01:46) Rod:

  "My family has equipment… I kind of grew up greasing the trucks and working the ground crew in high school… knew when I graduated that's the side of the industry I wanted to be in."

2. Midwest Culture and Impact of Heavy Equipment Manufacturing

• The Midwest is a hub—Caterpillar, Komatsu, John Deere, P&H—where nearly every family has ties to equipment manufacturing or its suppliers.
• (03:36) Rod:

  "Or you work for a supplier that supplies all three of those manufacturers… there's a lot of local skilled trades that actually cover all three manufacturers…"

3. From Analyst to Global Mining: Rod’s Climb

• Early career: Commercial analyst managing parts and machine pricing; global exposure through mining deals.
• Technical challenges in mining equipment: Custom truck boxes, application-specific specs, and the science behind durability.
• (05:19) Rod:

  "Came in as an analyst… analyzed all the parts pricing… then machine pricing… then became a body sales engineer for their truck group… you get to know the dealer base, the customer base very well."

• Mining vs. construction: Mining machines and deals are bespoke, long-lived, and maintenance is mission-critical.

4. Economic Realities and High Stakes in Mining

• Mining's 24/7 nature, global financial stakes, and the intense partnership between OEMs and mines.
• Long-term commitments and the complexity of maintaining massive fleets over decades.
• (08:02) Rod:

  "It's a marriage… they're going to maintain it for 20, sometimes 30 years… coordinating outages, balancing component life… extraordinary people required at the ground level."

5. Equipment Sophistication, Customization & Misconceptions

• Buckets, loaders, truck boxes vary dramatically by material, geography, operation needs.
• Economics dictate what machines and setups are used—not just "bigger is better".
• (11:23) Rod:

  "For the WE2350, the largest wheel loader in the world… the bucket size, if you're in coal, it's 88 cubic yards. If you're in iron ore, it's 50 cubic yards. So the variation… is huge."

6. Purpose, Global Community, and Industry Pride

• Industry’s deeper purpose: Supporting modern life by extracting and supplying natural resources.
• Mining is misunderstood—often seen as outdated or vilified, but people in the industry are proud and committed.
• (13:25) Rod:

  "The purpose that I think all of us in the industry share is supporting modern life and recovering and uncovering all those natural resources that make it possible."

7. Global Experience & Common Threads

• Traveling the world, Rod observed that mining towns, no matter the country, share the same culture of hard work, pride, and similar values.
• Notable differences in safety standards, but many lessons learned globally come back to improve North American operations.
• (16:31) Rod:

  "My first flight ever was for work… to West Virginia... biggest takeaway… is how much commonality and similarity there is for the people in our industry. Globally… the hard work is consistent."

8. Commitment to Safety – A Universal Language

• Safety standards in global mining often rival or exceed those in the US.
• Sharing safety protocols across the industry, transcending company and competitive lines.
• (24:37) Rod:

  "We do all our training for free when it comes to safety… when we look at safety, we think it's beyond a company. It's really about all of us helping… many of us actually think of ourselves as safety ambassadors."

9. Life & Community in Mining Towns

• Stories from Elko, Nevada and Longview, Texas: Close-knit communities, blurred lines between work, family, customers, and local culture.
• The sense of larger purpose and pride in seeing the “local” factory’s products shipped worldwide.
• (32:28) Rod:

  "Just building that relationship outside of work as part of that community was probably the most fun I've ever had..."

10. Innovation, Legacy, and RG Letourneau

• The legendary impact of RG Letourneau on earthmoving, the Longview plant’s historical continuity, and culture of innovation.
• Letourneau-built machines, factory, and the enduring influence on Komatsu’s engineering DNA.
• (53:24) Rod:

  "He innovated everything from the products themselves to the materials… started the Longview plant in 1946… started a steel mill for custom alloys… built the first wheel loader… built cargo handling, tree crushers, snow trains, earth scrapers…"

11. Technology, Autonomy, and the New Era

• The emergence of autonomy, electric drive, hybrid systems, and Komatsu’s philosophy of open-architecture and partnership.
• The industry is at an inflection point: evolving from incremental improvement to disruptive innovation (e.g., underwater bulldozers, machine control, batteries, etc).
• (61:25) Rod:

  "As an industry… we're starting to see that come back… partnership within the industry and without… opening up our machines and technology to partnership."

12. The Cultural Merger: Japanese and American Strengths

• Komatsu’s roots in Japan combined with American manufacturing heritage (P&H, Joy Global, Letourneau).
• Balancing the Japanese spirit of consensus, quality, and deliberation with the American drive for communication, innovation, and directness.
• (81:42) Rod:

  "It's a spirit of collaboration and partnership… the Japanese culture, of how to collaborate and build consensus… and the American spirit of innovation, of communication and transparency… bring all that together and it's a fun culture to navigate."

13. Branding, Storytelling, and the Komatsu Vision

• Komatsu’s push to tell its story, leverage partnerships (e.g. Formula 1 sponsorship), and connect with the next generation through authentic marketing.
• "Gemba philosophy": learning directly from customer sites and applying those insights to improve.
• (85:22) Rod:

  "We're probably one of the least known global companies… we have an opportunity to just refocus our resources and efforts to get that story out there. And F1 to me was a beautiful place to start…"

14. Sustainability: More Than a Buzzword

• Komatsu’s approach: pragmatic, application-driven adoption of new tech (hybrid, electric, hydrogen, etc.), not chasing trends blindly.
• Core business as sustainable: enabling the infrastructure and supply chains modern society depends upon.
• Tree planting initiatives, reclaiming biodiversity through partnerships (Green Forest Work).
• (93:51) Rod:

  "You get to be a part of something that's meaningful, that allows modern society to exist… Komatsu meant what they said about sustainability… reforestation… we've planted over 700,000 trees."

15. The CEO Perspective on Leadership & the Future

• Transitioning from in-the-field leader to CEO: focusing on strategy, visiting dealers and customers, staying rooted in operations.
• The complexity of modern equipment and service businesses, need for humility, broad stakeholder engagement, and change management.
• Building trust internally and externally; the consequences of every word and action from leadership.
• (110:31) Rod:

  "I still definitely feel like I'm a student of the industry… I'll spend a couple weeks visiting dealers, looking at how they're running their business, what are their challenges…"

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Selling a piece of equipment, I'm going to call it quasi easy… but maintaining, winning that second and third fleet, that's where the magic is.”
  – Rod Bull (09:33)
• “For the WE2350… if you're in coal, it's 88 cubic yards. If you're in iron ore, it's 50 cubic yards. So the variation… is huge.”
  – Rod Bull (11:23)
• "The purpose that I think all of us in the industry share is supporting modern life and uncovering the natural resources that make it possible."
  – Rod Bull (13:25)
• “You get to be a part of something that’s big… that allows modern society to exist. And you can do it in a way that’s good.”
  – Rod Bull (93:51)
• “I think the industry's at an inflection point where technology is now becoming more central to just your common operators.”
  – Rod Bull (104:27)
• “We’re industry fanboys as well. We love the big equipment and what we do.”
  – Rod Bull (90:12)
• “We're probably one of the least known global companies… F1 to me was a beautiful place to start because it's year round… the scale of it and the energy… incredible.”
  – Rod Bull (85:22)
• “The spirit of the Japanese culture… to collaborate and build consensus and get to root cause with quality and the American spirit of innovation… you bring all that together and it's a fun culture.”
  – Rod Bull (81:42)
• “The cool thing about the PC 9000-8000-7000-5000, 500, 4000 all the way down. There's an electric option for those.”
  – Rod Bull (99:21)
• “Change management is one of the most difficult things we do… all those things require very deliberate change management.”
  – Rod Bull (113:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Background & Early Career: 01:07–05:14
• Midwest Equipment Culture: 02:55–05:03
• Mining vs. Construction & Equipment Economics: 07:03–13:25
• Industry Purpose & Community: 13:25–16:30
• Global Mining Workforce, Traveling: 16:31–23:22
• Focus on Safety: 24:09–25:22
• Life in Mining Towns: 29:02–35:15
• Letourneau Legacy, Factory Heritage: 52:52–59:41
• Innovation, Tech, Autonomy: 61:25–69:11
• Japanese-American Culture Merge: 78:17–84:01
• Branding & New Storytelling: 85:22–93:51
• Sustainability & Environmental Impact: 93:51–99:58
• Leadership & Looking Ahead: 106:44–118:56

Conclusion

This episode provides an inside perspective on how the mining and construction equipment industry is evolving—through personal stories, historical reverence, and honest discussion about the challenges and opportunities ahead. Rod Bull’s journey is emblematic of the industry's larger arc: proud roots, obsessive focus on quality and partnership, and finally, a new willingness to tell its story and invite the next generation along. The conversation is as much about culture and community as it is about machines, and both Aaron and Rod’s enthusiasm for the dirt world is infectious.

Listen for:

• Behind-the-scenes stories from legendary factories and remote mines
• Unfiltered truths about industry challenges and what’s changing
• Real talk about technology, branding, and the power of storytelling
• Inspiration for anyone drawn to big machines, big problems, and building the world’s future