Ben Taylor

Ben Taylor is the global crushing parts marketing manager and global product manager for feeders at Komatsu. Prior to joining Komatsu, he spent seven years with Caterpillar on both surface and underground mining product development teams.

Taylor received bachelor's and master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, with the intent to work in the heavy equipment industry. His graduate research assistantship at the Virginia Tech Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety (CVeSS) focused on terrain and vehicle interaction (terramechanics), test rig development, and wheel testing with NASA.

From there, Taylor moved into the industrial world, joining Caterpillar as an application and systems engineer on the automatic traction control team. He did critical work leading to the the successful launch of the CAT 700 Series articulated dump trucks, as part of the industry Tier 4 interim emissions rollout.

In 2012, Taylor transferred to Caterpillar’s Underground Soft Rock mining business unit (formerly Bucyrus) and joined the room and pillar mining engineering team. As the technical engineering lead for the roof bolter product line, he gained a deeper understanding of operation beyond machinery.

Taylor joined Komatsu’s crushing systems group as a product manager in 2017, initially supporting surface crushing and feeding products before focusing on the reclaim feeder product line. He led the effort to standardize that product line, successfully launching the crushing team’s first standardized reclaim feeder at CONEXPO 2020.

That same year, Taylor tookon the role of global parts marketing manager and has been responsible for aftermarket sales, engineering, and support functions. He has led several successful initiatives to grow the crushing team’s aftermarket presence and capabilities.

Through his experiences, Taylor said he has developed a passion for sharing the importance of mining to our daily lives.