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Hitachi, Ltd. (株式会社日立製作所, Kabushiki-gaisha Hitachi Seisakusho) (Japanese pronunciation: [çiꜜtatɕi]) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group ( Hitachi Gurūpu) and forms part of the DKB Group of companies. Hitachi is a highly diversified company that operates eleven business segments: Information & Telecommunication Systems, Social Infrastructure, High Functional Materials & Components, Financial Services, Power Systems, Electronic Systems & Equipment, Automotive Systems, Railway & Urban Systems, Digital Media & Consumer Products, Construction Machinery and Other Components & Systems.[3]

Hitachi is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange"> Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices. It is ranked 38th in the 2012 Fortune Global 500 and 129th in the 2012 Forbes Global 2000.[4]

History

Former Hitachi logo (1968–1992)

Hitachi was founded in 1910 by electrical engineer Namihei Odaira in Ibaraki Prefecture.[5] The company's first product was Japan's first 5-horsepower induction motor, initially developed for use in copper mining. Odaira's company soon became the domestic leader in electric motors and electric power industry infrastructure.[6]

The company began as an in-house venture of Fusanosuke Kuhara's mining company in Hitachi, Ibaraki. Odaira moved headquarters to Tokyo in 1918. Long before that, he coined the company’s toponymic name by superimposing two kanji characters: hi meaning “sun” and tachi meaning “rise”. The young company's national aspirations were conveyed by its original brand mark, which evoked Japan's imperial rising sun flag.

World War II and its aftermath devastated the company. Many of its factories were destroyed by Allied bombing raids, and after the war, American occupational forces tried to disband Hitachi altogether. Founder Odaira was removed from the company. Nevertheless, as a result of three years of negotiations, Hitachi was permitted to maintain all but 19 of its manufacturing plants. The cost of such a production shutdown, though, compounded by a three-month labor strike in 1950, severely hindered Hitachi's reconstruction efforts. Only the Korean War saved the company from complete collapse. Hitachi and many other struggling Japanese industrial firms benefited from defense contracts offered by the American military. Meanwhile, Hitachi went public in 1949.[1]

Hitachi America, Ltd. was established in 1959.[7] Hitachi Europe, Ltd. was established in 1982.[8]

In March 2011, Hitachi agreed to sell its hard disk drive subsidiary, HGST, to Western Digital (WD) for a combination of cash and shares worth US$4.3 billion.[9] Due to concerns of a duopoly of WD and Seagate Technology by the EU Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, Hitachi's 3.5" HDD division was sold to Toshiba. The transaction was completed in March 2012.[10]

Hitachi entered talks with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in August 2011 about a potential merger of the two companies, in what would have been the largest merger between two Japanese companies in history.[11][12] The talks subsequently broke down and were suspended.[13]

In October 2012, Hitachi agreed to acquire the United Kingdom-based nuclear energy company Horizon Nuclear Power, which plans to construct up to six nuclear power plants in the UK, from E.ON and RWE for £700 million.[14][15]

In November 2012, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries agreed to merge their thermal power generation businesses into a joint venture to be owned 65% by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 35% by Hitachi.[16][17] The joint venture began operations in February 2014.[18]

On March 14, 2018, Zoomdata announced its partnership with Hitachi INS Software to help develop big data analytics market in Japan. [19]

Presidents

Generation Name Tenure
President vacancy － 1920–1928
First (Founder) Namihei Odaira 1928–1947
Second Chikara Kurata[20] 1947–1961
Third Kenichiro Komai[21] 1961–1971
4th Hirokichi Yoshiyama,[22][23] 1971–1981
5th Katsushige Mita[24] 1981–1991
6th Tsutomu Kanai,[25][26] 1991–1999
7th Etsuhiko Shoyama[27] 1999–2006
8th Kazuo Furukawa[28] 2006–2009
9th Takashi Kawamura 2009–2010
10th Hiroaki Nakanishi 2010–2014
11th Toshiaki Higashihara 2014–present

Products and services

Aircraft

(Pre-war)

Aircraft engines

Hitachi Hatsukaze"> Hitachi Hatsukaze

Automotive systems

Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas Offices, Farmington Hills, Michigan
  • Car Information Systems
  • Drive Control
  • Electric Powertrain Systems
  • Engine Management Systems

Components and devices

  • Batteries
  • Hard disk drives (Separated division for this product line as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, then HGST was purchased by Western Digital)
  • Information Storage Media
  • LCDs

Construction machinery

A Hitachi hydraulic excavator in use
  • Hydraulic Excavators
  • Forestry Equipment
  • Mechanical & Hydraulic Cranes
  • Mining Dump Trucks
  • Crawler Dump trucks
  • Wheel Loaders

Defense systems
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force">JGSDF Type 87 Artillery Support Vehicle 
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force">JGSDF Type 92 Mine Clearance Vehicle 
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force">JGSDF Type 96 120 mm Self-Propelled Mortar 
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force">JGSDF Type 99 Artillery Support Vehicle 

Digital media and consumer products

2008 Hitachi air conditioning outdoor unit
The Hitachi Magic Wand">Magic Wand vibrating massager

Note: A new product from Hitachi called Memory glass was to be introduced in 2015. It is a high density information storage medium utilizing laser etched/readable Fused quartz.[32]

Electronic systems and equipment

Financial services

  • Leasing
  • Loan guarantees
  • Invoice finance (via the Hitachi Capital arm of the business)
  • Consumer finance (personal and retail)
  • Business finance

Advanced materials

  • Circuit boards and materials
  • Copper products
  • High grade casting components and materials
  • Magnetic materials and components
  • Semiconductor and display related materials
  • Specialty steels
  • Wires and cables

Information and telecommunication systems

The Hitachi factory in Toyokawa, Japan

Power systems

Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 and the extended temporary closure of most Japanese nuclear plants, Hitachi's nuclear business became unprofitable and in 2016 Hitachi CEO Toshiaki Higashihara argued Japan should consider a merger of the various competing nuclear businesses.[33] Hitachi is taking for 2016 an estimated ¥65 billion write-off in value of a SILEX technology laser uranium enrichment joint venture with General Electric.[34][35]

See also: Hitachi Nuclear Energy">GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

Social infrastructure and industrial systems

Hitachi's G1TOWER, currently the world's tallest elevator research tower,[36] located at Hitachinaka, Ibaraki

Other

  • Logistics
  • Property management

Subsidiaries and divisions

Current

Hitachi Communication Technologies America

Hitachi Communication Technologies America provides communications products and services for the telecommunications, cable TV, utility, enterprise, industrial and other markets.[37]

Hitachi Consulting

Main article: Hitachi Consulting"> Hitachi Consulting

Hitachi Consulting is an international management and technology consulting firm with headquarters in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in 2000 and currently employs approximately 6,500 people across the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, India, Spain, Portugal, Germany, China, Brazil and Vietnam.

Hitachi Data Systems

Main article: Hitachi Data Systems"> Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi which provides hardware, software and services to help companies manage their digital data. Its flagship products are the Virtual Storage Platform (for enterprise storage), Hitachi Unified Storage VM for large sized companies, Hitachi Unified Storage for small and mid-sized companies, Hitachi Content Platform (archiving and cloud architecture), Hitachi Command Suite (for storage management), Hitachi TrueCopy and Hitachi Universal Replicator (for remote replication), and the Hitachi NAS Platform.

Hitachi Electronics

Hitachi manufactures many types of electronic products including TVs, Camcorders, Projectors and Recording Media under its own brand name.

Hitachi Defense Systems

Hitachi provides various defense related/derived products & services.

Hitachi Metal

Among other things, Hitachi Metals supplies materials for aircraft engines and fuselage components (e.g. landing gear), along with finished components for same and other aerospace applications. It also provides materials, components and tools for the automotive and electronics industries.

Hitachi Koki

Hitachi manufactures many types of tools including chainsaws, drills, woodworking power tools. Some are branded Koki Tanaka. March 1, 2016 Hitachi Koki acquired German power tools manufacturer Metabo from Chequers Capital.

Hitachi Plant Technologies

Hitachi Plant Technologies, Ltd., along with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, servicing, and execution of social and industrial infrastructure machinery, mechatronics, air-conditioning systems, industrial plants, and energy plant equipment in Asia and internationally.

Hitachi Rail

A British Rail Class 395"> British Rail Class 395 train produced by Hitachi

Hitachi Rail is the rolling stock manufacturing division of Hitachi. It and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries agreed to cooperate in the field of international intra-city railway systems in 2010.[38]

Hitachi markets a general-purpose train known as the " Hitachi A-train">A-train", which uses double-skin, friction-stir-welded aluminium body construction. The A-train concept can be customised to form different types of trains, ranging from high-capacity commuter and metro trains (as in the automated 3000 series train for the Nanakuma Line of the Fukuoka City Subway) to limited express (as in the E257 series jointly produced with Tokyu Corporation) and high-speed trains (as in the British Rail Class 395">Class 395 trains for Southeastern in the UK).[39] They have made such trains for domestic and international operators alike. Among its most significant orders was the winning tender for British Rail's Intercity Express Programme in June 2008.[40]

Hitachi's many products include the designing and manufacturing of many Shinkansen models, including the N700 Series Shinkansen,[39] which has been exported as the THSR 700T for Taiwan High Speed Rail. The company also markets a AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro">driverless metro system built by Hitachi Rail Italy"> Hitachi Rail Italy, pioneered on the Copenhagen Metro, and straddle beam monorail technology, known as the Hitachi Monorail"> Hitachi Monorail, which form the basis of the trains operating on the world's longest monorail system, currently part of the Chongqing Rail Transit network.

On February 24, 2015, Hitachi agreed to purchase the Italian rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and acquire Finmeccanica's stake in Ansaldo STS, the railway signaling division of Finmeccanica[41] The purchase was completed later that year,[42] at which point the company was renamed as Hitachi Rail Italy"> Hitachi Rail Italy. Since then, Hitachi has obtained a majority stake in Ansaldo STS.[43]

Hitachi Solutions America

Hitachi Solutions America is a consulting firm and systems integrator focusing primarily on Microsoft Dynamics. The firm utilizes AX and CRM from the Dynamics family to provide customers with a broad base of solutions. The company is international, with subsidiaries residing in the United Kingdom, Canada, Philippines, Thailand, Japan and India. Hitachi Solutions America acquired Ignify – another leading Microsoft Dynamics Solution providers in December 2015.[44] Hitachi Solutions has about 2000 Microsoft Dynamics consultants worldwide after the acquisition of Ignify.

Hitachi Works

Hitachi Works is the oldest member of the Hitachi Group and consists of three factories: Kaigan Works, Yamate Works, and Rinkai Works. Yamate Works, the oldest of the three factories, was founded in 1910 by Namihei Odaira as an electrical equipment repair and manufacturing facility. This facility was named Hitachi, after the Hitachi Mine near Hitachi, Ibaraki, and is regarded as the ancestral home of Hitachi, Ltd.

Many management trainees intern at Hitachi Works before being permanently assigned to other Hitachi divisions. Senior management personnel are often participants in rotations at Hitachi Works for a few years as their career develops towards eventual head office stature. As a result, many of the senior managers of Hitachi Ltd have passed through Hitachi Works.

Spin-off entities from Hitachi Works include Hitachi Cable"> Hitachi Cable (1956) and Hitachi Canadian Industries"> Hitachi Canadian Industries (1988).

R & D Group

  • Technology Strategy Office
  • Central Research Laboratory
  • Hitachi Research Laboratory – Includes Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory (Robotics)
  • Yokohama Research Laboratory
  • Design Division
  • Overseas research centers
  • In-house/Business division
  • Development center
  • Development & Design section
  • Intellectual Property Group [subgroup][45]

Former divisions

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Main article: Hitachi GST"> Hitachi GST

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies ( Hitachi GST) manufactures computer hard drives. There are 3 main ranges: Hitachi Travelstar"> Hitachi Travelstar, Hitachi Deskstar"> Hitachi Deskstar, and Hitachi Ultrastar.

On March 7, 2011 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies was purchased by Western Digital Corporation for $3.5 billion in cash and $750 million in Western Digital common stock.[46]

Hitachi Printing Systems

Hitachi Printing Systems was established in 1980 and was acquired by Ricoh in 2004, becoming Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd.

TELK (Transformers and Electricals Kerala Ltd.)

Hitachi had joint venture with Kerala public sector company telk during 1963 to 1989 for the production of electrical equipments.TELK is the first company to manufacture 400kV transformer in India in collaboration with Hitachi. TELK transformers are well known for its quality and have great demand in Indian power system

Corporate social responsibility

In August 2011, it was announced that Hitachi would donate an electron microscope to each of five universities in Indonesia (the University of North Sumatra in Medan, the Indonesian Christian University in Jakarta, Padjadjaran University in Bandung, General Soedirman University in Purwokerto and Muhammadiyah University in Malang).[47]

See also

Hitachi Group(ja:日立グループ)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e " Hitachi Financial Statements" (PDF). Hitachi. 
  2. ^ "Corporate Profile". Retrieved 8 October 2014. 
  3. ^ Our Businesses : Hitachi Global. Hitachi.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  4. ^ "Global 500 2014". Retrieved 2015-04-29. 
  5. ^ "Little Known Facts About Hitachi". Retrieved 8 October 2014. 
  6. ^ "History (1910–1959) : Hitachi Global". Hitachi.com. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2013-01-07. 
  7. ^ "History (1910–1959)". Hitachi. Retrieved 11 November 2012. 
  8. ^ "History (1980–1999)". Hitachi. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012. 
  9. ^ "WD to Buy Hitachi's Drive Business for $4.3 Billion". PC Magazine. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2012. 
  10. ^ " Western Digital Closes Hitachi GST Acquisition, to Operate Separate Subsidiaries". Network World. 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2014-09-01. 
  11. ^ "Hitachi, Mitsubishi edge towards groundbreaking merger". Reuters. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2012. 
  12. ^ "Shares of Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy get merger boost". BBC News. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2012. 
  13. ^ "Mitsubishi Heavy, Hitachi shares tumble as merger talks stall". Reuters. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2012. 
  14. ^ " Hitachi buys UK nuclear project from E.On and RWE". BBC News. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012. 
  15. ^ " Hitachi wins bid to build up to six UK nuclear plants". Reuters. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012. 
  16. ^ " Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy shares rise after merger". BBC News. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012. 
  17. ^ "MHI, Hitachi plan to merge thermal power units to boost overseas sales". The Japan Times. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012. 
  18. ^ "News Releases". Retrieved 8 October 2014. 
  19. ^ GlobeNewsWire. " Hitachi INS Software and Zoomdata Partner to Develop Big Data Analytics Market in Japan." March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  20. ^ "Mr. Chikara Kurata's portrait". 
  21. ^ "Mr. Chikara Kurata's and Mr. Kenichiro Komai's portrait". 
  22. ^ Hitachi Foundation">The Hitachi Foundation
  23. ^ "Mr. Hirokichi Yoshiyama's portrait". 
  24. ^ "Mr. Katsushige Mita's portrait". 
  25. ^ Tsutomu Kanai Award
  26. ^ "Mr. Tsutomu Kanai's portrait". 
  27. ^ "Mr. Etsuhiko Shoyama's portrait". 
  28. ^ "Mr. Etsuhiko Shoyama's and Mr. Kazuo Furukawa's portrait". 
  29. ^ "Defense Systems Company". 
  30. ^ Stuart, Laura Anne (19 April 2013). "The Rebirth of the Magic Wand". Express Milwaukee. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  31. ^ Trout, Christopher (28 August 2014). "The 46-year-old sex toy Hitachi won't talk about". Engadget. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014. 
  32. ^ " Hitachi targets 2015 for glass-based data storage that lasts 100 million years". pcworld.com. 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2016-06-02. 
  33. ^ "Japan's nuclear companies look to restructuring". Nuclear Engineering International. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017. 
  34. ^ Patel, Sonal (1 June 2016). "GE- Hitachi Exits Nuclear Laser-Based Enrichment Venture". POWER. Retrieved 1 April 2017. 
  35. ^ Yasuhara, Akiko (31 March 2017). "Toshiba's U.S. unit bankruptcy dims Japan's nuclear ambitions". The Japan Times. Retrieved 1 April 2017. 
  36. ^ "G1TOWER : About Us : Hitachi Global". Hitachi, Ltd. Retrieved 2014-08-14. 
  37. ^ "Company Overview of Hitachi Communication Technologies America, Inc". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02. 
  38. ^ " Hitachi Certifications". Retrieved 8 October 2014. 
  39. ^ a b " Hitachi Transportation Systems website". Retrieved 8 October 2014. 
  40. ^ " Hitachi Launches Bid For Intercity Express Programme". Hitachi-Rail.com. 2008-06-30. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2013-01-07. 
  41. ^ " Hitachi agrees to buy Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda". Railway Gazette. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  42. ^ " Hitachi completes Ansaldo deal". Railway Gazette. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  43. ^ " Hitachi buys shares in Ansaldo STS to raise stake to over 50 percent". Reuters. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  44. ^ PRWEB. " Hitachi Solutions Acquires Leading Microsoft Dynamics Solution Provider Ignify." December 14, 2015. Retrieved Jul 18, 2017.
  45. ^ Hitachi company Overview – R&D Group Organization section Accessed 9th October 2014 Archived 2014-10-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  46. ^ Murph, Darren (2011-03-07). " Western Digital drops $4.3 billion to acquire Hitachi GST, enter staring contest with Seagate". Engadget.com. Retrieved 2013-01-07. 
  47. ^ " Hitachi to grant electron microscopes". The Jakarta Post. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2012. 

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