Hitachi, Ltd.

Infobox_Company
name = Hitachi, Ltd

type = Public (tyo|6501 nyse|HIT)
slogan = "Inspire the Next"
foundation = 1910
location_city = Marunouchi-1, Chiyoda, Tokyo
location_country =
JPN
key_people = Namihei Odaira, Founder
Kazuo Furukawa, President
num_employees = 347,810 (2008)cite web |url=http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=HIT&page=quotesearch |title=Company Profile for Hitachi Ltd (HIT) |accessdate=2008-10-03]
revenue = profit ¥10,248 billion ($94.998 billion USD (2007)
industry = Industrial conglomerates
products = industrial machinery, power plants, information systems, electronics, materials, financial services
homepage = [http://www.hitachi.com www.hitachi.com]
intl = yes

Nihongo|Hitachi, Ltd|株式会社日立製作所|Kabushiki-kaisha Hitachi Seisakusho (tyo|6501, nyse|HIT) is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology and services headquartered in Marunouchi Itchome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group ("Hitachi Gurūpu") as part of the larger DKB Group companies.

On the 2007 Forbes Global 2000 list, Hitachi is ranked number 371.

History

Hitachi was founded in 1910 as an electrical repair shop. Today, it is one of the leading manufacturers in new technology.

Hitachi Works

Hitachi Works is the oldest member of the Hitachi Group and consists of three factories: Kaigan, Yamatte, and Rinkai Works. Yamatte 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, 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 (1956) and Hitachi Canadian Industries (1988).

In 2007, Hitachi won the Investment in People Award, Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards from Enterprise Asia, a regional NGO based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for their continued efforts in building human talents.

Main products and services

Hitachi divides its operations into seven industry segments. These segments are listed below with the main products and services offered by each. The figure in parentheses shown with each segment is the percentage of total revenue (for the fiscal year ended March 2007) derived from that segment.

Information and Telecommunication Systems (21%)
* System integration
* Outsourcing services
* Software
* Hard disk drives
* Disk array subsystems
* Servers
* Mainframe computers
* Personal computers
* Telecommunications equipment
* ATMsElectronic Devices (11%)
* LCDs
* Semiconductor manufacturing equipment
* Power tools
* Test and measurement equipment
* Medical electronics equipment
* Semiconductor devicesPower & Industrial Systems (26%)
* Nuclear, thermal and hydroelectric power plants
* Industrial machinery and plants
* Automotive products
* Construction machinery
* Elevators
* Escalators
* Railway vehicles (see Hitachi Rail)Digital Media & Consumer Products (13%)
* Optical disk drives
* Plasma and LCD Televisions
* LCD projectors
* Mobile phones
* Room air conditioners
* Refrigerators
* MP3 players
* Washing machines
* Bread machines
* Vibrators
* Information storage media
* Batteries
* Air conditioning equipmentHigh Functional Materials & Components (15%)
* Wires and cables
* Copper products
* Semiconductor materials
* Circuit boards and materials
* Organic and inorganic chemical products
* Synthetic resin products
* Display-related materials
* Specialty steels
* Magnetic materials and components
* High grade casting components and materialsLogistics, Services & Others (10%)
* General trading
* Logistics
* Property managementFinancial Services (4%)
* Leasing
* Loan Guarantees
* Insurance Services

Investor relations

Hitachi stock is traded on the following exchanges:

New York (HIT - American Depositary Receipt), Tokyo (6501), Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo stock exchanges

Research and development

Research is conducted in six corporate laboratories and in overseas R&D organizations.

Corporate laboratories

Central Research Laboratory
* Information & Communications
* Solution LSIs
* Advanced Devices
* Life Science
* Storage
* Embedded SystemsAdvanced Research Laboratory
* Human & Information
* Medical & Bio
* Environment & Energy
* Materials & NanotechnologyHitachi Research Laboratory
* Fuel cells through the use of nanotechnology
* Hybrid battery cars
* High strength nano-glass substrates
* Nano-grain encapsulation and self-assembly
* High-performance power suppliesSystems Development Laboratory
* Information Systems
* Security
* Ubiquitous Storage
* Service SolutionsMechanical Engineering Research Laboratory
* Mechatronics Application SystemsProduction Engineering Research Laboratory
* Management Systems
* Production Engineering

Overseas facilities

Hitachi Europe Ltd.
* Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory - Spintronics, Quantum Communications, Organic Electronics
* Hitachi Dublin Laboratory - Numerical Analysis
* Hitachi Sophia Antipolis Laboratory - Next generation networks, Security, Mobile Communications
* Automotive Research and Development Laboratory - Automotive SystemsHitachi America, Ltd.
* Automotive Products Research Laboratory - Engine Control Systems, Car Navigation Systems, Production Process Technologies
* Wireless Systems Research Laboratory - Advanced Broadband Wireless Systems
* SAN Solutions Laboratory - Next-generation Storage Solutions, Life-cycle Data Management ArchitectureHitachi (China) Research & Development Corporation
* IP Network System Laboratory - Next-generation Mobile IP Network Systems & Applications
* Open System Software Laboratory - Open Source Software Development Tools, Engineering for Offshore Development
* Ubiquitous Platform Development Laboratory (Beijing branch) - Digital Appliances, Image & Storage Media
* Ubiquitous Platform Development Laboratory - Digital Television Systems
* Innovative Systems & Materials Laboratory - Automotive Components & Materials, Innovative Software, Future TV System Technology
* Digital Appliances Development Center - Digital Television Software Development, Market & Technology Survey
* Development Center for Home Appliances - Air-conditioning System DesignHitachi Asia Ltd.
* Hitachi Storage Mechanics Laboratory - Hard Disk Drives

Trivia

* is a famous monkey pod tree at Moanalua Gardens, Oahu, Hawaii, shown on Hitachi's TV commercials in Japan. [http://www.hitachinoki.net/]
* In cartoon sitcom The Simpsons, Lisa had to do a presentation on one of her ancestors. She invented a family including a fake Native American tribe to impress everyone for the diversity project at school. She named the Native American tribe "Hitachi Tribe", getting the name from the microwave in the kitchen of her home. [http://www.rootstelevision.com/blogs/megans-rootsworld/2007/07/simpsons_descended_from_the_hi.html]

References

ee also

*The Hitachi Foundation, Hitachi's nonprofit philanthropic foundation
*Euclid Trucks, wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe)
*Tsutenkaku, a tower in Osaka advertising Hitachi
* Hitachi Data Systems (HDS)
* Hitachi-LG Data Storage, joint venture between Hitachi and LG
* Hitachi Consulting
* Kashiwa Reysol, Hitachi's former company football (soccer) team, still sponsored by them

External links

* [http://www.hitachi.com/ Hitachi (Global)]
* [http://www.hitachi.co.jp/ Hitachi (Japan)]
* [http://www.hqrd.hitachi.co.jp/hrle/ Hitachi R&D]
* [http://www.hitachi.us/ North America Portal]
* [http://www.hitachi-eu.com/ European Portal]
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41866.html Yahoo! - Hitachi, Ltd. Company Profile]
* [http://www.hitachiconsulting.com/ Hitachi Consulting]
* [http://www.hitachifoundation.org/ The Hitachi Foundation]
* [http://www.hitachi-koki.com/ Hitachi Koki Co. Ltd.]
* [http://www.hitachipowertools.ca/ Hitachi Power Tools (Canada)]