Hitachi Ltd.

Type:	Public company
Industry:	Electronics
Headquarters:	6-6, Marunouchi 1-chome Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8280
Country:	Japan
Employees:	32,926 (as of end of March 2011)
Revenue:	$112.2 billion (consolidated as of March 2011)
Website:	www.hitachi.com
Key People
Hiroaki Nakanishi, President

Hitachi Ltd. is a Japanese global company engaged in manufacturing a wide range of products from appliances, electronics components, defense systems, infrastructure systems, information and telecommunications systems. rail systems, urban planning and development systems. Hitachi was established in 1910 when the company developed the first five-horsepower induction motor. In 2011, the company reported $112.2 billion revenue. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan and maintains regional headquarters located in Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania. Hiroaki Nakanishi is the President of the company.

Business Categories

Hitachi's products and services falls under the following business categories:

• Information and Telecommunications Systems- The company provides competitive IT products and services such as servers, storage, networks systems, personal computers, software, video systems and IT solutions.
• Power Systems- Hitachi develops high efficient thermal, nuclear and renewal energy power systems with low environmental impacts.
• Railway Systems and Urban Systems- The company is dedicated in providing rolling stock, traffic control, signaling systems, substation systems, and information services for railways. Hitachi uses smart grids and green IT in urban development as part of its smart city business.
• Social Infrastructure- Hitachi provides comfortable, safe and secure water supply, sewage system and water recycling plants and provides high efficient motors, inverters, transformers and different types of systems for various industries.
• Construction Machinery- The company offers different types of machinery including excavators, demolition machinery, wheel loaders, recycling equipment and compaction equipment.
• Electronic Systems and Equipment- Hitachi supplies semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment. The company also provides solutions for semiconductor packages, mobile phones and smart phones as well as medical systems used to diagnose illnesses. Some of its products include Digital Diagnostic Ultrasound System, Batch Thermal Process System, Large Glass Substrate Exposure System etc.
• High Functional Materials and Components- The company uses nanotechnology and other innovative technologies in developing original materials and components including amorphous metals, neodymium-iron-boron sintered magnet, anode material that are used in different industries. It also supplies different types of wires and cables.
• Automotive Systems- Hitachi is a supplier of fuel efficient and low CO2 emissions electric motors, inverters, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, DIG systems for smaller more fuel-efficient engines, control systems for brakes, suspension, car navigation systems and services and other systems.
• Components and Devices- Some of the company's products include data storage media such as the LTO computer tape used for archiving and the backup of data stored in servers, DVDs, optical drives, surveillance cameras, digital cameras, and mobile phones, and adhesive tapes.
• Digital Media and Consumer Products- Hitachi manufactures high-definition plasma and LCD flat-panel televisions, optical pickups and optical disk drives for PCs, air conditioning systems and home appliances including refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners, LED lighting etc.
• Financial Services- Hitachi provides leasing of information and telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, buildings, and other capital goods to corporations and government agencies. The company also offers credit cards for individuals and business entities as well as consumer loans and credit for vehicles, homes and education etc.

Subsidiaries

Hitachi's major subsidiaries include:

• Hitachi America, Ltd.
• Hitachi Asia Ltd.
• Hitachi (China) Ltd.
• Hitachi Europe Ltd.
• Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan HQ)

Brand Strategy

In 1999, the Hitachi Brand Platform, "Society Changes. Hitachi Transforms it" was developed after the company suffered from financial difficulties. Hitachi's image was established based on trust and technical capabilities earned by the company for many years.

Application for .Hitachi gTLD

On March 2011, Hitachi announced its plans to apply for the .hitachi generic top level domain name (gTLD). Following the company's announcement, GMO Registry, Inc., a Japanese based domain registry and internet service provider confirmed it was selected by Hitachi to develop and submit the application with ICANN and to operate the .hitachi gTLD. According to Ken Nishida, Hitachi's manager for internet and domain strategies; operating the .hitachi gTLD in effective and innovative strategy to improve the company's brand value.