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February 15, 2000 |
Hitachi Reorganizing Elevators & Escalators Group - New Building Systems Group to handle all aspects of building business - |
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) today announced that the current Elevator & Escalator Group is to be reorganized in line with the "i.e.HITACHI Plan," Hitachi's Medium-term Business Plan aimed at optimizing consolidated capabilities as a solutions-provider. The reorganization, to be implemented from April 1, will create a new Building Systems Group with the consolidated capabilities needed to strengthen competitiveness in the core business of elevators and escalators and to establish itself as a provider of total systems encompassing all aspects of building management from building security to cleaning and infomation services. In parallel, sales and technical support operations, currently spread over a number of Hitachi, Ltd. branch offices and Hitachi Elevator Engineering Co., Ltd., an Elevators & Escalators Group affiliate, will be consolidated under the Building Systems Group sales division, while design and manufacturing operations related to elevator and escalator reconditioning will be consolidated under the Group's Mito Headquarters for Elevator and Escalator Operations. In a related move scheduled for July 1, Hitachi plans to consolidate five companies engaged in elevator and escalator production in Hitachinaka City into a single company called Hitachi Mito Engineering Co., Ltd. Since the start of Hitachi's new management system in April 1999, the Elevators & Escalators Group has been operating as an essentially independent company with considerably expanded authority it has used to upgrade operations both qualitatively and structurally. Reforms implemented include the building of an integrated management system encompassing Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd. and other affiliated companies, reinforcement of the sales and development systems, and the launching of a Group IT strategy aimed at computerizing sales operations and shifting toward digital factories using CAD as a central technology in development, design and production. Under the "i.e.HITACH Plan" introduced in November 1999, the Elevators & Escalators Group has also put in place a sweeping program for achieving consolidated Group sales of \300 billion by fiscal 2002. This calls for boosting product competitiveness, early development of new products and technologies, development of new businesses, and expansion of overseas operations. One focus of new business development is information services utilizing Hitachi Building Systems' nationwide network of 320 service stations and "24-Hour/365-Day" control centers. The Elevators & Escalators Group markedly reinforced its potential to expand service operations and information services by acquiring 90% of the outstanding stocks of Seishin Service Co., Ltd. and a 33.3% share of BRAIN Co., Ltd. in November and December 1999. Seishin Service has advanced know-how in retail store and other building management and BRAIN is a leading player in Japan's direct marketing industry, with strong capability in the area of Internet promotion expected to become the core medium of future telemarketing. The reorganization calls for restructuring of sales and production systems Hitachi-wide, including affiliates, and is directed at achieving highly efficient management for enabling the Group to reestablish itself as a general provider of building products and services. The new name, Building Systems Group, is intended to symbolize this vision. Sales and technical support operations now managed by several Hitachi, Ltd. branch offices and Hitachi Elevator Engineering will be consolidated under the Building Systems Group sales division. Design and manufacturing operations related to elevator and escalator reconditioning, currently handled by Hitachi Elevator Engineering, will be consolidated under the Building Systems Group's Mito Headquarters for Elevator and Escalator Operations. Overlapping areas of responsibility will also be eliminated to improve efficiency. For this, on July 1, Hitachi Elevator Engineering Co., Ltd., Hitachi Mito Engineering Co., Ltd., Mito Elevator Products Co., Ltd., HIMEC Service Co., Ltd., and BUILDING TECHNOS IBARAGI Co., Ltd., all Hitachinaka City-based companies engaged in elevator and escalator production, will be consolidated into a single company, Hitachi Mito Engineering Co., Ltd. Following the reorganization, the Building Systems Group will have around 16,000 employees (consolidated basis). Detailed strategies for the planned move into new information and service businesses are currently under study and will probably involve a shift of about 300 personnel from the production divisions. Outline of the Companies Hitachi Mito Engineering Co., Ltd. Head Office: 832-2 Horiguchi, Hitachinaka-Shi, Ibaraki, Japan Establishment: July. 1, 2000 Capital: 330 million yen (Hitachi, Ltd.: 62.5% ,Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd, : 37.5%) Business: Manufacture and sale of Home elevators and small elevators, quality assurance of elevators and escalators, participate in all businesses related to the aboves. Sale target: 9 Billion yen(for the year ended Mar. 31, 2001) No. of Employees: 900 at startup Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1998 (ended March 31, 1999) consolidated sales of 7,977 billion yen ($65.9 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp. * At an exchange rate of 121 yen to the dollar.
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WRITTEN BY Secretary's Office (C) Hitachi, Ltd. 2000. All rights reserved. |