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, Yamate, 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, 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

Information and Telecommunication Systems (21%)

• System integration
• Outsourcing services
• Software
• Hard disk drives
• Disk array subsystems
• Servers
• Mainframe computers
• Personal computers
• Telecommunications equipment
• ATMs

Electronic Devices (11%)

• LCDs
• Semiconductor manufacturing equipment
• Power tools
• Test and measurement equipment
• Medical electronics equipment
• Semiconductor devices

Power & 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 equipment

High 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 materials