New era begins for Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas with new equipment and expansions underway
After years of preparing, Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas Inc. (HCMA) is launching the next chapter for Hitachi Construction Machinery in North America and Latin America. On March 1, 2022, HCMA officially began leading the Hitachi brand's construction and mining equipment sales and service support efforts.
At a commemoration celebration event held for employees at the HCMA headquarters in Newnan, Georgia, HCMA CEO Alan Quinn and HCM Executive Vice President and Executive Officer Yasushi Ochiai outlined what customers, dealers and the industry can expect moving forward.
During his address, Ochiai said that this expansion in North America and Latin America will be one of the most important for the company in the 70 years that HCM has been developing, producing, selling and servicing construction and mining machinery.
"It has been the dream of many years for HCM to explore its own business in the region, not only with wheel loaders but also with other products, services and solutions. Expansion of business in the Americas will give further momentum to the development and production of new machinery, and the promotion of sales and services. The Hitachi Construction Machinery Group will become a true global player," Ochiai said.
Quinn added that March 1 marked a historic day for HCMA: "While Hitachi equipment has been used on construction sites and mines throughout the region, moving forward, dealers and customers will experience Hitachi the same way the rest of the world does with a direct relationship. We are preparing to launch new machines and technologies while focusing on having a more direct relationship with our customers and dealers. We will do whatever it takes to be the best supplier our customers and dealers work with."
In addition to celebrating this new direction for Hitachi, the first fleet of trucks loaded with Hitachi orange equipment hit the road bound for HCMA's extensive and growing dealer network. Simon Wilson, vice president at HCMA, said the excavators and wheel loaders on those trucks are designed to help contractors optimize production, have an efficient and safe operating experience, and help manage their operating costs.
"This is just the beginning of the advances the market can expect from Hitachi," said Wilson. "Over the next year, HCMA will be introducing many new models that incorporate the latest in hydraulic systems and innovative ‘uptime' and IoT services, as well as increase the capabilities of Hitachi ConSite, with an initiative to add more telematics and predictive analytics to our equipment lines."
On the mining side of HCMA's business, HCMA Senior Director, Mining Equipment Sales Babliton Cardoso met with dealers and mining executives at the 2022 MINEXCHANGE Conference and Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. "It was a great event, and there is a lot of excitement in the industry for this new chapter in Hitachi's history of delivering innovative and dependable mining machinery. Many people told us they've been waiting for us to make this move. Our team looks forward to working with them for many years to come."
To support dealers and customers, HCMA is expanding its corporate headquarters with the addition of a 400,000-square-foot parts distribution center and more personnel. More than 60 highly qualified individuals have already joined the team since August 2021.
"North America and Latin America represent the largest construction markets in the world, and we are ready to turn the region Hitachi orange with the industry's best equipment," concluded Quinn.
