To understand the continued success of Hitachi, you first need to understand the principles and values of our founder Namihei Odaira, upon which the Company has been built. Known as 'Founding Concepts', ‘Wa’ (which stands for harmony, trust and respect), ‘Makoto’ (which stands for sincerity, fairness, honesty and integrity) and ‘Kaitakusha-seishin’ (which stands for pioneering spirit and challenge), were infused into the business from its very beginning and are as strong today as they have ever been. Taken together with Odaira’s principle aim of building a company that will contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products, the Founding Concepts have guided Hitachi’s growth into a flourishing, technologically diverse and innovative company - one with an outstanding history and a brilliant future.
As we approach our centennial in 2010, Hitachi worldwide is a business of more than 900 operating companies that employ over 385,000 talented people and generates revenues in excess of US$ 112 billion – making us one of the top 50 largest global companies. All of which is a very long way from the business that was founded in Japan in 1910 to produce ‘home-built’ electric motors for the Kuhara Mining Company, and that in 1920 was incorporated as Hitachi. That was the start of what has been nearly a century of innovation, technical leadership and commercial stewardship which has created a group of Hitachi businesses that are positioned in leading positions in a variety of industrial sectors. These include Information & Telecommunication Systems; Electronic Devices; Power and Industrial Systems; Digital Media & Consumer Products; High Functional Materials & Components; Logistics, Services & Others; and Financial Services. In addition, there is a portfolio of more than 20,000 products and services that run the gamut from 500-gigabyte hard disk drives to ultra-thin LCD TVs, and from railway vehicles to power plants. In addition, as part of our long-term goal to identify the real needs of society and utilise the latest advances to develop next generation products, we are investing heavily in R&D (in excess of US$4 billion in 2008), which resulted in over 1300 patents being registered in the US in 2007.
Hitachi has established a significant presence in Europe with more than 100 companies employing over 9,000 people. These include the European operations of many Hitachi Group Companies, plus Hitachi Europe Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. Japan. Together they contributed some 10% of total revenues in 2007. Whilst representing most of the sectors that Hitachi operates in, growth over the next few years will be primarily focussed on power systems, rail systems, construction machinery and enterprise storage systems.
Formed in 1982 and with its European headquarters based in Maidenhead, England, the company’s operations employ over 600 people to deliver services and solutions to customers in several key business areas. These include air conditioning & refrigeration systems; digital media products; display products; European procurement & sourcing; industrial components & equipment; information systems; power & industrial systems; and rail. HEU is also responsible for managing a Shared Services Group that provides the Company's business units with a range of innovative and effective common services that deliver value, create ‘lean’ processes and support growth and development - including HR, IT, Legal, Finance, Public Affairs and Business Development. The Hitachi Design Centre and Hitachi’s European R&D centres are also under the umbrella of HEU.
For information about other Hitachi Companies in Europe, please click here. As you can see from the size and breadth of our business we are able to offer an enormous variety of exciting career opportunities, in an organisation in which you can make a difference regardless of your level as long as you are enthusiastic, creative, forward thinking and prepared to work hard.
