View all newsletters
Receive our newsletter - data, insights and analysis delivered to you
  1. What Is
February 15, 2017updated 10 Mar 2017 5:00pm

What is Hitachi?

The Japanese company was nearly eradicated in World War II - find out how it survived and became one of the biggest companies in the world.

By Ellie Burns

Hitachi is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo.

The company operates a total of eleven business segments such as, Information & Telecommunication systems, Social infrastructure, Automotive Systems & Equipment, Digital Media and Financial Services, among others.

Founded in 1910 by electrical engineer Namihei Odaira, the company’s first product was Japan’s first 5-horsepower electric induction motor for the copper mining industry. The company has since grown to be a well known name in IT, being most famous in this segment for its disk arrays, servers, mainframe computers and software.

The name Hitachi comes from the combination of two kanji characters – hi meaning ‘sun’ and ‘tachi’ meaning rise.

 

How did Hitachi survive World War II?

World War II devastated the Japanese manufacturing industry, with many Hitachi factories being destroyed. American occupational forces tried to disband Hitachi altogether, but three years of negotiations resulted in the company keeping all but 19 of its manufacturing plants.

Hitachi eventually recovered from World War II, following other Japanese industrial firms in benefiting from lucrative defense contracts offered by the American military.

Content from our partners
How businesses can safeguard themselves on the cyber frontline
How hackers’ tactics are evolving in an increasingly complex landscape
Green for go: Transforming trade in the UK

In 2011, Hitachi agreed to sell its hard disk subsidiary Hitachi Global Storage Technologies to Western Digital, in a deal worth $4.3 billion. Hitachi’s 3.5″ HDD division was eventually sold to Toshiba, following concerns of duopoly of WD and Seagate by the EU Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

 

 

Topics in this article :
Websites in our network
Select and enter your corporate email address Tech Monitor's research, insight and analysis examines the frontiers of digital transformation to help tech leaders navigate the future. Our Changelog newsletter delivers our best work to your inbox every week.
  • CIO
  • CTO
  • CISO
  • CSO
  • CFO
  • CDO
  • CEO
  • Architect Founder
  • MD
  • Director
  • Manager
  • Other
Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.
THANK YOU