7 September 2016

“Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050”

Tokyo, September 5, 2016 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501; “Hitachi”) today announced its set of long-term environmental targets with a view towards 2050, called “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050”. In “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050”, under its “Environmental Vision” which sets forth a vision for the company through environmental management, Hitachi has set targets such as achieving 80% reductions in CO2 emissions across the company’s value chain by fiscal 2050 compared with fiscal 2010, achieving a 50% improvement in the efficiency of the use of water and other resources by fiscal 2050 compared with fiscal 2010, and minimizing the impact on natural capital; for building a low-carbon society, a resource efficient society, and a harmonized society with nature. Moving ahead, Hitachi will drive forward with initiatives towards the future achievement of these targets.

In recent years, the will for society to work towards the reduction of environmental burdens, and towards the resolution of global environmental issues in the long term, has been demonstrated by agreements such as the Paris Agreement adopted at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP21, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by a United Nations. Additionally, because the Social Innovation Business that Hitachi is developing globally are long-term business operations relating to the construction of social infrastructure, a long-term environmental perspective is also essential in accelerating the development of these business operations.

In light of these developments, and from a long-term perspective, Hitachi believes that it is necessary to take steps to combat environmental issues such as climate change, depletion of resources and destruction of ecosystems; and has therefore established the “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050” as a set of long-term environmental targets to achieve by 2050.

The outline of “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050” is as follows.

Long-Term Environmental Targets: “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050”

“Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050” is a set of targets for 2050 established under the “Environmental Vision” that “Hitachi will resolve environmental issues and achieve both a higher quality of life and a sustainable society through its Social Innovation Business in collaborative creation with its stakeholders”, whereby Hitachi will aim to globally build a low-carbon society, a resource efficient society, and a harmonized society with nature.

1. Realization of a Low-Carbon Society

(1) Target

Achieve 50% reductions in CO2 emissions by fiscal 2030, and 80% reductions by fiscal 2050 across the value chain compared to fiscal 2010

(2) Initiatives

CO2 emissions at the “Use” stage of the product and solutions, which Hitachi delivers to customers, account for more than 90% of CO2 emissions in the entire Hitachi value chain. To reduce emissions at this stage, Hitachi is adopting the following four action policies. Continuous efforts are also being made to reduce emissions at the “Production” stage.

a) Move business structure to low-carbon model

b) Develop innovative devices and materials that contribute to reduction of
environmental burden

c) Develop and provide super-efficient, energy-saving products and low-carbon
energy

d) Provide energy-conserving social system solutions through cooperative
harmonization between systems, across a wider area, and in an integrated way

2. Realization of a Resource Efficient Society

(1) Target

Build a society that uses water and other resources efficiently and achieve a 50% improvement in usage efficiency of water and other resources by fiscal 2050 compared to fiscal 2010 in the Hitachi Group

(2) Initiatives

To maximize its contribution to the construction of a water and resource circulating society through its business operations, Hitachi will evolve a series of processes comprising of high-quality water production, purification, water supply and drainage and offer solutions to expand use of recycling. Further, it will create water resources through its global expansion of sea water desalination.

Moreover, Hitachi will also implement the following policy measures with the aim of achieving a 50% improvement in usage efficiency of water and other resources by fiscal 2050 compared to fiscal 2010.

a) Promote efficient use of resources and reduction of waste by manufacturing
resource-saving products with long service lives, and shifting towards servicing
and sharing of businesses

b) Promote recycling of resources through exhaustive product collection and
recycling

c) Reduce volume of water use and reinforce drainage purification and reuse in
production processes in accordance with regional water risks

3. Realization of a Harmonized Society with Nature

(1) Target

Minimize the impact on natural capital

(2) Initiatives

Hitachi will evaluate the impact that its operations have on ecosystems at each stage of the value chain, and implement actions to minimize the environmental burden. More specifically, Hitachi will supply products and services that contribute to ecosystem conservation, including atmospheric/water purification systems and nature monitoring systems, and promote environmentally conscious procurement activities. Hitachi will also seek to minimize environmental burden at factories and offices, such as by paying care and consideration to scarce species on factory grounds and managing the volume, quality and temperature of drainage water and exhaust gas emissions.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2015 (ended March 31, 2016) totaled 10,034.3 billion yen ($88.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 335,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Press Contacts

Japan
Yuko Taniuchi
Hitachi, Ltd.
+81-3-5208-9324
yuko.taniuchi.fw@hitachi.com    

U.S.
Tamie Nagamoto
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2987
tamie.nagamoto@hal.hitachi.com

 

6 October 2016

50” – 65” Models in 4K Ultra HD Arrive in Stores Beginning this Month

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – October 6, 2016 – Hitachi America, Ltd.’s Digital Media division today announced the introduction and availability of three new 4K Ultra HD Hitachi Roku TV™ models in the US, each featuring the Roku® OS for one of the best streaming experiences in the industry. Every 4K Ultra HD Hitachi Roku TV provides access to more than 3,500 streaming channels, including 350,000+ movies and TV episodes, and the 4K Spotlight channel that offers curated 4K content making it easy to access stunning video.

“At Hitachi, we have always focused on ensuring our televisions deliver exceptional quality and performance to our customers. With our new smart TV lineup, we know it is absolutely critical to deliver a tremendous user experience, as well,” said Bill Whalen, Director of Product Development, Hitachi America, Ltd., Digital Media Division. “The fusion of the Roku OS into our television lineup enables us to deliver one of the best smart TV experiences in the industry.”

All 4K UHD Hitachi Roku TV models include a quad-core processor and 2160p resolution for brilliant image reproduction. The 55”-Class models (55R7, MSRP $599) will be available at Sam’s Club in early October and the 65”-Class (65R8, MSRP $999) and 50”-Class (50R8, MSRP $499) models will follow shortly thereafter.

“Hitachi has incredible brand power and is recognized by consumers for making great TVs,” said Chas Smith, SVP and general manager Roku TV & Players. “With the Roku OS delivering a simple way to access a ton of content and Hitachi’s meticulous attention to quality and performance, consumers will really love these beautiful 4K Roku TVs.”

A Simple Smart TV That Consumers Love

Hitachi Roku TV models feature sharp picture quality and smart and simple features for watching TV. The home screen of Hitachi Roku TVs can be personalized with icons for users’ favorite entertainment choices, including over-the-air antenna, game consoles, and cable boxes, together with preferred streaming channels. The intuitive home screen makes it easy to switch among streaming channels, cable boxes, and other devices.  Roku TV offers powerful search and discovery features that can save time and money. Roku search provides an unbiased look across 100+ streaming channels to find movies, TV shows, actors, and directors. Search results are ranked by price, showing where movies and TV shows are free or cheapest to watch. Consumers can use the free Roku mobile app for iOS® and Android devices to control their TV, browse and search for content as well as play personal media on the TV. Roku TV models receive automatic software updates that deliver new streaming channels and features ensuring the TV is up to date.

About Roku, Inc.

Roku pioneered streaming for the TV and aspires to power every TV in the world. As of June 2016 the Roku OS powered TV streaming for 10+ million monthly active accounts. Roku is known for streaming innovation and high customer engagement, offering content providers and video advertisers the best way to reach streaming audiences. Roku customers streamed 4 billion hours of video and music in the first six months of 2016 as compared to 5.5 billion hours in all of 2015. Roku streaming players and Roku TV models are available in 10 countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with TV OEMs and service operators. The company was founded by Anthony Wood, inventor of the DVR. Roku is privately held and headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif. U.S.A.

Roku is a registered trademark and Roku TV is a trademark of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries.

IOS is a trademark or registered trademark of CISCO and is used under license.
Android™ is a trademark of Google Inc.  

About Hitachi America, Ltd.

Hitachi America, Ltd. headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, particle beam therapy technologies, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas. For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us. For information on other Hitachi Group companies in the United States, please visit www.hitachi.us.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2015 (ended March 31, 2016) totaled 10,034.3 billion yen ($88.7 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 335,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Press Contacts

Daniel O’Connell    
Brand Definition
(212) 660-2555 ext. 12
daniel@brand-definition.com


Seana Norvell
Roku
(408) 641-3135
snorvell@roku.com

10 November 2016

Theme: “Transform the Future With IoT Insights and Innovations”
First Major Customer-focused R&D Symposium to be held
in Hitachi’s new Global Center for Social Innovation in Silicon Valley

Hitachi Social Innovation Forum 2016, Santa Clara

November 10, 2016, Santa Clara, CA --- Hitachi America Ltd. (“Hitachi”), a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., today announced that Hitachi and its knowledge partner, Frost & Sullivan, will convene innovative business leaders, customers and partners to discuss solutions to the significant challenges facing our global society. Hitachi Social Innovation Forum 2016 SANTA CLARA will take place at the Fairmont San Jose and will feature an experiential tour of real-world innovation at the Hitachi Global Center for Social Innovation-North America on November 15.

Ryuichi Otsuki, Chief Executive for the Americas, Hitachi, Ltd., and CEO of Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, invites leaders to engage in an important discussion, “The promise and potential of the internet of things (IoT) is pushing the frontier of technology and presenting new ways to lead the world toward innovation that effectively addresses global challenges. This Social Innovation goal is central to Hitachi’s vision of the future.”

Other senior global leaders from Hitachi presenting at the event include: Hiroaki Nakanishi, Chairman of the Board of Hitachi Ltd., Norihiro Suzuki, CTO and Head of Global Research, and Kazuo Yano, Corporate Chief Scientist leading artificial intelligence research.

Participants will explore the incredible prospects for Social Innovation and brainstorm the IoT opportunities being created in industries such as Automotive and Transportation, Energy, Healthcare, and Information Technologies.

Hitachi executives will also present global trends and technology drivers for the future global economy, and discuss how to take a vision from research and development to execution. Building on this framework, expert talks and group discussions will delve into artificial intelligence and IoT; how to develop robust ecosystems for collaborative creation; and Hitachi’s new core IoT platform, Lumada.

Participants also will be able to choose from interactive sessions focused on Smart Cities (public safety, big city analytics, connected transportation), Smart Health (fitness wearables, care delivery transformation), Digital Energy (microgrids, energy efficiency solutions) and Industrial IoT (predictive maintenance).

An experiential tour that covers real-world innovation at the Silicon Valley Research Center of the Hitachi Global Center for Social Innovation–North America will give a firsthand view of Hitachi’s latest R&D innovations from around the world. The highly engaging and interactive tour will showcase how Hitachi and its customers together drive high-value digital business solutions.

Discussions, networking and town hall brainstorming sessions throughout will enable all participants to pose their challenges as well as to contribute to running commentary on issues and ideas.

For schedule details and to register for the Hitachi Social Innovation Forum 2016 SANTA CLARA, visit http://www.insight-iot.com/.

About Hitachi Global Center for Social Innovation–North America

Strategically based in Santa Clara, California, and Farmington Hills, Michigan, the talented team of over 100 highly skilled multi-disciplinary members in the Americas is tackling many challenges to achieve a greener environment, more efficient resources exploration, smart vehicles, healthcare, agriculture, mining and transportation. The Silicon Valley Research Center in Santa Clara is a unique environment designed to facilitate co-innovation between Hitachi and our customers. Together we share visions, generate concepts and quickly develop innovative technology and solutions which are validated through Proof-of-Concept (PoC) prototypes at our customers’ sites.

About Hitachi America, Ltd.

Hitachi America, Ltd. headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, particle beam therapy technologies, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas. For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us. For information on other Hitachi Group companies in the United States, please visit www.hitachi.us.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2015 (ended March 31, 2016) totaled 10,034.3 billion yen ($88.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 335,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Press Contacts

Theodore Lowen
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2986
theodore.lowen@hal.hitachi.com

Tamie Nagamoto
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2987
tamie.nagamoto@hal.hitachi.com

 

1 August 2017

Washington, D.C., August 1, 2017 – Hitachi, Ltd. today announced the appointment of Mr. Kenichiro (Ken) Mizoguchi as General Manager of Hitachi Corporate Offices, Washington DC & Los Angeles. Mr. Mizoguchi succeeds Mr. Masahiko Yamaguchi, who has served as General Manager since 2014. Mr. Yamaguchi will take charge of external relations at Hitachi, Ltd. in Japan. The appointments will be effective October 1, 2017.

Mr. Mizoguchi currently serves as Executive General Manager of the Corporate Brand & Communications Division, Hitachi, Ltd. During the course of his over 31-year career, Mr. Mizoguchi has had extensive experience leading public relations, investor relations, crisis management, internal communications and corporate branding & advertisement for the global corporation. Mr. Mizoguchi’s prior experience also includes leading corporate communications and business development & strategies in the US market, based in Tarrytown, NY and San Jose, CA for a decade.

Recently, Mr. Mizoguchi played a critical role in developing and executing Hitachi’s integrated corporate branding & communication strategy worldwide. Through his significant efforts, the company launched a new global brand campaign, aligned with the company’s corporate management strategy. Also, he has been deeply engaged in investor relations and led the launching “Hitachi IR Day,” an annual investor dialogue event which started in 2010.

In serving as General Manager of Hitachi Corporate Offices, Washington DC & Los Angeles, Mr. Mizoguchi will oversee Hitachi’s external affairs in the Americas as a key representative of Hitachi, Ltd. in order to strengthen relationships with various stakeholders, including national and local government legislators, officials, regulators, public policy organizations and others.

“I am honored to assume this very important role within Hitachi during this important time in the US,” said Mr. Mizoguchi. “Uncertainty in today’s environment and markets is increasing globally as well as in the US, while business opportunities also continue to expand, driven by rapid digitalization and expansion of IoT – related solutions.”

“I believe that Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business strategy, which combines our accumulated operational technology and digital technology expertise, will contribute to resolving societal challenges and creating sustainable development that is so necessary in the US and the rest of the world today,” he continued. “I will make every effort to expand and enhance Hitachi’s national and local networks in the Americas and reinforce these critical relationships between the various stakeholders and Hitachi.”

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2016 (ended March 31, 2017) totaled 9,162.2 billion yen ($81.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 304,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Contacts

Theodore Lowen
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2986
theodore.lowen@hal.hitachi.com

Tamie Nagamoto
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2987
tamie.nagamoto@hal.hitachi.com

 

27 April 2018

Tokyo, April 27, 2018 - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) today announced its consolidated financial results for fiscal 2017, ended March 31, 2018.

For more information, please click here http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2018/04/180427.html
Note: All figures were converted at the rate of 106 yen to the U.S. dollar, as of March 31, 2018.

Press Contacts

Japan:
Masataka Morita
Hitachi, Ltd.
+81-3-5208-9324
masataka.morita.xk@hitachi.com

U.S.:
Tamie Nagamoto
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2987
tamie.nagamoto@hal.hitachi.com

5 May 2018

-- Hitachi Positioned in Visionaries Quadrant for Completeness of Vision and Ability To Execute --

TOKYO and SANTA CLARA, Calif. – May 22, 2018 – Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) and Hitachi Vantara, today announced that Hitachi has been positioned in the Visionaries quadrant of the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT Platforms1 based on Gartner, Inc.’s evaluation of the company, which included Hitachi’s Lumada IoT platform.

Gartner describes the market for IIoT platforms as “a set of integrated software capabilities. These capabilities span efforts to improve asset management decision-making, as well as operational visibility and control for plants, depots, infrastructure and equipment within asset-intensive industries.” In the report, Gartner predicts: “By 2020, on-premises Internet of Things (IoT) platforms coupled with edge computing will account for up to 60% of industrial IoT (IIoT) analytics, up from less than 10% today.”

The report also notes: “Gartner believes that 2018 will see a significant expansion of IoT platforms for industrial enterprises as both cloud and on-premises deployments.”

>> Download a complimentary copy of the full Gartner Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT Platforms report: https://www.hitachivantara.com/ext/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-industrial-iot.html (registration required).<<

Lumada is a highly flexible, intelligent and composable software platform, which offers a portable architecture that enables it to run on-premises, in the cloud and in hybrid environments, and support industrial IoT deployments both at the edge and in the core. Lumada combines artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and asset avatars – commonly known as digital twins – to streamline and simplify management of connected business and industrial assets. This helps to increase asset utilization and accelerate the time to value of IIoT initiatives, driving faster time to insight and business outcomes for industrial and enterprise customers. Outcomes include increased operational efficiencies and cost savings; enhanced operational safety and reliability; improved asset utilization, performance management and product quality; and the creation of new business models.

Customers looking to further accelerate the time to value of their IIoT initiatives with Lumada will also benefit from co-creation services engagements with Hitachi, which taps them into Hitachi’s expansive industrial, operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) expertise to create customized IoT solutions tailored to their unique requirements.

“Hitachi is honored to be identified as a Visionary in this still nascent but rapidly emerging IIoT market. From our perspective, organizations are now implementing IoT initiatives globally to gain insight into their operational assets and processes, increase efficiencies, improve customer experiences and gain a competitive edge. Industrial verticals in particular stand to gain enormous benefits from digital solutions and we believe Hitachi is well positioned to help them achieve their goals,” said Brad Surak, chief product and strategy officer at Hitachi Vantara. “Lumada unites the best of Hitachi’s intellectual property, innovation and IT/OT expertise and has been tested and refined in co-creation engagements with Hitachi’s customers around the world. We will continue innovating with Lumada to develop data-driven solutions that propel our customers’ businesses forward.”

To download a complimentary copy of the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT Platforms, visit https://www.hitachivantara.com/ext/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-industrial-iot.html (registration required).

1Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT Platforms,” Eric Goodness, Ted Friedman, Peter Havart-Simkin, Emil Berthelsen, Alfonso Velosa, Saniye Burcu Alaybeyi, Benoit J. Lheureux, 10 May 2018

Gartner Disclaimer
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Hitachi Vantara

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., helps data-driven leaders find and use the value in their data to innovate intelligently and reach outcomes that matter for business and society. We combine technology, intellectual property and industry knowledge to deliver data-managing solutions that help enterprises improve their customers' experiences, develop new revenue streams, and lower the costs of business. Only Hitachi Vantara elevates your innovation advantage by combining deep information technology (IT), operational technology (OT) and domain expertise. We work with organizations everywhere to drive data to meaningful outcomes. Visit us at www.hitachivantara.com.

Connect with Hitachi Vantara

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges, combining its operational technology, information technology, and products/systems. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2018) totaled 9,368.6 billion yen ($88.4 billion). The Hitachi Group is an innovation partner for the IoT era, and it has approximately 307,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation with customers, Hitachi is deploying Social Innovation Business using digital technologies in a broad range of sectors, including Power/Energy, Industry/Distribution/Water, Urban Development, and Finance/Social Infrastructure/Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks, service marks, and company names are properties of their respective owners.

###

Company Contact

Hope Nicora
Hitachi Vantara
hope.nicora@hitachivantara.com
831-227-3660

 

4 June 2018

-- Contributes to Improving Efficiency of Repair Work and More Stable Operation --

Tokyo, June 4, 2018 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, “Hitachi”) today announced its development of a service platform (“the service platform”) that utilizes AI and other advanced digital technologies to automatically propose optimal repair work for various types of industrial machinery, and Hitachi will be commencing joint demonstrative testing in collaboration with its US subsidiary Sullair, LLC (“Sullair”), which manufactures and sells air compressors, towards the commercial productization of the service platform. Specifically, Hitachi will verify its performance and advance the development of related applications through applying the service platform to air compressors at Sullair’s own factories and those in use by Sullair customers.

Moving forward, Hitachi will carry out joint demonstrative testing together with other partner companies in addition to Sullair in order to achieve the practical commercialization of the service platform as soon as possible; and launch a Maintenance & Repair Service with the service platform at its core, offering total support for the repair service businesses of a wide range of industrial machinery manufacturers.

Furthermore, by integrating real-time operational data (gathered via the remote monitoring service for air compressors provided by Sullair) with the service platform, Hitachi also plans to develop technologies that will recognize early warning signs and predict breakdowns, and provide services offering preventive maintenance support to manufactures as an additional function.

In recent years, with the increasing complexity and globalization of supply chains and the advancement of workplace automation, there are increasing needs for minimizing downtime (i.e. stoppage of operation) with regard to industrial machinery at plants, logistics facilities and construction sites. The number of skilled engineers is also declining, and there are demands for optimization and greater sophistication of repair services for products utilizing digital technologies. Until now, repair services for industrial machinery have typically involved manufacturers’ service personnel travelling to the site in person (after being contacted by users upon the occurrence of a breakdown), considering and judging which parts of the machinery to repair and what repair methods to use after examining the state of the machinery themselves. Because of this, there has been an issue in that it takes certain amount of time before recovery can be achieved.

The Hitachi Group has developed the service platform in response to this problem, through a combination of advanced digital technology and its extensive track record and expertise accumulated through many years of performing maintenance on a wide range of industrial machinery including air compressors. Based on data of breakdowns and the current state of the machinery, operational history, repair history (details of maintenance work performed including exchanges of parts and consumables, etc. and the results of such work) and the asset data, the service platform automatically suggest optimal repairs including which parts of the machinery to repair and which repair methods to use by utilizing AI technology and proprietary analytical models which combined some algorithms, in order to achieve a high complete recovery rate. For example, in the event of an air compressor stopping operation due to an increase in temperature, by having users input data (such as the state displayed on the control panel at the time of the breakdown, and how long the machine has been running for) into the service platform, it can display which part of the machine is most likely to be the cause of the breakdown, and automatically suggest optimal repair and response procedures, both to users and to the manufacturer. Furthermore, because the service platform utilizes AI technology, it is capable of learning continuously, which increases the accuracy of its proposals based on interrelationships between accumulated data, including data on machinery breakdowns, details of repairs and the results of work performed.

By introducing the service platform, manufacturers of industrial machinery will be able to make advance preparations for repair work based on the content of suggestions made by the service platform before their service personnel head to the actual site of the breakdown, thereby minimizing the need for backtracking, even in the case of already-installed machinery not equipped with IoT devices (which cannot be monitored remotely). As a result, manufacturers will be able to simultaneously increase operational efficiency and improve the quality of their repair services, enabling them to enhance their maintenance service business operations. This will also enable users to reduce downtime due to the occurrence of machinery breakdowns and minimize lost business opportunities.

Moving forward, Hitachi will commence to achieve the practical commercialization of the service platform as soon as possible; and launch a Maintenance & Repair Service with the service platform at its core, offering total support for the repair service businesses of industrial machinery manufacturers. Furthermore, by integrating real-time operational data collected from industrial machinery with the service platform developed this time, Hitachi also plans to provide support for manufacturers’ preventive maintenance services as an additional function, by developing the service platform into a sophisticated predictive maintenance system.

Hitachi regards this Maintenance & Repair Service as one of the solution cores of its IoT platform Lumada, and will continue to offer digital solutions covering the entire value chain—including after-sales services—to customers in the Industrial & Distribution business domain; in addition to the management support, manufacturing workplace and logistics solutions it has provided up until now.

Image of Services Utilizing the Service Platform
Services Utilizing the Service Platform

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges, combining its operational technology, information technology, and products/systems. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2018) totaled 9,368.6 billion yen ($88.4 billion). The Hitachi Group is an innovation partner for the IoT era, and it has approximately 307,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation with customers, Hitachi is deploying Social Innovation Business using digital technologies in a broad range of sectors, including Power/Energy, Industry/Distribution/Water, Urban Development, and Finance/Social Infrastructure/Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Press Contacts

US
Tamie Nagamoto
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2987
tamie.nagamoto@hal.hitachi.com

Japan
Akiko Ebisu
Hitachi, Ltd.
+81-35928-8104
akiko.ebisu.bc@hitachi.com

20 June 2018

-- Simplifying business Kaizen based on advanced OT data analytics using Node-RED --

Integration of MATLAB and Microsoft Dynamics 365 on Lumada
Integration of MATLAB and Microsoft Dynamics 365 on Lumada

Tokyo, June 20, 2018 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, “Hitachi”) today announced the development of technology enabling MATLAB® and Simulink® ,(1) a tool provided by The MathWorks, Inc. (“MathWorks”) and widely used for modeling and simulation in industrial settings, and Microsoft Dynamics® 365,(2) a cloud business application of Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”), to collaborate through Hitachi's Lumada IoT platform. The technology will facilitate the development of solutions using both advanced OT(3) data analytics and enterprise IT system by automating the collaboration between OT systems and enterprise IT systems that in the past stood alone. This will realize the increased productivity and the prompt delivery of innovative digital solutions.

In recent years, there is an expectation that with progress in IoT technology, the digital data collected from various types of sensors can be analyzed and used to resolve a wide range of management issues such as improvement in productivity and reduction in failure rate. Amidst this growing need, Hitachi has developed its Lumada IoT platform to provide a wide range of digital solutions to resolve the challenges faced by our customers. A GUI(4)-based programming tool "Node-RED"(5) was employed to facilitate the analytic operational flow from collecting data to analysis. Furthermore, in August 2017, Hitachi announced the development of Flow Connection Gateway,(6) a technology that enables integrated management of connecting interfaces between systems on Node-RED to simplify the processing and data coordination between systems.

To accelerate the delivery of digital solutions using Lumada, Hitachi collaborated with MathWorks and Microsoft, to demonstrate that by linking MATLAB and Simulink with Microsoft Dynamics 365 using Node-RED, a collaborative solution integrating advanced data analytics with a work management system could be quickly and easily achieved. Specifically, a MATLAB data analytics algorithm, "wear condition estimation model" was controlled from Node-RED and combined with service and item data on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service, to realize the automatic registration of information related to maintenance items based on wear-related failure prediction.

Hitachi intends to expand the range of analytics algorithms and connectable work systems through open innovation, to promote the technology development of innovative digital solutions based on IoT technology. Further, Hitachi will continue to actively collaborate with and contribute to OSS(7) communities.

A part of the technology described in this release will be presented at the Open Source Summit Japan to be held at the Tokyo Conference Center Ariake from 20th to 22nd June, in Tokyo, Japan.

Comment from Mr. Kris Borchers, executive director of the JS Foundation(8)
The JS Foundation is excited to see continued enterprise adoption of Node-RED in production environments. What started as a useful prototyping tool has grown to be adopted by many organizations as part of their product development tool chain and is shipped in their customer-facing products. This collaboration between Hitachi, Microsoft and MathWorks is a great example of that growing enterprise adoption trend for Node-RED and illustrates the importance of open source software in enabling these types of collaborations which provide major benefits to customers and partners. We look forward to continued collaboration with and contribution from Hitachi within the Node-RED project and the broader Node-RED and JavaScript ecosystems.

Comment from Mr. Satoru Abe, Industry marketing manager of MathWorks Japan
In collaboration with Hitachi, MATLAB and Simulink provide advanced algorithms and apps for data analytics and machine learning that can be used directly as the analytics engine for maintenance operation business systems. We expect this integrated platform to enable our customers to quickly implement wear and remaining useful life (RUL) estimation, failure prediction, predictive maintenance and other critical maintenance operations and deploy them across the enterprise.

Comment from Mr. Yoshinami Takahashi, Executive Managing Officer, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.
Microsoft Japan cordially welcomes Hitachi’s development and global marketing of a new technology to interact with BSS(9) powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 as part of our partnership in Hitachi’s Lumada Project. To help our customers accelerate digital transformation, a reliable cloud platform that leverages existing investments on open source and hosts them is required. Particularly, the industrial sector is in need of operational efficiency enhancement based on the IoT technology, and the technology developed by Hitachi, its innovativeness as well as fusion of existing applications and data is highly expected to drive forward digital transformation of our customers. Microsoft Japan will continue to contribute to further development of our customers’ business through our collaboration with Hitachi in the global partnership framework.

(1) MATLAB and Simulink are registered trademarks of The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB and Simulink are data analytics and simulation platforms.
(2) Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a cloud business application that supports activities necessary for cooperative operations.
(3) OT: Operational Technology
(4) GUI: Graphical User Interface, the interface which utilizes visual images in displaying information from computers to users.
(5) Node-RED is a “coding-less” programming tool developed by IBM which was donated to the JS Foundation, a project of the Linux Foundation, a non-commercial organization that provides support for a variety of open-source activities. The Node-RED website is https://nodered.org.
(6) Hitachi News Release dated 9 August 2017, “Technology development to enhance the functionality of the Node-RED programming tool for easier system collaboration.” http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2017/08/170809a.html
(7) OSS: Open Source Software
(8) JS Foundation: https://js.foundation/
(9) BSS: Business Support System

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges, combining its operational technology, information technology, and products/systems. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2018) totaled 9,368.6 billion yen ($88.4 billion). The Hitachi Group is an innovation partner for the IoT era, and it has approximately 307,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation with customers, Hitachi is deploying Social Innovation Business using digital technologies in a broad range of sectors, including Power/Energy, Industry/Distribution/Water, Urban Development, and Finance/Social Infrastructure/Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Inquiry about this release

For more information regarding this release, please contact the Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.: https://www8.hitachi.co.jp/inquiry/hqrd/news/en/form.jsp

Contacts

Japan
Toru Nishino
Hitachi, Ltd.
+81-3-5208-9324
toru.nishino.wu@hitachi.com

U.S.
Tamie Nagamoto
Hitachi America, Ltd.
+1-914-333-2987
tamie.nagamoto@hal.hitachi.com

 

2 July 2018

Tarrytown, New York, July 2, 2018 — Hitachi America, Ltd. (HAL) today announced the merger of two of its Hitachi Group companies: Label House (L.A. Supply Co.) and Hitachi Industrial Equipment Marking Solutions Inc. (HIMS), effective July 1. Dale Tetzlaff will lead the merged company, henceforth known as HIMS, as President and COO.

The two merging companies, both part of the HAL Marking and Coding Group, will leverage each other’s strengths to escalate Hitachi’s growth and increase operation efficiency. The combined organization will utilize the strength of Hitachi’s brand and global sales support to help promote its products and services.

HAL and Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd. (HIES) jointly established HIMS as a subsidiary in June 2015. HAL and HIES went on to acquire Label House as a second subsidiary for HAL Marking and Coding Group in 2016.

HIMS provides high-quality products and local service to keep customers’ production lines running at a valued price that aims to achieve quick returns on their investments.

Profile of HIMS:

Company NameHitachi Industrial Equipment Marking Solutions Inc.
LocationIrvine, California, United States
Elk Grove Village, Illinois, United States
RepresentativeDale Tetzlaff
BusinessSales and servicing of marking and coding solutions
Employees26
ShareholdingHAL 80%, HIES 20%

About Hitachi America, Ltd.

Hitachi America, Ltd. headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, particle beam therapy technologies, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas.  For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us.

About Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd. headquarter in Tokyo, Japan, is a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and is engaged in the manufacturing, sales and services of industrial components and equipment. The company offers various industrial products including motors, factory automation/control systems, wind/water systems, pneumatic systems, power distribution, environmental systems and labor-saving systems. For more information, visit http://www.hitachi-ies.co.jp/english.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges, combining its operational technology, information technology, and products/systems. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2018) totaled 9,368.6 billion yen ($88.4 billion). The Hitachi Group is an innovation partner for the IoT era, and it has approximately 307,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation with customers, Hitachi is deploying Social Innovation Business using digital technologies in a broad range of sectors, including Power/Energy, Industry/Distribution/Water, Urban Development, and Finance/Social Infrastructure/Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Contact:
Sayaka Eiki
Hitachi America, Ltd.
914-524-6717
ICED.Marketing@hal.hitachi.com