Hitachi Made Hitachi Hi-Rel in India a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Hitachi, Aiming Rapid Expansion of Power Electronics Business

Tokyo, Japan, October 27, 2015 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, “Hitachi”) announced today that it has made Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (Managing Director: Piyush Shah; “Hitachi Hi-Rel”), a subsidiary that manufactures and sells power electronics (PE) products in the Republic of India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi. The acquisition was completed when the remaining shares were purchased from the promoters and employees. This transaction will not result in any changes to the company name or the management structure.

In October 2011, Hitachi made Hi-Rel Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (“Hi-Rel”) a subsidiary of Hitachi, and established “Hitachi Hi-Rel,” to strengthen PE business in India, positioning it a first operation base for global business development. To pursue this strategy, Hitachi Hi-Rel added high voltage industrial inverters, Power Conditioning Systems (PCS) for large-scale Photovoltaic generation facilities, and large-scale Uninterrupted Power System (UPS) to the industrial UPS and related products that Hi-Rel had been manufacturing and selling for 25 years. Hitachi Hi-Rel has roughly tripled its revenues over the past four years.

PE products are used in a wide range of applications in various industries and infrastructure fields. For example, drive systems save energy consumption in fans, pumps, blowers, and other industrial equipment, as well as in process control for continuous production lines in factories. UPSs ensure stable, high-quality power supply in a variety of applications, including data centers, communication facilities, and hospitals, as well as Oil & Gas, Steel, and chemical plants. PE products are also used in railway applications, and in large-scale Photovoltaic and wind power generation facilities.
The demand for PE products is expected to increase in keeping with the development of various industries in India and Southeast Asia as well as the recent rapid growth of renewable energy market worldwide. In this market background, Hitachi decided to take direct control of Hitachi Hi-Rel operations and to reinforce PE business through increasing product competitiveness and expanding application fields by enhancing Hitachi Hi-Rel’s R&D, design, and manufacturing structures with making full use of the Hitachi Group’s sales/service networks.

Masakazu Aoki, Vice President and Executive Officer, President & CEO of Industrial Products Company, Hitachi, said, “Hitachi Hi-Rel has a top class track record of delivering UPS for the industrial field in India. Based on the advanced control technologies and outstanding quality control systems established by Hitachi, we will further increase the competitiveness of Hitachi Hi-Rel’s products, and expand the company’s share in India which is expected to be a growth market in the future. We will also strengthen the power electronics product business by positioning Hitachi Hi-Rel as a base for global expansion.”

On May 1, 2015, Hitachi established the Industrial Products Company as a new in-house company to increase the competitiveness of the industrial component business and to expand this business on a global scale. By following this growth strategy, Hitachi Hi-Rel became a full subsidiary. By further expanding PE business, Hitachi will contribute to the development of industry in India and throughout the world.