Electronics and machinery
Hitachi 日立製作所
A motor built in a mine repair shop
In 1910 Namihei Odaira, an engineer at a copper mine in Hitachi, Ibaraki, built a 5-horsepower electric motor in the mine's repair shop. That motor started Hitachi, which grew into one of Japan's biggest makers of power, rail and industrial systems.
- Founded
- 1910
- Meiji 43
- Founder
- Namihei Odaira
- Started in
- Hitachi, Ibaraki
- Status
- Still trading
- Age 116 years
Timeline
-
1910 (Meiji 43)
Odaira completes a 5-horsepower induction motor at the Hitachi mine.
-
1920 (Taishō 9)
Becomes an independent company.
-
1964 (Shōwa 39)
Helps build the first Shinkansen bullet trains.
-
2009 (Heisei 21)
Its Javelin high-speed trains start running on Britain's High Speed 1 line.
Years in brackets are the Japanese era year. Japanese era converter →
Did you know?
The name Hitachi means "sunrise", and comes from the town where the company began.
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Dates follow the companies' own published histories where available. Trademarks belong to their owners; this page is not affiliated with any company listed.