KEITH FENDER profiles Hitachi’s large European presence
In 2014 Japanese engineering group Hitachi appointed Alistair Dormer to run its rail business based in London. Selecting a non-Japanese chief executive sends a powerful message, with Mr Dormer tasked to achieve the targets the firm has set for growing the business in new markets, especially Europe.
Underlining the message is the fact that the company’s long-established rail vehicle plant in Kasado, Japan, is now part of the Hitachi Rail organisation reporting to a boss in London (although Chief Operating Officer Kentaro Masai, responsible for all the Hitachi Rail factories, remains based in Japan).
Since 2014 Hitachi Rail has expanded significantly, establishing a manufacturing plant in the UK and buying large parts of the former AnsaldoBreda business with major factories in Italy. The company has established a new assembly plant in Miami, USA.
Modern Railways talked exclusively with Alistair Dormer, CEO of Hitachi Rail Europe, in his office in Hitachi Rail HQ, several floors up in a modern office block near St Paul’s cathedral. On the day of my visit it was fine and sunny and the office afforded a great view of Lond…
