By Keith Fender
Feature
KEITH FENDER profiles Hitachi’s large European presence
Ready for the main line: Class 800 nine-car IEP at Newton Aycliffe on 16 May 2017. Keith Fender
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).
