Hitachi to rebrand as “HiKOKI”

Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd has announced that the company will change its corporate name to Koki Holdings Co., Ltd., effective June 1, 2018, and will rebrand its full line of power tools known as Hitachi and/or Hitachi Koki under the new HiKOKI (pronounced “hai-koh-key”) name, effective October 1, 2018.

The name changes are said to be in line with the company’s ambitious international growth strategy, aimed at ensuring sustainable growth while expanding business in the nearly 100 countries in Hitachi Koki’s global network.

Hitachi Koki’s has produced reliable and innovative products throughout its 70-year history, which serve as the basis for its new partnership with KKR, one of the world’s pre-eminent private equity groups. Through the new partnership, Koki Holdings is streamlining operations and accelerating investment in organic development and acquisitions to enhance its global businesses as a worldwide leading manufacturer.

Simultaneous to the rebranding efforts, the company is establishing a subsidiary as its European headquarters called Koki Holdings Europe GmbH in the suburbs of Dusseldorf, Germany to reflect the strategic importance of the European market. The subsidiary will commence operations in November 2017, and will serve to carry out the parent company’s activities in Europe, with the aim to be closer to customers to facilitate faster decision making in managing their needs.

“We have delivered award-winning innovation in manufacturing with solid business performance for over 70 years, and now is the time for us to focus on expansion as a truly global company while remaining rooted to our Japanese tradition,” said Osami Maehara, President, Hitachi Koki. “We have fully committed to accelerate growth alongside a dynamic new partner in KKR as we pursue our goal to become a global leader in power tools and life-science instruments. We have set an aggressive sales target of US$2.7 billion in fiscal year 2020. We are confident we can take our business to the next level with the support of all our employees and partners worldwide, and the revamping of the brand name is the first step to making this possible. We look forward to continuing to build a brand that exceeds the expectations of discerning customers around the world.”

The HiKOKI brand was created to embody the three core competencies of the company, including its innovative technologies that give rise to products with superior performance, the reliability of its products and services backed by a 70-year company history, and the potential for new business growth represented through the new partnership with KKR. For ease of pronunciation, the new brand name uses a lowercase “i” in its first syllable, and includes the implicit numeral “1” to express its commitment to providing customers with the “No. 1” products on the market, and its aim to achieve “No. 1” global status – the company says.

The new corporate name, Koki Holdings Co., Ltd., is designed to maintain continuity with the current name, while also reflecting the multiple brands it encompasses around the world, and accelerate its investment in acquisitions to expand the global business.