Hitachi enters North American industrial business with Sullair acquisition
Hitachi and Accudyne have entered an agreement through which Hitachi will acquire Accudyne's Sullair subsidiary, which manufactures air compressors, for $1.245 billion US. The move gives Hitachi access to Sullair's global sales network, mostly in North America, and ties into the company's efforts to expand its IoT Era strategies moving forward.
"I am very pleased to announce that Hitachi has today agreed with Accudyne to proceed with the acquisition of Sullair, a leader in the air compressor business," said Masakazu Aoki, Executive Vice President at Hitachi and CEO of the Industrial Products Business Unit. "Through this fusion with Sullair's strengths, Hitachi will increase its competitiveness and strengthen the air compressor business. At the same time, by using Sullair's global footprint, mainly in North America, we will accelerate the global rollout of the Social Innovation Business."
In order to become the "Innovation Partner for the IoT Era" by accelerating collaborative creation with customers through the advanced Social Innovation Business, Hitachi has introduced a market-in business structure composed of "front," "platform" and "products." Hitachi's "front" business has strived to work side by side with customers to create new value through the rapid and effective utilization of its Social Innovation Business by leveraging digital technology, with the "Lumada" IoT platform at its core.
Hitachi's goal in this acquisition is to gain access to Sullair's global sales network. Furthermore, Hitachi will accelerate the global rollout of the Social Innovation Business by providing Sullair's customer base with digital solutions or IoT-compatible products that leverage the expertise in IT and operational technology which Hitachi has cultivated over many years.
Sullair was founded in 1965 and has established a solid sales network and customer base. Accudyne has selected Hitachi as the best partner to ensure long-time success given its sales network in Japan and Asia, as well as the complementary relationship.
"We are very pleased with the transaction, as the combination represents a uniquely attractive opportunity for Sullair, its employees, distributor partners and end customers," said Charles Treadway, CEO of Accudyne.
"We are thrilled with the prospect of partnering with Hitachi to grow Sullair as we embark together on the next chapter in our proud history," said Jack Carlson, Sullair President.
In an effort to establish a strong product business that meets a broad range of industrial needs, Hitachi has been developing the product business through the unified strengths of the Industrial Products Business Unit and Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd., which handles small or medium sized industrial products. Air compressors in particular have been positioned as a core business, in which Hitachi provides high-quality, high-efficiency products, mainly in Japan and Asia. Hitachi plans to add its products to Sullair's complementary product lineup, use the global sales network Sullair has established, mainly in North America, and increase the scale of the air compressor business.
