New Facility Located Closer to Hitachi Customer Base Will Improve Customer Response Time and Reduce Costs
31st May 2000 — Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), today announced the grand opening of its state-of-the-art 450,000-square-foot distribution and warehouse facility in Plainfield, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis. The new facility, which began operation on April 1 and will ultimately employ 200 people, will be Hitachi Data Systems' dominant distribution center serving the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Asia.
The new center, which replaces distribution centers in San Jose, California and Laurel, Md., will save Hitachi Data Systems several million dollars within the first years of operation as a result of reduced costs in transportation, labor, real estate, and warehousing. The new facility will house the complete line of Hitachi Data Systems inventory and distribution products. Hitachi will outsource most of the management and operation of distribution. Having served as Hitachi's trucking service provider for the past decade, Fort Wayne, Indiana-based North American Van Lines, will serve as Hitachi's third-party logistics provider.
"The Plainfield facility will benefit our customers by streamlining our supply chain and speeding up our response time to our customers," said Regis Joly, General Manager Worldwide Customer Services, Hitachi Data Systems. "Seventy-four percent of our customer base is now within 24 hours of Plainfield by truck. The Plainfield distribution center is a critical link in demonstrating our commitment to enhance customer service and provide next-day product delivery whenever possible."
Hitachi Data Systems currently employs 85 people at the new facility. Within the next two to three years, the center will be fully staffed with 200 employees.
"The unveiling of this facility underscores Hitachi's commitment to place employees directly in front of our customer base. Given the location of our new destination city, the decision to move was an easy one," said Dave Roberson, Chief Operating Officer, Hitachi Data Systems. "The warm welcome we have received from the greater Plainfield, Indiana, area reinforced that Hitachi's decision to relocate was the right one."
"Hitachi Data Systems is already making a positive impact on our economy, and the new jobs at this facility help support families throughout the Plainfield area," said Tom McKenna, Director of Business Development, Indiana Department of Commerce. "Moreover, Hitachi's decision to move emphasizes that the Plainfield region has the assets, infrastructure, and leadership to attract global corporations. We are thrilled to welcome Hitachi as the newest member of Indiana's high-tech initiative to bring high-tech, high-wage, high scale jobs to the state."
Over 200 attendees are expected at the grand opening gala, including representatives from the state of Indiana and local communities. Last September, Indianapolis-based Duke-Weeks Realty Corporation, the nation's largest industrial real estate company, sponsored a groundbreaking ceremony. Duke-Weeks Reality built the facility and will also be responsible for managing the property.
The event starts at 10:00 a.m. and includes an open house. Hitachi Data Systems will commemorate the grand opening by donating $10,000 each to two noteworthy Indiana charities, the Diabetes Youth Foundation and Riley's Children's Hospital. In lieu of a ribbon cutting ceremony, a youth representative from one of the charities will unveil a cargo door of the facility, commencing a tour.
"All of us at Hitachi Data Systems believe in doing our part to make the community a better place for us all to live. Essential to this belief is assisting to provide the financial resources necessary to assist local charities, like the Diabetes Youth Foundation and Riley's Children Hospital, in realizing and achieving their goals," added Roberson. "Today's donations are our way of kick-starting our involvement in Indiana."
A non-profit group whose mission is to improve the lives of children with diabetes and their families, the Diabetes Youth Foundation of Indiana provides programs designed to educate, motivate, and improve diabetes control. Riley's Hospital for Children, the largest intensive care children's hospital in the county, is a national model for parental participation and education in the care of ill children. Indiana's finest pediatric hospital is the only hospital in the state that provides organ transplantation for infants and children, as well as ministers a pediatric burn unit.
Committed to helping customers exploit the value of information technology for success in the Internet economy, Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), is a leading provider of business solutions for the world's most information-intensive corporations. For further information on Hitachi Data Systems, access www.hds.com.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1998 (ended March 31, 1999) consolidated sales of 7,977 billion yen ($65.9 billion). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.
Contacts: PR
¹ At an exchange rate of 124 yen to the dollar.
Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
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