Bit of a change for Hitachi..

[tinman]

looking at the back of a tool mag i was gifted the other day i noticed a Hitachi and a Metabo air nailer and both were identical bar the brand names,
had a quick google there and took the first one, seems there has been a bit of buying and selling of late,
it was news to me, could be common knowledge for all i know.

the pair are owned by an outfit called KKR, only recently mind but from a bit of reading, KKR don't have a great rep, a private equity firm whos main goal is profit it seems.
im personally not too worried about Hitachi but id hate to think KKR would run the Metabo stuff into the ground on the back of a quality name, i use their grinders here and i couldn't fault them, their not the cheap versions mind you, be a pity to see the quality diminish imo but here's hoping...

a link and a few quotes.

Hitachi Power Tools will now be known as Metabo HPT in North America. You may have recently heard that Hitachi would be known as Hikoki. That will only be true in the European and Asian markets.

The transition will take place over the next two years and the first new tools launched under this name will be the new MultiVolt platform slated to come out in September 2018. At the same time, they plan on converting their fasteners and accessories to the new Metabo HPT name. Following in the next quarter, they want to finish converting the branding for all current tools.

The reason for the name change is that they are no longer part of the large corporation known as Hitachi, which sells everything from consumer products to automotive equipment. Hitachi acquired Metabo a few years ago, and last year both brands were sold by Hitachi to KKR, a private equity firm.

https://toolguyd.com/hitachi-power-tools-is-now-metabo-hpt/

 

[Jack Russell]

I was told that the Hitachi brand only wanted the name to be associated with trains. The tool side has been paying to use the Hitachi name of a while now. It is to be rebranded with some odd sounding name such as Hikoko. Therefore lots of offers on hitachi tools for now.

 

[tinman]

i seen that, koki holdings.

As you may have heard, Hitachi Koki, the parent company of Hitachi Power Tools, recently announced that it’s changing it’s name to Koki Holdings. Metabo HPT will be one of the brands Koki Holdings owns joining Metabo, Hikoki, and other companies like Tanaka.

its a change of ownership really.
i see the batterys in both brands of power tools wont be inter changable, money no doubt bieng the main reason id imagine.

 

[Mur Huwcun]

Hitachi tools are unfortunately miles away from what they used to be! We have Metabo 4.5” grinders that are ten years old and used daily and only in the last 12 months have they started dropping out due to bearing issues! Makita, Bosch, Hitachi etc all burn their brushes out after few years use. The Metabos are used on twist cup wire brushes a lot of the time aswell which kills grinders!! The old 10-15 yr old Hitachi items are superb but recent additions are near on useless!!

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Hitachi tools are unfortunately miles away from what they used to be! We have Metabo 4.5” grinders that are ten years old and used daily and only in the last 12 months have they started dropping out due to bearing issues! Makita, Bosch, Hitachi etc all burn their brushes out after few years use. The Metabos are used on twist cup wire brushes a lot of the time aswell which kills grinders!! The old 10-15 yr old Hitachi items are superb but recent additions are near on useless!!

Yeh once Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) the absolute princes of darkness of private equity sink their teeth in - google up Nabisco and “Barbarians at the Gate” you know the job is well and truly f**ked.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

The fact is despite whatever branding a tool now wears or the colour of its plastic, more than ever they are built under sub-contract (or white labelled) by manufacturers in the PRC. Makes no odds if it wears a Bosch or Black & Decker badge.

Power tools and especially rechargeables are by exception not now made in China. For better or worse.

 

[tinman]

Yeh once Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) the absolute princes of darkness of private equity sink their teeth in - google up Nabisco and “Barbarians at the Gate” you know the job is well and truly fudgeed.

did they own "toys r us" before they bled it dry?

i assume kkr are making money by sucking the life out of firms but the likes of metabo, its bound to be making a profit, Or is it and is that why its been bundled up with hitachi and sold off to an equity firm?.
long be with the days when company's prided themselves on quality.

 

[TripleSix]

Hitachi power tools are undergoing a rebrand.

They'll be rebranded as HiKoki.

Because they're the Hitachi Koki company.

I think it's madness.

 

[TheTallGuy]

About 10 years ago I borrowed a Hitachi cordless - it was lightweight (for the time!), powerful and well balanced so I went out at bought my own. A year or so back I bought a new one as the battery terminals are fudged - the current units are not a patch on the old ones given the advances in technology etc. I tend to limit the use of my newer drill because my hand soon tires from the poor balance and poor ergonomics. I suspect that I will be changing brands unless they come up with a big improvement.

 

[Nearly]

Hitachi power tools are undergoing a rebrand.

They'll be rebranded as HiKoki.

Because they're the Hitachi Koki company.

I think it's madness.

We all know they'll be know as Hokey Kokey

 

[Gerbert]

As an aside, milwaukee is part of tti, same kind of private equity whatever and they seem to hold up well.
I think AvE on youtube explained it very well once on the same thing with Fluke. Something to do with the company being worth in shares so much more then it's revenue that it's only bought as an asset, not as a company as such.

 

[aidan]

Hitachi is v good stuff, have a hitachi grinder that is at least 35years old, the bearing went after 7-8yrs and were replaced however the grinder is still going strong.

Its noiseier than its newer model which is only 10yrs old, and is more violent, no attempt at a soft start, no slow down when cutting hard etc, and a full kg heavier but by god it has some cutting ability.

If I was in the market for any power tool tomorrow would be hard pressed to look past hitachi.

 

[aidan]

Hitachi is v good stuff, have a hitachi grinder that is at least 35years old, the bearing went after 7-8yrs and were replaced however the grinder is still going strong.

Its noiseier than its newer model which is only 10yrs old, and is more violent, no attempt at a soft start, no slow down when cutting hard etc, and a full kg heavier but by god it has some cutting ability.

If I was in the market for any power tool tomorrow would be hard pressed to look past hitachi.

btw asking a question here, my father used to use that hitachi grinder with a cutting disc which was made in Austria, can anyone tell me the name, I was less than 12 at the time but by God there was some life in those cutting disc, I have no idea of the name but would love to have someone refresh my memory

 

[Gerbert]

Tyrolit is austrian. I was never really to impressed with them though.

 

[David.]

Tyrolit do various quality grades, I think.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Hitachi is v good stuff, have a hitachi grinder that is at least 35years old, the bearing went after 7-8yrs and were replaced however the grinder is still going strong.

Its noiseier than its newer model which is only 10yrs old, and is more violent, no attempt at a soft start, no slow down when cutting hard etc, and a full kg heavier but by god it has some cutting ability.

If I was in the market for any power tool tomorrow would be hard pressed to look past hitachi.

I too have had several old, excellent quality Hitachi power tools. Still got my 230mm circular saw and the old D10DF drill, my very first rechargeable tool, back in the bad old days of NiCad was a revelation at the time (late 80s).

I don’t think the new tools are closely related to the old ones by anything more than name.

A lot of tools are now outsourced and contract manufactured by a third party on a different factory and country than the originals which earnt the good reputation in the first place.

I think this is fate that has befallen Hitachi, sadly.

 

[Turnip_Head]

Has anybody tried the latest TAIWAN powertools?

 

[Turnip_Head]

Looks a serious brand>>>>