Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) announced the appointment of Makoto Yamazawa as its new president and CEO as of April 1, 2016. He is also the new regional CEO of Hitachi Construction Machinery for Europe, the Middle East, and North, West and Central Africa.
Having graduated in law from Waseda University in Tokyo, Yamazawa joined Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) in 1983, with his first role as a sales representative for the company’s domestic business. After eight years, he was transferred to HCM’s International Division for 10 months before a subsequent transfer to the company’s subsidiary in Thailand.
Yamazawa held the positions of marketing and sales manager in Bangkok from 1992 until 1998, and managing director of HCM’s Malaysian subsidiary from 2005 to 2010. In between these assignments, he took up various managerial roles at the Tokyo head office within the Asia and Oceania (1998-2000), Mining (2000-02, 2004-05 and 2010-16) and Construction (2002-2004) departments.
This firm grounding and international experience will prove beneficial for his new role. “I’ve known some of the HCME dealers since the Hitachi factory opened in Amsterdam more than 13 years ago,” he explained. “Since then, Europe has become the most stable and important market for HCM and so this is a very exciting assignment for me.
“HCME’s customers operate everything from compaction to mining equipment and therefore this is a very similar operation albeit on a smaller scale to HCM. With this in mind, the experience that I have gained at our headquarters, in our territories, and with our leading product categories, will help me to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
“My first goal is to reinforce the enviable reputation forged by my predecessors at HCME, which was in fact established as HCM’s first overseas operation more than 40 years ago. Then, as part of the formidable team at Hitachi and the HCME dealer network, I will strive to build on the foundations required for the company to become the number one OEM over the next decade.”
To achieve these aims, Yamazawa has a clear approach: “My intention is to get even closer to our customers in the spirit of our competitive proposition. We will continue to differentiate our product and service offerings as a reliable partner and provider of solutions. This will help us to maintain our strength and profitability, despite the unpredictable nature of the global marketplace.”
April 22, 2016
