Hitachi Construction Machinery and Marubeni Agree to Establish Sales and Services Company for Mining Machinery in Brazil

Tokyo, September 18, 2024 - Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6305, President and Executive Officer: Masafumi Senzaki; "Hitachi Construction Machinery") and Marubeni Corporation (President and CEO: Masumi Kakinoki; "Marubeni") reached an agreement in August to establish ZAMine Service Brasil Limitada ("ZAMine Brasil"), a sales and services company for mining machinery in Federative Republic of Brazil ("Brazil"). Both companies plan to invest 50% to create a special purpose corporation, which will invest 100% in the sales and services company. Going forward, both companies will continue to discuss the specific details to establish of ZAMine Brasil .

The establishment of ZAMine Brasil will expand the mining business in the South American market by strengthening the system from new machinery sales to parts and service provision in the South American market where the mining of copper, iron ore, gold and other minerals is expected to grow.

"Expanding Business in the Americas" is one of the four core strategies stated in the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group's "BUILDING THE FUTURE 2025" Medium-term Management Plan which started in fiscal year 2023. The North American market has been able to develop a robust network of dealers with an extensive sales and service system. However, in the South American market, which has a strong mining business,  expansion had been limited until now.

The Central and South American market accounts for 23% of the global demand for rigid dump trucks and 9% of ultra-large hydraulic excavators^*1. Large quantities of copper, iron ore, gold, and other mineral resources are expected to grow in demand, and will in turn see increased mining in the future. Because there are many ultra-large hydraulic excavators from Hitachi Construction Machinery operating in Brazil, the company expects to expand the sales of parts and services and increase the sales of new vehicles.
*1: Includes dump trucks with a load capacity of 150 tons or more and ultra-large hydraulic excavators with an operating weight of 190 tons or more. (total unit demand from 2010 to March 2024).

Marubeni Brasil S.A., a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Marubeni, has been leading mining machinery sales in Brazil since 2017. Hitachi Construction Machinery decided to establish ZAMine Brasil to strengthen its parts and service system for operating machinery. The company also plans to build a system to provide full maintenance and services to the customer network that Marubeni has nurtured through many years of business in Brazil. Marubeni and Hitachi Construction Machinery have been collaborating since the 1970s. They have jointly established and operated mining machinery sales and service companies in Australia and Ukraine. Additionally, Marubeni subsidiaries and affiliated companies have been selling mining machinery from Hitachi Construction Machinery in Peru, Chile, Colombia, and other countries. The two companies are committed to applying that experience to the establishment of ZAMine Brasil in Brazil.

The Hitachi Construction Machinery Group is restructuring its mining business for all of South America, including Brazil, and aims to achieve a sales revenue of 300 billion yen or more in the Americas from full-scale independent business* in fiscal year 2025.
*2: Full-scale independent business excludes OEM sales revenue for Deere & Company. 

ZAMine Brasil Overview

About Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6305), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a construction machinery manufacturer which globally deploys development, manufacturing, sales, and service businesses for its hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, compaction equipment, and mining machinery, etc. In addition to its new machinery business, Hitachi Construction Machinery is expanding its "value chain businesses" of parts and services, remanufacturing (parts and machines), rentals, and used equipment as it aims to grow together with customers as a true solutions provider that offers innovative solutions to customers. As our vow to all stakeholders to achieve this mission, we established and are currently disseminating and promoting the LANDCROS as our new concept. With roughly 26,000 employees around the world, the consolidated sales revenue for Hitachi Construction Machinery was 1,405.9 billion yen for fiscal year 2023 (ended March 2024) with an overseas sales revenue ratio of 84%. For more details, please see the company's website.

Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.