Hitachi Rail has officially opened its lighthouse digital factory in Maryland, representing a strategic investment by Hitachi Group in North America.
The new carbon neutral factory, featuring over $30m in digital enhancements, is set to deliver railcars for customers across North America, including metros in the Washington DC area, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The $100m 307,000 sq. ft. site, operating with zero landfill waste from day one, was officially opened on September 8 by Executive Chairman of Hitachi, Ltd. Toshiaki Higashihara, President & CEO of Hitachi, Ltd. Toshiaki Tokunaga and Group CEO of Hitachi Rail, Giuseppe Marino.
The lighthouse factory will also include a demonstration of One Hitachi’s technologies via an immersive and interactive customer experience centre. Visitors will be able to learn about the plant’s digital enhancements to optimize quality and delivery, as well as the business’ wider solutions from modern signaling to its pioneering HMAX platform, which uses AI to optimize railway assets – an application of Lumada 3.0.*
By showcasing powerful digital and transformative technologies in this factory for customers and partners, the Hitachi Group aims to address customer challenges across North America and beyond as One Hitachi, further expanding and deploying HMAX across a wide range of industries and business sectors.
The opening event saw major institutional and transportation leaders presented with a showcase of Hitachi Group’s capabilities at the factory’s digital customer experience center.
The facility, located in Hagerstown, Maryland, just north of the nation’s capital, deploys world-leading transformative technologies to create a factory that is people-centric and digitally optimized. The factory will sustain 1,300 jobs with up to 460 working directly for Hitachi Rail on site in roles that will harness AI and smart manufacturing principles and offer next-generation manufacturing careers. The total added value of the new digital site is set to be more than $350m per year, bringing major economic benefits to the DC, Maryland and Virginia regions.
“I would like to sincerely thank our customers, partners, Hitachi Group colleagues, and community leaders in the state of Maryland for their support in launching this new factory. The Hagerstown factory showcases the unique strengths of the Hitachi Group by integrating manufacturing expertise and digital and AI technologies across a wide range of our business domains as True One Hitachi. We will deliver ever greater value to our customers and society by addressing infrastructure and mobility challenges in the United States” – Toshiaki Tokunaga, President & CEO, Hitachi, Ltd.
“Our $100m Hagerstown site represents a strategic investment in North America, sustaining 1,300 jobs and delivering the next generation of rail manufacturing. The site is carbon neutral and harnesses the impressive capabilities of the Hitachi Group to ensure our customers benefit from smart manufacturing powered by transformative digital and AI technologies. Able to deliver up to 20 rail cars per month, the factory will be working at full pace to deliver important railcar contracts across North America, including in the Washington D.C. region.” – Giuseppe Marino, Group CEO, Hitachi Rail.
“Thanks to President Trump, America is quickly becoming the number one destination for private investment in the world. For communities like Hagerstown, that means hundreds of new jobs and millions in economic activity. This state-of-the-art Hitachi plant is a powerful example of this Administration’s commitment to reshore jobs and build big, beautiful infrastructure projects that benefit American families.” – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy
“Today, we celebrate a major milestone in the partnership between Hitachi and the state of Maryland,” – Governor Wes Moore. “Hitachi Rail’s new Hagerstown factory will not only create hundreds of jobs and power the region’s transit infrastructure with railcars equipped with cutting-edge technology, but it affirms Maryland’s position as a premier location for global investment in the industries of the future.”
“As America’s Metro System, our focus is on continuous customer improvement and innovation through the use of technology. It’s great to have a partner like Hitachi that embraces technology and invests capital dollars in state-of-the-art infrastructure like this facility to transform the future of transit for this region and North America. Congratulations on this achievement! Hitachi’s footprint will positively impact Metro and transit for generations to come.” – Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Randy Clarke.
“Transit drives economic growth by connecting people to jobs and opportunities,” – Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold. “Our new Hitachi Metro Subway railcars represent a significant step in delivering a safer, more reliable transit experience for riders in the Baltimore region.”
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