In his opening speech, Kikawa said, "The aim of the company investing in this larger, improved facility is to provide the best possible service to our dealers and customers. Parts availability has further increased due to the new facility's greater capacity and efficiency. This will help Hitachi to boost parts sales and meet the demands of our expanding customer base." The 53,000m² depot, which cost €12million, has a covered stock area that is three times the size of the previous depot, which was also located in Oosterhout. It has the capacity to stock up to 90,000 individual parts lines at any one time and will be responsible for distributing them throughout Europe, Middle East, Russia/CIS and Africa. In addition to a special chemical storage area, it includes a 14m high storage area for larger items.
The new depot will employ a total of 70 people, who will have the potential to handle up to 800 packages each day and 70,000 parts items every month.
During the opening ceremony Kikawa presented representatives from the depot with a special Japanese maple tree, which was planted in front of the building. The acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum' - as it is also known - traditionally signifies creativity, ambition and success in Japan, and is appropriately said to promote a long and healthy life.
