2 Southland Hitachi Units to Be Merged in Compton

Hitachi Ltd. will merge two Southern California divisions in a move to strengthen its position in the highly competitive U.S. consumer electronics market, company officials said Wednesday.

Anaheim-based Hitachi Consumer Products of America Inc. and Hitachi Sales Corp. of America, in Compton, will merge in October into a new company to be called Hitachi Home Electronics of America Inc., based in Compton.

The new unit will combine Hitachi’s TV and videocassette recorder factories in Anaheim and Tijuana, Mexico, with its sales and marketing force in Compton.

Takehiko Kataoka, president of Hitachi Sales, the Japanese-based parent’s U.S. marketing arm, said the merger will be announced officially today in Tokyo. Company sources said Kataoka is expected to be named president of the new company.

The merger will not result in any major changes in management or employment at the Anaheim, Compton or Tijuana operations, Kataoka said, adding that “no one will be fired.”

A Hitachi executive, who asked not to be identified, said the merger includes moving some production of 27-inch and larger TVs from Japan to the United States, where demand is strong for large-screen TVs.

The Anaheim and Tijuana plants will continue to make VCRs but will cease manufacturing 19- to 26-inch TVs. Production of those models will be moved to the Far East, the Hitachi executive said.

Last year, the Anaheim and Tijuana plants produced 20,000 color TV sets, mostly 19- and 20-inch models. Hitachi manufactures about 90% of the large-screen TVs it sells in the U.S. in Tokyo, Hitachi officials said.

The Anaheim operation employs 260 people, while the Compton operation employs 300. The Tijuana plant has about 260 employees.