Big News and a Big Rebrand

Almost unbelievable news reaches us here on the Digger Man Blog on my return from my holiday, as an almost iconic brand name looks set to disappear forever.

In what many industry insiders are describing as a totally shocking move, following an 18-month period of brand transformation by April 2027 the longstanding and famous Hitachi brand will have effectively disappeared from their construction equipment range and been replaced by Landcros.

HCM president Masafumi Senzaki said: “We aim to cultivate ‘Landcros into a brand that will make our customers feel that they made the right choice when selecting our machinery or services, our shareholders confident about their decision to invest in the company, and our employees feel that their work is meaningful.”

A hint of what was to come came at the Bauma trade fair in Munich earlier this year, when we saw Hitachi unveil a concept prototype for an autonomous, remotely operated excavator of the future, which it called Landcros One.

Francesco Quaranta, president and chief executive of Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) Europe, said: “Landcros represents our commitment to go beyond machinery, empowering customers with intelligent, connected, and sustainable solutions. It is based on a partnership philosophy, working openly with technology leaders, integrating cutting-edge digital and AI capabilities into machines that symbolize reliability in the construction industry, whilst creating a reimagined customer experience from ground to cloud.”

He continued: “We are changing the name. We are changing the game. But one thing will never change: who we are. Our values, our people, our quality, our promise of reliability, and our commitment to our trusted dealers and customers will stay forever. With Landcros, we transition from building machines to designing seamless user experiences, supported by advanced technology, opening new possibilities at construction sites where every operator can achieve exceptional performance.”

From my point of view, this will send shock waves across the industry, the Hitachi brand has a long and trusted history globally and in the UK construction machinery sector, where historically we don’t like change. Of course, the machines will still be among the best out there, but changing the name seems a rather dramatic move to me, however, only time will tell.