Hitachi Construction Machinery Prepares LANDCROS Brand for Global Launch in 2027
Hitachi Construction Machinery will become LANDCROS Corporation on 1 April 2027, completing a corporate transition that has been taking shape since the Japanese manufacturer began separating from the wider Hitachi Group in 2022. The new identity will replace one of the construction equipment industry’s most recognisable names, while supporting a business strategy increasingly focused on machinery, digital technologies and services throughout the equipment lifecycle.
The company has now launched a global branding campaign ahead of the change, with four new visual concepts scheduled for release from 2 November 2026 under the message Solutions Beyond Machinery. The campaign will extend across its international markets, including Southeast Asia, Oceania and Latin America, introducing LANDCROS to customers who have worked with Hitachi excavators, wheel loaders and mining machinery for generations.
Behind the campaign lies a considerable corporate restructuring. Changes to the manufacturer’s ownership, an expanding relationship with Japanese trading company ITOCHU and investments in engineering capabilities are giving the business greater independence to pursue its own commercial direction. The challenge is to establish LANDCROS as a global equipment brand without losing the reputation for reliability and technical support associated with its predecessor.
Briefing
- Hitachi Construction Machinery will become LANDCROS Corporation on 1 April 2027.
- A global brand campaign launches four new visual concepts from 2 November 2026.
- Hitachi Ltd. reduced its voting rights ownership to 18.4% in November 2025.
- ITOCHU became the manufacturer’s largest shareholder following restructuring in April 2026.
- The LANDCROS strategy includes equipment manufacturing, digital services, electrification and lifecycle support.
From Hitachi to an Independent Corporate Identity
Hitachi Construction Machinery’s move towards greater independence began in 2022, when changes to its ownership structure and the development of its own business strategy marked what the company subsequently described as its second founding. The separation allowed management to pursue a broader commercial direction while maintaining selected technological and operational relationships with Hitachi Ltd.
Further changes followed in November 2025, when Hitachi Ltd. completed a partial share transfer that reduced its voting rights ownership from 25.4% to 18.4%. Hitachi Construction Machinery consequently ceased to be an equity-method associate of its former parent, although the companies retained cooperation in autonomous operation, electrification, digital technologies and component supply.
The ownership structure changed again in April 2026, with ITOCHU emerging as the manufacturer’s largest shareholder. According to Hitachi Construction Machinery’s financial briefing, the relationship provides opportunities for collaboration in equipment sales, rentals, financing and new business development, drawing on the trading company’s international commercial network.
The introduction of LANDCROS will give this increasingly independent business a name of its own. It is a substantial undertaking for a manufacturer whose distinctive orange machinery has become familiar on construction sites, quarries and mines around the world.
The company has acknowledged the challenge of transferring that recognition to an unfamiliar identity. Its existing engineering operations, products and dealer relationships will remain central to the business, while the new name is gradually introduced across machinery, corporate communications and customer services.
Building a Business Around the Equipment Lifecycle
The LANDCROS strategy places considerable emphasis on activities beyond the original machinery transaction. Hitachi Construction Machinery has been expanding its parts and service operations, remanufacturing, rentals and used equipment businesses, with the intention of supporting customers throughout the working lives of their machines.
The approach builds on established activities within the group. Rebuilding hydraulic components and other machinery assemblies can extend equipment service life, while parts availability and maintenance support help operators control downtime. Connected machinery and fleet monitoring provide further opportunities to identify maintenance requirements and understand how equipment is being used.
These services are particularly relevant to large construction and mining fleets, where the economics of ownership depend heavily on utilisation, reliability and the availability of specialist technical support. They also create a continuing relationship between manufacturers, distributors and customers long after a machine has been delivered.
Hitachi Construction Machinery enters the transition with substantial international operations. For the financial year ending March 2026, the group reported consolidated revenue of ¥1,405.5 billion, with overseas markets accounting for 84% of sales. Its approximately 25,000 employees work across manufacturing, equipment development, distribution and aftermarket support.
The manufacturer’s stated technological priorities include artificial intelligence, robotics, sensing and communications systems, alongside services intended to improve machinery operation and site productivity. Although these ambitions are prominent in the new campaign, their commercial development will depend on specific products, operational results and the ability to integrate digital services with customers’ existing equipment.
Engineering Development Under the LANDCROS Name
The new identity is already being incorporated into the manufacturer’s engineering activities. In December 2025, Hitachi Construction Machinery announced the establishment of LANDCROS Development Center Europe GmbH, a wholly owned development company in Germany, with operations scheduled to begin in January 2026.
The centre was established to strengthen research and development in battery-powered excavators, ICT-compatible machinery and related digital solutions. Locating this work in Europe gives the company access to engineering expertise and customers operating in a market where emissions requirements, electric machinery and digital construction systems are influencing equipment specifications.
Battery-powered excavators present engineering challenges extending beyond the replacement of a diesel engine. Battery capacity, operating duration, charging arrangements and machine weight must be balanced against hydraulic performance and the demands of different construction operations. Practical deployment also depends on the availability of suitable charging infrastructure, particularly on temporary sites where electrical capacity may be limited.
ICT-compatible equipment brings a different set of requirements, involving positioning technology, machine control, sensors and the transfer of operational data between equipment and construction management systems. Developing these capabilities alongside conventional machinery engineering allows manufacturers to address the relationship between machine performance and increasingly digital construction workflows.
LANDCROS Development Center Europe is therefore an operational investment in the manufacturer’s future product capabilities rather than simply another part of the branding programme.
The company’s willingness to work with external technology and manufacturing partners is also becoming more visible. On 28 October 2026, Hitachi Construction Machinery announced a strategic collaboration with Yanmar to strengthen its compact equipment offering in North America, including plans to introduce compact track loaders under the LANDCROS brand from April 2027. The arrangement provides an early example of how the new identity will be used to develop product offerings through partnerships.
Introducing LANDCROS to International Markets
The global campaign is the latest stage of a branding programme that began well before the current announcement. The company has been developing the LANDCROS identity alongside its corporate strategy, with promotional activities introduced during 2026 to familiarise customers, employees and distributors with the forthcoming change.
The name combines LAND, representing the foundation of the company’s business and its commitment to the land, with CROS, reflecting Customer, Reliable, Open and Solutions. In explaining the development of the brand, the manufacturer described an internal process intended to produce an identity capable of standing independently of Hitachi while retaining the group’s established engineering values.
The latest campaign presents reliability, collaboration and specialist understanding of construction and mining operations as the foundations of LANDCROS. It also introduces the company’s ambition to combine equipment manufacturing with digital services and technologies developed through cooperation with external partners.
Masafumi Senzaki, President and COO of Hitachi Construction Machinery, emphasised the continuity between the existing business and its future identity:
“For more than 75 years, we have worked closely with customers at worksites around the world, continuously strengthening our Japanese manufacturing capabilities and our global sales and service capabilities. The unwavering trust we have built along the way will remain at the heart of who we are, even as we become LANDCROS.”
The transition will also involve the manufacturer’s international dealer network, which must introduce the new name while continuing to sell, maintain and support the existing equipment fleet. In North America, the company has confirmed that LANDCROS decals will replace Hitachi identification on equipment after the formal launch, with both names appearing together on selected machinery during the transition.
The manufacturer has indicated that established engineering and manufacturing processes will remain unchanged. For customers, continuity in machinery performance, replacement parts and technical support will be more immediately relevant than the new corporate name.
The Next Stage for LANDCROS
The change to LANDCROS Corporation will coincide with the manufacturer’s medium-term management plan, LANDCROS 2028, which sets out an approach based on broader customer services, technological development and cooperation with partners inside and outside the traditional machinery industry.
The commercial foundations are already visible in the company’s aftermarket activities, European engineering investment and emerging product collaborations. Further opportunities may come from combining equipment data, maintenance services and digital technologies in ways that reduce operating costs or improve machinery availability, although the benefits will need to be demonstrated in everyday construction and mining operations.
There is also a practical question of brand recognition. Hitachi Construction Machinery has spent decades establishing a reputation through its equipment and international service network. LANDCROS will inherit the factories, engineers, machinery designs and commercial relationships behind that reputation, but customers will gradually encounter a different name on the machines they operate and maintain.
From April 2027, the familiar Hitachi lettering will begin giving way to LANDCROS. For contractors and fleet owners, the measure of the new brand will remain much the same as it was under the old one: how reliably the machines work, what they cost to operate and how effectively the manufacturer and its dealers support them.
Key Industry Questions
- When will Hitachi Construction Machinery become LANDCROS? The corporate name and brand will officially change on 1 April 2027, following an international awareness campaign throughout 2026.
- Why is Hitachi Construction Machinery changing its name? The change reflects its greater corporate independence and plans to expand equipment-related services, digital technologies and collaborative business development.
- Who owns LANDCROS Corporation? LANDCROS will be the new corporate identity of the publicly listed Hitachi Construction Machinery business. ITOCHU became its largest shareholder in April 2026, while Hitachi Ltd. retained a minority shareholding.
- Will LANDCROS continue manufacturing Hitachi construction machinery? Yes. The company intends to retain its established engineering and manufacturing capabilities while gradually replacing Hitachi branding on its equipment.
- What will happen to existing Hitachi excavators and loaders? Existing machinery will remain part of the manufacturer’s installed fleet. The branding change does not itself require machines already in service to be replaced or relabelled.
- What is LANDCROS Development Center Europe? It is a wholly owned development operation in Germany, established to research battery-powered excavators, ICT-compatible equipment and related technologies.
- What technologies will LANDCROS focus on? Its stated priorities include electrification, artificial intelligence, robotics, sensing, communications systems and digital services supporting construction and mining equipment.
- How does ITOCHU fit into the LANDCROS strategy? The Japanese trading company is expected to support opportunities in machinery sales, rental operations, financing, partnerships and business development.
- Will the LANDCROS name appear on new machinery? Yes. The manufacturer plans to introduce LANDCROS branding on equipment from April 2027, with transitional arrangements varying by market.
Strategic Takeaways
- Established engineering capabilities provide continuity. LANDCROS will inherit Hitachi Construction Machinery’s manufacturing operations, technical expertise and international distribution network.
- Ownership changes support a broader commercial strategy. ITOCHU’s involvement creates opportunities in financing, rentals and market development beyond traditional equipment manufacturing.
- Aftermarket services remain a substantial opportunity. Component rebuilding, maintenance, parts supply and machinery monitoring can extend customer relationships across the equipment lifecycle.
- European engineering investment supports technological development. Battery-powered excavators and ICT-compatible machinery are receiving dedicated research resources under the new LANDCROS identity.
- Product performance will determine long-term brand acceptance. Machine reliability, operating economics and dependable dealer support will remain central to customer confidence.
