Looks like Brexit won't be nearly as bad as the fear-mongers made out.
TOKYO -- They may or may not have seen Brexit coming, but at least a few big Japanese companies are looking savvy in hindsight.
The U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union is a gut punch for businesses positioning Britain as a base for exports to the Continent. But in recent years some have actively pursued expansion from the U.K. to the rest of the EU -- and are now thankful that they did.
Hitachi is one of them. "We feel relieved, as we made a strategic shift toward expanding on the European mainland, after establishing a foothold in Britain," a Hitachi executive said in reaction to the Brexit vote.
Hitachi entered the U.K. in 1978 with the construction of a TV plant. When Hiroaki Nakanishi, the current chairman, took the helm of Hitachi's international business division in 2003, he adopted a strategy for Europewide growth.
The following year, Hitachi appointed former British Ambassador to Japan Stephen Gomersall as chief executive of Hitachi Europe. Gomersall and Alistair Dormer, a British Navy veteran who worked for France's Alstom and now leads Hitachi's global rail business, helped the Japanese company win a large order for train cars for Britain's Intercity Express Program. Gomersall and Dormer were also instrumental in securing a U.K. nuclear power plant project, after its German owners opted to retreat.
Last fall, Hitachi opened a rolling stock plant in Newton Aycliffe, a town in the English county of Durham, to supply the IEP. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne attended the opening ceremony.
Even as it was making headway in Britain, though, Hitachi was leaning more toward the Continent. In 2013, the conglomerate made German businessman Klaus Dieter Rennert the new chief executive of Hitachi Europe. Rennert hailed from Babcock Borsig, a German heavy machinery manufacturer acquired by Hitachi. Under Rennert's lead, Hitachi set about expanding its European presence, especially in Germany.
Specifically, Hitachi joined an industrial association related to the Industry 4.0 program -- a government-backed initiative to streamline German industry by using internet technology.
The company also plans to participate in a program to set infrastructure standards, in order to pave the way for automated driving. Hitachi's base for this effort is a lab in Sophia Antipolis in southern France -- an area known as Europe's Silicon Valley and home to the headquarters of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, a leading independent telecom standardization organization.
Over in Lithuania, Hitachi is negotiating with the government and other parties in preparation for building nuclear power plants. It is also pursuing nuclear power opportunities in Poland and Finland.
Hitachi has conducted tests on a next-generation power grid in Poland. And last year, the Japanese company bought rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and signal systems maker Ansaldo STS from Leonardo-Finmeccanica, an Italian aerospace and defense company.
Hitachi logs annual sales of 950 billion yen ($9.32 billion) in Europe. The U.K. has been its biggest European market, but Italy is expected to be right up there with Britain in fiscal 2016.
Hitachi is aiming for 1.15 trillion yen in European sales by fiscal 2018.
Buffer zones
Fujitsu is also confident in its post-Brexit prospects. Though the U.K. remains a key market, it has bases in Germany and Finland and is working to expand its services across Europe.
Panasonic has six affiliates in the U.K., including a unit that oversees its European operations. The company posts annual sales of around 700 billion yen in the region, accounting for less than 10% of its total.
The home appliance business, which chalks up some 280 billion yen in European sales, has a TV assembly plant in Czech Republic. Panasonic also produces and sells refrigerators, washing machines and other white goods in cooperation with Slovenian manufacturer Gorenje, in which it acquired a large equity stake in 2013.
All told, Brexit's direct impact on Panasonic is expected to be limited.
In or out?
Nissan Motor, meanwhile, is weighing its options. Britain is its base for EU-bound exports. But since it is promoting the mutual use of production facilities with its French alliance partner, Renault, it could transfer some production to Renault's EU plants if tariffs and other Brexit effects prove too much to bear.
Nissan built a factory in the English port city of Sunderland in 1986 -- its biggest finished-vehicle plant in Europe. Producing such models as the Qashqai SUV and Note compact, the facility rolled out more than 475,000 vehicles in 2015. It exported 80% of them to the EU and other markets.
Before the Brexit referendum, Nissan President Carlos Ghosn said a "remain" victory would be favorable for the automaker in terms of employment, trade and costs. But he also said that Nissan would make decisions on future investments on a case-by-case basis, suggesting it is not necessarily wedded to British production.
Nissan is already set to farm out production of its Micra compact, known as the March in Japan, to a Renault plant in France later this year.
The Sunderland plant has a long history, and Nissan maintains a close relationship with the British government. Yet there is no guarantee that Sunderland will retain its position in the automaker's global production network if Brexit strips away its appeal.
The U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union is a gut punch for businesses positioning Britain as a base for exports to the Continent. But in recent years some have actively pursued expansion from the U.K. to the rest of the EU -- and are now thankful that they did.
Hitachi is one of them. "We feel relieved, as we made a strategic shift toward expanding on the European mainland, after establishing a foothold in Britain," a Hitachi executive said in reaction to the Brexit vote.
Hitachi entered the U.K. in 1978 with the construction of a TV plant. When Hiroaki Nakanishi, the current chairman, took the helm of Hitachi's international business division in 2003, he adopted a strategy for Europewide growth.
The following year, Hitachi appointed former British Ambassador to Japan Stephen Gomersall as chief executive of Hitachi Europe. Gomersall and Alistair Dormer, a British Navy veteran who worked for France's Alstom and now leads Hitachi's global rail business, helped the Japanese company win a large order for train cars for Britain's Intercity Express Program. Gomersall and Dormer were also instrumental in securing a U.K. nuclear power plant project, after its German owners opted to retreat.
Last fall, Hitachi opened a rolling stock plant in Newton Aycliffe, a town in the English county of Durham, to supply the IEP. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne attended the opening ceremony.
Even as it was making headway in Britain, though, Hitachi was leaning more toward the Continent. In 2013, the conglomerate made German businessman Klaus Dieter Rennert the new chief executive of Hitachi Europe. Rennert hailed from Babcock Borsig, a German heavy machinery manufacturer acquired by Hitachi. Under Rennert's lead, Hitachi set about expanding its European presence, especially in Germany.
Specifically, Hitachi joined an industrial association related to the Industry 4.0 program -- a government-backed initiative to streamline German industry by using internet technology.
The company also plans to participate in a program to set infrastructure standards, in order to pave the way for automated driving. Hitachi's base for this effort is a lab in Sophia Antipolis in southern France -- an area known as Europe's Silicon Valley and home to the headquarters of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, a leading independent telecom standardization organization.
Over in Lithuania, Hitachi is negotiating with the government and other parties in preparation for building nuclear power plants. It is also pursuing nuclear power opportunities in Poland and Finland.
Hitachi has conducted tests on a next-generation power grid in Poland. And last year, the Japanese company bought rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and signal systems maker Ansaldo STS from Leonardo-Finmeccanica, an Italian aerospace and defense company.
Hitachi logs annual sales of 950 billion yen ($9.32 billion) in Europe. The U.K. has been its biggest European market, but Italy is expected to be right up there with Britain in fiscal 2016.
Hitachi is aiming for 1.15 trillion yen in European sales by fiscal 2018.
Buffer zones
Fujitsu is also confident in its post-Brexit prospects. Though the U.K. remains a key market, it has bases in Germany and Finland and is working to expand its services across Europe.
Panasonic has six affiliates in the U.K., including a unit that oversees its European operations. The company posts annual sales of around 700 billion yen in the region, accounting for less than 10% of its total.
The home appliance business, which chalks up some 280 billion yen in European sales, has a TV assembly plant in Czech Republic. Panasonic also produces and sells refrigerators, washing machines and other white goods in cooperation with Slovenian manufacturer Gorenje, in which it acquired a large equity stake in 2013.
All told, Brexit's direct impact on Panasonic is expected to be limited.
In or out?
Nissan Motor, meanwhile, is weighing its options. Britain is its base for EU-bound exports. But since it is promoting the mutual use of production facilities with its French alliance partner, Renault, it could transfer some production to Renault's EU plants if tariffs and other Brexit effects prove too much to bear.
Nissan built a factory in the English port city of Sunderland in 1986 -- its biggest finished-vehicle plant in Europe. Producing such models as the Qashqai SUV and Note compact, the facility rolled out more than 475,000 vehicles in 2015. It exported 80% of them to the EU and other markets.
Before the Brexit referendum, Nissan President Carlos Ghosn said a "remain" victory would be favorable for the automaker in terms of employment, trade and costs. But he also said that Nissan would make decisions on future investments on a case-by-case basis, suggesting it is not necessarily wedded to British production.
Nissan is already set to farm out production of its Micra compact, known as the March in Japan, to a Renault plant in France later this year.
The Sunderland plant has a long history, and Nissan maintains a close relationship with the British government. Yet there is no guarantee that Sunderland will retain its position in the automaker's global production network if Brexit strips away its appeal.
