Hitachi Vantara Factory in Norman Selected as Global Lighthouse

Hitachi Vantara's storage manufacturing facility in Norman, Oklahoma, has been recognized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a "Global Lighthouse Factory." This designation identifies the world's most advanced factories leading in the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The Norman facility is the second within the Hitachi Group to receive this honor, following Hitachi's Omika Works in 2020.

The Norman plant serves as an end-to-end digital manufacturing and supply chain hub for advanced data infrastructure supporting AI-driven business transformation. The facility has implemented AI extensively across its operations. By applying Agentic AI to global demand forecasting and inventory management, it achieved a 77% reduction in lead time from order to shipment and a 50% decrease in inventory. The selection also acknowledged the site's resilient AI-leveraged supply chain, enabling rapid responses to demand fluctuations and contributing to significant CO2 emission reductions.

Hitachi plans to leverage the AI expertise and technologies gained at the Norman facility to further enhance HMAX by Hitachi. HMAX is a suite of AI-powered solutions designed to bring AI capabilities to social infrastructure. The company aims to accelerate AI Transformation (AX) across the Hitachi Group and for its customers.

The company intends to expand the initiatives from the Norman site to other global production facilities, including Hitachi Rail. This approach aims to strengthen AX in Operational Technology (OT) as 'One Hitachi' and to continuously improve HMAX with proven technologies derived from practical applications. By advancing AX with customers across various industries worldwide, Hitachi seeks to foster sustainable business growth through enhanced productivity and resilience.