OREANDA-NEWS. Hitachi, Ltd. announced that it will acquire Valcom S.r.l., an engineering firm in the Italian Republic, through its European subsidiary Hitachi Europe Ltd., and concluded an agreement to acquire all issued shares of Valcom. Based on this agreement, Hitachi will conduct procedures to complete the acquisition by the end of April. After the acquisition is complete, Valcom will be renamed in due course as Hitachi Engineering Europe S.r.l.

Through this acquisition, Hitachi aims to bolster and expand its business in oil and gas industries, based upon Valcom's customer relations, human resources and knowledge, which includes major oil companies and engineering firms.

In the business of oil and gas industries, Hitachi supplies products such as compressors, pumps, water treatment systems, inverters, motors and other equipment, and conducts related Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) projects. Hitachi has also set up joint ventures to conduct equipment maintenance services in Middle East and South America, and has supplied equipment to major oil companies.

Valcom has spent 25 years engaged in the electrical and instrumentation engineering business for oil and gas plant systems and other infrastructure fields, primarily in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Through its work with major engineering firms, Valcom has an expansive track record in electrical and instrumentation engineering services for major oil companies including Saudi Arabian Oil Company ("Saudi Aramco"), the Saudi Arabian state-run oil company. Valcom also has abundant experience in Floating Production, Storage and Offloading ("FPSO") systems, for which demand is anticipated to grow. Furthermore, Valcom engineers have earned a strong reputation among customers for being well versed in standards, regulations and other matters specific to the oil and gas industry.

Through this acquisition, Hitachi will generate synergies based upon Valcom customer relations, human resources and knowledge, to bolster and expand the business in oil and gas industries, which continues to grow its business in this area. Specifically, Hitachi Engineering Europe will expand engineering business mainly on electrical and instrumentation, primarily in Europe, Middle East and Africa. And Hitachi will expand component business in relations with Hitachi Engineering Europe's customers. Hitachi also plans to grow global business utilizing Hitachi Engineering Europe's capability, beyond the area of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Looking ahead, Hitachi will continue strengthening ties with major clients and other customers, and partner companies in resource-rich nations that produce oil, natural gas and other resources, with the view to driving global expansion of the business in oil and gas industries.