Hitachi Rail USA opens Miami manufacturing facility
Miami/Tokyo/Naples, Italy / (March 16, 2016) --- Hitachi Rail USA, the American subsidiary of Hitachi Rail Italy, is pleased to announce the completion of a manufacturing facility for Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works’ new Metrorail vehicles.
VIPs from left to right: Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO, Hitachi Rail Italy, Kentaro Masai, Chief Operating Officer, Hitachi Rail Global, Honorable Daniella Levine Cava, Board of County Commissioners, District 8, Honorable Gloria Bellelli, Consul General, Italian Republic, Roberto Martell, Mayor of Medley, Florida, Honorable Carlos A. Gimenez, Mayor, Miami-Dade County, Giampaolo Nuonno, CEO, Hitachi Rail USA, Charles Scurr, Executive Director, Citizens Independent Transportation Trust, Alice N. Bravo, P.E., Director, Department of Transportation and Public Works.
The 140,400 square-feet plant, located in Medley, FL., will manufacture 136 cars and 272 motor bogies (it is the structural subassembly which is accommodating wheels, axles, motor and gear box) needed to replace the County’s Metrorail fleet. The Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works contracted the production to Hitachi Rail. The plant was completed in approximately six months and received the Certificate of Occupancy the first week of January 2016.
The assembly of the Metrorail vehicles begins this March, and the first completed vehicles will begin the qualification-testing phase by the end of the year. The first new Metrorail vehicles will be put into service in late 2017, after completing the testing phase. The production of the new Metrorail vehicles will last until the first half of 2019.
The construction of this new Hitachi production site involved more than 50 sub-contractors and suppliers, principally based in Miami-Dade County or in South Florida, and required the development of almost 50,000 man-hours of construction.
“This is the first facility that Hitachi Rail is opening in the United States, and we’re excited that the company has chosen to invest in our world-class community,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “The opening of this production facility is projected to create 100 jobs in Miami-Dade County and many local subcontracts. We look forward to working with Hitachi to put our residents to work, further diversify our economy, and deliver cleaner, safer, more reliable and convenient mobility options to our 2.6 million residents.”
"The production system that has been prepared for Miami allows us to achieve high performance and build modern vehicles that meet the needs of the transportation fleet for Miami-Dade County,” said Kentaro Masai, COO of Hitachi Rail, “Our primary goal is to ensure a quality product in a timely fashion.”
“The opening of this new site and the launch of the new fleet represent an important step in the expansion of our company,” said Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy. “We remain consistent in the creation of relevant products that meet the needs of our customers.” “This facility will enable us to increase our industrial capacity and build a vehicle that meets the requested transportation needs,” adds Manfellotto. “Hitachi Rail has a great history in the United States and this project marks the beginning of the new direction under the management of the Hitachi Group.”