Hitachi vs Trimble: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Hitachi and Trimble side by side

1. 1910Hitachi

   Founding and First Induction Motor

   Namihei Odaira establishes the machinery repair shop that becomes Hitachi, and develops Japan's first 5-horsepower induction motor, establishing the foundation for the company's dominance in electrical engineering.

2. 1932Hitachi

   Expansion into Railway Technology

   Hitachi begins manufacturing electric locomotives and rail signaling systems, establishing a deep, institutionalized relationship with the Japanese national railway network that would evolve into the modern Hitachi Rail division.

3. 1959Hitachi

   Entry into Computing and Electronics

   Hitachi develops its first electronic computer, the HITAC, marking the company's strategic entry into the information technology sector and laying the groundwork for its future digital systems business.

4. 1978Trimble

   Trimble Navigation Founded

   Charles Trimble, R. Calvin Burns, and M. Kent Wories incorporate Trimble Navigation in Los Altos, California, with approximately $300,000 in initial capital.

5. 1982Trimble

   LORAN-C Revenue Milestone

   Trimble achieves approximately $1 million in annual LORAN equipment sales, establishing early commercial traction while awaiting GPS constellation completion.

6. 1984Trimble

   World's First Commercial GPS Receiver

   Trimble develops the 4000S, the world's first commercial GPS receiver for surveying and mapping applications. This breakthrough establishes Trimble as a pioneer in civilian GPS technology.

7. 1990Trimble

   Initial Public Offering

   Trimble holds its IPO, becoming one of the first GPS technology companies to go public. The same year, the company begins selling GPS-enabled personal position finders to the U.S. military.

8. 1990Trimble

   Gulf War Demand Surge

   Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, U.S. military demand for Trimble's GPS position finders surges, driving monthly sales from approximately $5 million to $19 million.

9. 1991Trimble

   Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year

   Charles Trimble is named Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year. The company employs approximately 750 people.

10. 1993Trimble

    First Commercial RTK Product

    Trimble releases the Site Surveyor System, the first commercially available real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning product, enabling centimeter-level accuracy for surveying.

11. 1995Trimble

    Caterpillar Partnership Begins

    Trimble begins working with Caterpillar to develop GNSS receivers for heavy construction vehicles, laying groundwork for the CTCT joint venture.

12. 1998Trimble

    Charles Trimble Steps Down

    Charles Trimble steps down as CEO. Steve Berglund, previously president of Spectra Precision, takes over as CEO in 1999.

13. 2000Trimble

    Acquisition of Spectra Precision

    Trimble acquires Spectra Precision, adding optical surveying instruments, lasers and construction positioning products to its GPS portfolio.

14. 2002Trimble

    Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies Joint Venture

    Caterpillar and Trimble form CTCT, a joint venture to develop machine control systems for construction equipment. The first product is a blade-mounted GNSS tool for bulldozers.

15. 2007Trimble

    Revenue Reaches $1 Billion

    Trimble's annual revenues reach approximately $1 billion, up from $270 million in 1999. The company employs approximately 3,400 people in 18 countries.

16. 2009Hitachi

    Record Annual Loss

    Hitachi reported a net loss of about 787 billion yen for the year to March 2009, then the largest by a Japanese manufacturer.

17. 2011Trimble

    Acquisition of Tekla

    Trimble acquires Tekla, a Finnish firm specializing in building information modeling (BIM) software, expanding into structural engineering and construction modeling.

18. 2012Trimble

    Acquisition of SketchUp from Google

    Trimble acquires SketchUp, the popular 3D modeling software, from Google. The same year, Trimble acquires TMW Systems, entering the transportation management market.

19. 2016Hitachi

    Toshiaki Higashihara becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Higashihara became CEO of Hitachi in 2016. Shifted Hitachi from a sprawling conglomerate toward infrastructure and digital businesses.

20. 2016Trimble

    Rebranding to Trimble Inc.

    The company changes its name from Trimble Navigation to Trimble Inc., reflecting diversification beyond navigation into software, services, and integrated solutions.

21. 2018Trimble

    Acquisition of Viewpoint for $1.2 Billion

    Trimble acquires Viewpoint Construction Software from Bain Capital for $1.2 billion in cash, significantly expanding its construction management software portfolio.

22. 2019Trimble

    Rob Painter Becomes CEO

    Robert G. Painter, previously Trimble's CFO, is named to succeed Steve Berglund as President and CEO, effective January 2020.

23. 2020Hitachi

    Acquisition of ABB's Power Grids Business

    Hitachi executes the $11 billion acquisition of ABB's Power Grids business, renaming it Hitachi Energy and instantly establishing the company as the global leader in HVDC transmission and grid infrastructure.

24. 2020Trimble

    Boston Dynamics Partnership

    Trimble signs an agreement with Boston Dynamics to integrate construction data collection technologies into Spot, the robotic dog, for autonomous site monitoring.

25. 2021Hitachi

    Acquisition of GlobalLogic

    The company acquires the global digital engineering firm GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion, instantly establishing Hitachi as a top-tier provider of advanced software and product design services for the automotive and telecommunications sectors.

26. 2021Trimble

    Acquisition of AgileAssets

    Trimble acquires AgileAssets, a SaaS company for infrastructure asset management, expanding its public sector and transportation infrastructure capabilities.

27. 2021Trimble

    S&P 500 Inclusion

    Trimble moves from the S&P MidCap 400 into the S&P 500 in January 2021, replacing Concho Resources.

28. 2022Hitachi

    Hitachi Construction Machinery Stake Sale

    Hitachi sold a controlling stake in Hitachi Construction Machinery to Itochu and Japan Industrial Partners, part of its exit from cyclical listed subsidiaries.

29. 2022Trimble

    Transporeon Acquisition Announced

    Trimble agrees in December 2022 to acquire Transporeon, a European freight and transportation management platform, for about $2.12 billion (EUR 1.88 billion). The deal closed in April 2023.

30. 2022Trimble

    Headquarters Relocation to Colorado

    Trimble relocates its headquarters from Sunnyvale, California to Westminster, Colorado.

31. 2023Trimble

    AGCO Joint Venture Announced

    AGCO agrees to acquire an 85% stake in Trimble's agriculture business to form the PTx Trimble joint venture, with Trimble keeping 15%. The transaction closes in April 2024.

32. 2024Hitachi

    Acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems

    Hitachi acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems. Hitachi Rail completed its ~$1.88 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) acquisition of Thales's Ground Transportation Systems business, its rail signalling division, expanding Hitachi Rail to 51 countries and shiftin…

33. 2024Trimble

    New Reporting Segments Announced

    Trimble announces new reporting segments AECO, Field Systems, and T&L reflecting the company's organizational structure and business model evolution.

34. 2024Trimble

    Acquisition of Flashtract

    Trimble acquires Flashtract, a payment and compliance platform for construction, rebranding it as Trimble Pay.

35. 2025Hitachi

    Toshiaki Tokunaga Becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Tokunaga became President and CEO on April 1, 2025, succeeding Keiji Kojima, who became Executive Chairman.

36. 2025Trimble

    Mobility Divestiture to Platform Science

    Trimble completes the sale of its Mobility (fleet telematics) business to Platform Science in February 2025, receiving a 32.5% equity stake in the combined company.

37. 2026Hitachi

    Record Results and Home Appliance Sale

    Hitachi reported record FY2025 profit in April 2026 and agreed to sell 80.1% of its home appliance business to Nojima for about $737 million (¥110 billion).

38. 2026Trimble

    Acquisition of Document Crunch

    In April 2026 Trimble agrees to acquire Document Crunch, an AI contract-analysis and risk-management platform for construction, to add to Trimble Construction One. Financial terms were not disclosed.

39. 2026Trimble

    T&L Goodwill Impairment and Raised Guidance

    In Q2 2026 Trimble records a $562.0 million goodwill impairment in its Transportation & Logistics segment, producing a quarterly GAAP net loss of $471.7 million, while ARR reaches a record $2.509 billion and FY2026 revenue guidance rises to $3.90-$3.95 billion…

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