What Ever Happened To Hitachi Power Tools?
They say the right tool can make or break a job. Both professional builders and DIY enthusiasts alike have long relied on Hitachi Power Tools to get even the heaviest jobs done. That's been true for several decades, as the Hitachi name became synonymous with precision craftsmanship and durability at an affordable price. However, it no doubt came as a shock to many when the Hitachi name forever vanished from the power tools market in 2018.
The disappearance of the Hitachi name was all the more surprising given its prominence in the power tool market. It seems the brand value of Hitachi's power tool division played a significant role in its eventual market exit, as the Hitachi Group ultimately decided to sell it to private U.S. equity firm KKR for a whopping $1.3 billion. That sale was finalized in 2017, and roughly a year later, power tools brandishing the Hitachi name and logo were no longer being sold.
The same tools were, however, available under a different name. Hitachi Power Tools rebranded as "Metabo HPT" after the company severed its corporate ties to Hitachi — the "HPT" moniker being a nod to the company's former name.
The Metabo HPT rebrand didn't change much
The Metabo and Hitachi brands were hardly strangers before the 2018 rebranding. In fact, the Hitachi Group added the German Metabo company to its portfolio a couple of years before it offloaded its power tools division in 2017. Though Hitachi Power Tools was quickly re-branded as Metabo HPT after that sale, it operated as a separate entity from Metabo until Koki America merged the two in North American markets in 2022.
All the corporate maneuvering didn't amount to much more than a name change from the Hitachi Power Tools team. Even the history page on Metabo HPT's website confirms that the rebrand was intended to change nothing about the Hitachi brand but its name, with the company remaining dedicated to producing the same high-quality tools and well-loved tool kits it always has.
So little has changed since the re-brand that you can still use Hitachi's interchangeable MultiVolt batteries in new Metabo HPT devices. That should come as a comfort to longtime Hitachi Power Tools users.
There has, however, been some confusion between Metabo and Metabo HPT in North America and abroad amid the rebrands and mergers. Despite the NA name merger, it seems there's still not much in the way of compatibility between Metabo and Metabo HPT tools since they continue to operate on different battery systems. It remains to be seen if that will ever change or merge together.