Hitachi picks a fight with Toshiba / Ties up with GE in bid to grab part of booming N-power market i

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Source: Akihiro Okada and Ayuhiko Sasaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

Through its tie-up with General Electric Co. in the nuclear power business, Hitachi Ltd. has thrown down the gauntlet to Toshiba Corp., which is a step ahead in the intensifying competition in the U.S. market, observers said. It was revealed Sunday that Hitachi and GE have jointly opened a U.S. office to take orders for nuclear power plants. Consequently, the two companies intend to terminate a 40-year, three-way agreement with Toshiba on technological cooperation.

The move comes after Toshiba acquired Westinghouse Electric Co. of the United States in 2006, making it a rival of Hitachi and GE.

Meanwhile, the alliance between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and France's Areva Group, which has a technical edge in pressurized water reactors, is also aiming at receiving more orders in the rapidly growing Chinese market.

The Japanese manufacturers are fiercely struggling for survival in the nuclear power plant business, which was led by U.S. and European counterparts in the 1950s and '60s.


Read more: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20080422TDY04304.htm