Hitachi‘s American wheel loader division is under new management.

Masaaki Hirose is stepping down from his current position as president of Hitachi Construction Machinery Loaders America (HCMA), relinquishing the day-to-day management of the company to its current vice president of operations, Al Quinn.

Hirose has led the company since its official inception in January 2018. Hitachi has called the move a “retirement,” though Hirose has accepted two other roles within Hitachi: chairman and director of HCMA and vice president of the Hitachi Americas Operations Group.

As president of HCMA, Quinn will report directly to Hirose. It would appear that little will change for Hirose and Quinn as the two have established a successful collaboration. Under their leadership, HCMA has seen revenue grow 175 percent while nearly doubling the company’s market share, HCMA says.

“Al joined us in 2017, and took the lead in several of our key customer-facing roles. His profound expertise and experience in our industry have been crucial to our success in sales, marketing, parts and service and purchasing. Now, as Managing Director, he will continue to provide leadership in those areas, with additional responsibilities for corporate and production operations,” Hirose says.

Hitachi purchased KCM loaders from Kawasaki in 2016 and as of January 1 this year changed KCM’s name to Hitachi Construction Machinery Loaders America. Hitachi plans to increase loader production and streamline its loader offering in North America. The company manufactures loaders in Japan; and in Newnan, Georgia.