Hitachi America, Ltd. (hitachi-america.us) announces the opening of its ink research and development facility in north Charlotte. The new facility, located at 5900 Northwoods Parkway, will initially employ five people.

“We’ve seen a very significant increase in the number of requests for specialized inks during the last several years,” says John Malette, sales manager, marking and coding, Hitachi America, Ltd. “The new

Hitachi ink research and development center allows us to dramatically reduce the time required to examine, develop, test and manufacture new custom ink products. This enables our sales channel to satisfy customer demands sooner, and packaging engineers are able to address unique product and package coding needs faster.”

“We are pleased that Hitachi America continues to invest in Charlotte, and we pledge our support to ensure that the business climate in Charlotte is conducive to the company’s continued growth and development in the community,” says Bob Morgan, president and CEO of the Charlotte Chamber.

“Currently there are more than 80 facilities in the Charlotte area with Japanese parent companies. [The] announcement by Hitachi is the company’s fourth facility in the Charlotte area, and we thank them for that strong commitment.”

The new facility will develop special inks for specific applications, including printing on a special substrate and surviving high temperature environments. Major markets for Hitachi’s ink applications include the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and automotive industries.