Honda Names New President for Ohio Manufacturing Complex
6 May 1998
Honda Names New President for Ohio Manufacturing Complex
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, May 6 -- Koki Hirashima was named President
and Chief Executive Officer of Honda of America Mfg. (HAM) today by vote of
the Honda Motor Co. Board of Directors in Japan. Currently Executive Vice
President of HAM, Hirashima will become President effective June 1.
Current HAM President Takeo Fukui will return to Japan as President of
Honda R&D Co., Ltd. effective in late June. Fukui joined HAM in June 1994 as
Executive Vice President and became President in June 1996.
Koki Hirashima joined HAM in June 1993 as Chief Engineer at the Marysville
Auto Plant. For the next four years, he helped guide successful production
launches of new models and new technology at Honda's four plants in Ohio,
including a new Civic, the first Acura made in the United States, Honda's
first V6 engine made in America, and the successful new 1998 Accord.
Hirashima was named Vice President in 1994, Senior Vice President in 1996 and
Executive Vice President in 1997.
As President and CEO, Hirashima will lead a strong and proven team of more
than 13,000 HAM associates as they prepare to launch the new Acura TL Sedan at
the Marysville Auto Plant this summer and support the production of Honda's
first full-size Minivan in Ontario, Canada beginning this fall.
More than 29 years of experience in production and engineering with Honda
has prepared Koki Hirashima to head the Honda of America Mfg. operations in
Ohio, Honda's most extensive motor vehicle and engine manufacturing complex
outside Japan. He joined Honda Motor Co. in April 1969, and advanced through
engineering and management positions at the Suzuka Factory, Honda's largest
auto manufacturing complex in Japan.
Hirashima, 52, serves as a Director on the Honda Motor Co. Board of
Directors. He has a Bachelor's Degree of Engineering from Kyushu Institute of
Technology.
Since joining Honda in 1969, Takeo Fukui has focused on R&D activities,
especially new technology, product development and racing programs. He became
General Manager of Honda's Hamamatsu Factory in 1992, overseeing motorcycle
production. He joined Honda of America Mfg. as Executive Vice President in
1994, becoming President of HAM in 1996.
During Fukui's leadership, HAM extended its roots in Ohio and increased
its presence as a U.S. automaker. Production grew from 498,700 automobiles in
1994 to 648,200 in 1997. Employment rose from 10,000 associates in 1994 to
13,000 in 1997.
Honda of America Mfg. is one of the largest private employers in Ohio.
Associates at its four plants this year will manufacture more than 670,000
Accord, Civic and Acura automobiles and more than 150,000 motorcycles and all-
terrain vehicles for customers in the U.S. and more than 75 export countries.
In January, HAM was named one of the "100 Best Companies To Work For In
America" by Fortune magazine. Honda has invested more than $3.5 billion in
its manufacturing plants near Marysville, East Liberty and Anna, Ohio. In the
last fiscal year, HAM purchased more than $5.75 billion from more than
400 original equipment domestic suppliers throughout the United States.
SOURCE Honda of America Mfg.