When most people hear the name Hitachi, they think of electronic equipment. But two years ago, Tokyo-based Hitachi Credit Corp. asked its U.S. subsidiary, Hitachi Credit America Corp., in Greenwich, CT, to explore entry into the U.S. vehicle fleet lease marketplace. Hitachi Credit American Corp., since its inception in 1989 has been in the business of lease financing of high-tech equipment and, more recently, vendor financing. Vehicle leasing was a new direction for this American subsidiary to take.

Vehicle leasing, however, is not a new business for Hitachi Credit Corp. In fact, it is one of the company's core business units on a global basis. Hitachi successfully serves the Asian market through Nova Auto Leasing in Japan, and the UK market through Fleetlease Ltd.

After the decision to enter the U.S. market, Hitachi Credit Fleet Services was formed in February, 1998. Jerry Quiriconi was hired as fleet division manager to start the business and bring it to the marketplace. Quiriconi is a 20-plus year veteran of the fleet business, having been associated with lessors such as Avis, GE Capital, and most AT&T Capital.

How does a company in this day enter into a marketplace against a host of experienced competitors? "Because of the financial strength of Hitachi Credit, we are capable and willing to compete on a lease finance basis," Quiricioni said, "plus, we have dedicated our first year of operation to develop the business infrastructure to provide the service and competency level necessary to be viable in the market."

Quiriconi believe Hitachi has an advantage in starting its operation from the bottom up. "By beginning all of this from a standing start, we are able, and will continue to move forward with the latest technologies available, without the time and cost and constraints of converting older technologies. For instance, Quiriconi states, "we are moving quickly in having a fully functional web page for complete customer access and informational needs."

Hitachi has partnered with Consolidated Services Corporation to offer a variety of fleet management service programs. "Our relationship with CSC is seamless to our customers. We have developed direct feeds from CSC that will allow us to provide our customers with one complete and concise billing and information format," Quiriconi said.

As Hitachi Credit Fleet Services begins its second year of operation it plans to market its programs and services more aggressively.

"By design, our first year was dedicated to developing a business platform that would allow us to be a complete and effective fleet lessor," Quiriconi said. "This year our focus is on market penetration as we continue to grow internally and advance our service platform."