Thursday, 2 November 2017

HITACHI KOKI ANNOUNCES BRAND NAME CHANGE TO "HIKOKI"

TOKYO, Nov 1 (Bernama-AsiaNet) --
 
-Rebranding Reflects Company's Commitment to Further Expansion as Global Brand-

Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. (http://www.hitachi-koki.com/), a leading manufacturer of power tools and life-science equipment, announced on November 1 that the company will change its corporate name to Koki Holdings Co., Ltd., effective June 1, 2018, and will rebrand its full line of power tools known as HITACHI and/or Hitachi Koki under the new HiKOKI (*) (pronounced "hai-koh-key") name, effective October 1, 2018. The name changes are in line with the company's ambitious international growth strategy, aimed at ensuring sustainable growth while expanding business in the nearly 100 countries in Hitachi Koki's global network.

Hitachi Koki's world-class advanced technologies have produced reliable and innovative products throughout its celebrated 70-year history, which serve as the basis for its new partnership with KKR, one of the world's preeminent private equity groups. Through the new partnership, Koki Holdings is streamlining operations and accelerating investment in organic development and acquisitions to enhance its global businesses as a worldwide leading manufacturer.

Simultaneous to the rebranding efforts, the company is establishing a subsidiary as its European headquarters called Koki Holdings Europe GmbH in the suburbs of Dusseldorf, Germany, to reflect the strategic importance of the European market. The subsidiary will commence operations in November 2017, and will serve to carry out the parent company's activities in Europe, aiming to be closer to its customers to facilitate faster decision-making in managing their needs.

"We have delivered award-winning innovation in manufacturing with solid business performance for over 70 years, and now is the time for us to focus on expansion as a truly global company while remaining rooted to our Japanese tradition," said Osami Maehara, President, Hitachi Koki. "We have fully committed to accelerate growth alongside a dynamic new partner in KKR as we pursue our goal to become a global leader in power tools and life-science instruments. We have set an aggressive sales target of US$2.7 billion in fiscal year 2020. We are confident we can take our business to the next level with the support of all our employees and partners worldwide, and the revamping of the brand name is the first step to making this possible. We look forward to continuing to build a brand that exceeds the expectations of discerning customers around the world."

The HiKOKI brand was created to embody the three core competencies of the company, including its innovative technologies that give rise to products with superior performance, the reliability of its products and services backed by a 70-year company history, and the potential for new business growth represented through the new partnership with KKR. For ease of pronunciation, the new brand name uses a lowercase "i" in its first syllable, and includes the implicit numeral "1" to express the company's commitment to providing customers with the "No. 1" products on the market, and its aim to achieve "No. 1" global status.

The new corporate name, Koki Holdings Co., Ltd., is designed to maintain continuity with its current name, while also reflecting the multiple brands it encompasses around the world, and accelerate investment in acquisitions to expand its global business.

(*) No changes will be made to the following brands in their respective markets: metabo, SANKYO, Tanaka, CARAT, HIT-MIN, himac.

Click the below link to view an at-a-glance chart of the name and logo changes.
https://hkstrategies.egnyte.com/dl/7NLEe6UEfU

SOURCE: Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.

--BERNAMA

P&G'S CITIZENSHIP EFFORTS - A FORCE FOR GOOD AND A FORCE FOR GROWTH

P&G Highlights Contributions to Society, the Community and the Environment in the 2017 Citizenship Report
 
CINCINNATI, Nov 1 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) today released its 2017 Citizenship Report, detailing progress in improving social conditions for those in need, advancing Diversity & Inclusion, building a world free from gender bias inside and outside the Company and reducing its environmental footprint. As P&G operates in about 70 countries and serves nearly 5 billion people, the Company leverages its brands and people to make the world a better place through its Citizenship efforts.

“Our Citizenship efforts are a win-win opportunity for our business, for our communities, and, more broadly, for our society,” said David Taylor, P&G’s Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Consumers care about the company behind the brands they purchase and use. They want to know that the products they are buying come from a trusted source, and we’re working to build on that trust every single day.”

P&G published a sustainability report annually since 1999 but expanded it beginning in 2016 to include a more comprehensive overview of the Company’s citizenship priorities. From supporting more than 20 disasters with product donations and services, to sparking conversations about gender and racial bias, to pioneering the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made with beach plastic, the stories and examples in P&G’s 2017 Citizenship report demonstrate that innovative citizenship can have significant positive impact on the world and on its business.

Highlights of the P&G 2017 Citizenship Report include:
  • Community Impact: P&G delivered its 12 billionth liter of clean drinking water in 2017 through the P&G’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, and aims to deliver 15 billion by 2020. P&G’s Pampers brand partnered with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses to design and introduce the first diaper for preemies – the Pampers Preemie Swaddlers Size P-3 diaper. In addition, P&G provided support in response to more than 20 natural disasters around the world.
  • Diversity & Inclusion: P&G joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. P&G also sponsored the 37th National Veterans Wheelchair Games in its hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, to empower more than 550 veterans to live more active and healthy lives.
  • Gender Equality: In conjunction with International Women’s Day 2017, P&G launched the #WeSeeEqual video, which has been viewed millions of times in 180 countries. P&G joined the ANA #SeeHer movement and the UN Women Unstereotype Alliance to focus on eliminating stereotypes and accurately portraying women and girls in advertising. Over the last fiscal year, P&G spent more than $1 billion with women-owned businesses in the United States through its Supplier Diversity program, expanding the program into all five global regions.
  • Environmental Responsibility: P&G opened a biomass facility in Albany, Ga., that produces 100 percent of the steam and a significant portion of the total energy used to make Bounty and Charmin products at that manufacturing plant, an achievement that will help reach the Company’s goal of using 30 percent renewable energy by 2020. P&G scientists invented a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the plastics recycling industry allowing polypropylene plastics to be recycled into nearly new condition. As part of P&G’s commitment to send zero manufacturing waste to landfill from all its global manufacturing sites by 2020, more than 70 percent of its sites in 23 countries have now achieved this status.
The Executive Summary of the report, as well as a detailed version, can be viewed here.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://ww.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

Contacts
Procter & Gamble
Damon Jones – 513-983-0190
Jones.dd@pg.com
Or
Julie deSylva – 513-780-0006
Desylva.j@pg.com
 
Source: The Procter & Gamble Company
 
View this news release online at:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171031005437/en

--BERNAMA

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS CLOSES MEDALLION GATHERING & PROCESSING ACQUISITION

NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) announced today that it has closed on the previously announced acquisition of Medallion Gathering & Processing, LLC (Medallion). GIP purchased Medallion from an affiliate of The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG), 51% owner, and an affiliate of Laredo Petroleum, Inc. (Laredo), 49% owner, for a cash purchase price of $1.825 billion (the Base Consideration), plus additional cash consideration that is linked to GIP's realized profits at exit (the Additional Consideration).

All proceeds from the sale of Medallion, including the Base Consideration, subject to customary post-closing adjustments, and the Additional Consideration, if any, will be distributed 51% to EMG and 49% to Laredo. There can be no assurance as to when and whether the Additional Consideration will be funded.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=30443

FIFTH ANNUAL ASIA-PACIFIC STEVIE® AWARDS ISSUES CALL FOR ENTRIES

FAIRFAX, Va., Oct 31 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Stevie® Awards has issued a call for entries for the 2018 (fifth annual) Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the only business awards program to recognize innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region. 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/98e35cf3-9483-4159-b7d6-39b2048b3ccb

The early-bird entry deadline is November 29. The final entry deadline is February 7, 2018, but late entries will be accepted through March 14 with the payment of a late fee. Complete entry details are available at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are open to all organizations in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region: Large and small, for-profit and non-profit, public and private. The awards focus on recognizing innovation in all its forms, wherever it is achieved in the workplace. Entries are accepted in seven languages.

Annual Report Awards & Other Publication Awards
Customer Service Awards
Company/Organization Awards
Human Resources Awards
Information Technology Awards
Management Awards
Marketing Awards
New Product Awards
Corporate Communications, IR, and PR Awards
Website Awards and Smartphone and Tablet App Awards
…and more

New awards categories introduced for 2018 include Award for Innovative Management in Government, Award for Innovative Management in Non-Profit Organization or NGOs and Award for Innovative Management in Public Enterprises.

Asia-Pacific Stevie Award winners will be announced on April 18. Winners will be celebrated and presented their awards during a gala banquet on June 1 in Hong Kong.

Scores of professionals from throughout the region will participate in the judging process to determine the Stevie winners.

Some of the Asia-Pacific region’s most innovative organizations have won Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards in the past four years including ABS-CBN Corporation, Bangkok Health Research Center, Delta Air Lines, Freelancer.com, GE Indonesia, Globe Telecom, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Huawei, Maras Group, MetLife Asia Ltd., MSLGROUP China, Ooredoo, PT Petrokimia Gresik, Samsung, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Singapore Power, Sony, Telkom Indonesia, Xiaomi, and more. 

GLOBAL SD-WAN PROVIDED TO ENTERPRISES IN AUSTRALIA AND SINGAPORE AS NEXION NETWORKS PARTNERS WITH ARYAKA

New partnership delivers superior global connectivity and application acceleration benefits to businesses in the Asia-Pacific region

SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov 1 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aryaka®, the leading global SD-WAN provider, today announced that NEXION Networks will employ Aryaka’s global SD-WAN solution to enhance global connectivity and application performance for enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=30455

JTB GROUP LAUNCHES SALES OF NEW HOKKAIDO TOUR FEATURING ACCOMMODATION AT RENOWNED NOBORIBETSU HOT SPRINGS, NINJA SHOW, AND VISIT TO A SWORDSMITH FORGE

- Enjoy the majestic nature and rich Japanese culture of central Hokkaido
- A new experience-based tour plan that delivers an engaging trip to Japan, even for returning visitors

TOKYO, Nov 1 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- JTB Group, Japan's largest travel agency, through JTB Sunrise Tours, its tour brand dedicated to bringing foreign tourists to Japan, has launched sales of a brand-new bus tour plan that invites foreign visitors to experience the majestic nature and rich Japanese culture of central Hokkaido, a favorite destination of tourists to Japan.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=30453

A NEW HUMANITARIAN ENVOY TO SUPPORT REFUGEES WORLDWIDE

TBHF has provided over 647,000 beneficiaries in 10 nations with health, education and emergency aid

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, Oct 31 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- In a significant step to bolster their ongoing life-saving relief operations, The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), one of the world’s leading humanitarian organisations based out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has appointed Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Council, as its Humanitarian Envoy.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=30444