Manufacturing 2025: IMAKOJI, HIROHITO

In February, the Swiss equipment manufacturer appointed Imakoji as Liebherr USA’s second managing director, jointly sharing executive responsibilities with Kai Friedrich, who has served as its Newport News-based managing director since 2021.

Imakoji oversees strategic planning and the execution of growth strategies for corporate, finance and administrative functions. Liebherr USA provides sales and service on behalf of 10 product segments: earthmoving, material handling technology, mining, mobile and crawler cranes, tower cranes, concrete technology, maritime cranes, deep foundation machines components and refrigerators and freezers.

In 2024, Liebherr Mining Equipment announced a $72.3 million expansion of a facility at the border of Hampton and Newport News, where it has had a presence since 1970, and the addition of 175 jobs, adding to its 550 current workers.

Beginning his career as an intern with Austria’s Liebherr-Werk Nenzing, Imakoji has worked for more than 17 years with the Liebherr Group, including positions in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Most recently, he was managing director of finance and administration at Liebherr-Electronics and Drives in Germany.

Born in Osaka, Japan, Imakoji spent his youth in Salzburg, Austria.

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