Hitachi at CONEXPO 2026: Award-winning Booth, Autonomy Demos, and a Clearer Path to LANDCROS

Hitachi Construction Machinery came to CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 with a booth that looked like a brand statement. Under the theme “Connecting Harmony to Innovation,” the company mixed its signature orange iron with Japanese design cues, a calmer layout, and a deliberate focus on technology you could actually see working. The approach paid off with a Best Booth Design Award and the kind of dwell time exhibitors chase but rarely mention.

The scale was hard to miss. Hitachi positioned 22 excavators and wheel loaders in the Festival Lot and ran 10 technology demonstrations alongside five partner collaborations. By its own count, nearly 40,000 visitors stopped by during a week in Las Vegas that drew about 140,000 attendees overall. The message was clear: this was not only about machines, but about what sits around them.

A big part of that story was autonomy. Hitachi partnered with Gravis Robotics to demonstrate an autonomous excavator setup, highlighting how retrofit autonomy can be layered onto existing equipment workflows. Gravis’ “Rack” technology also earned a show technology award, reinforcing the point that autonomy is moving from headline concept to jobsite-ready experimentation, especially for repetitive tasks.

Autonomy got plenty of attention, but Hitachi’s real message sat in the software layer around the machine. The company is pushing for technology that stays simple for the person using it, while remaining compatible with outside partners instead of locking customers into a closed ecosystem.

That approach is reflected in the Assist program, a prototype mobile AI tool described as “Siri for Hitachi excavators.” Rather than embedding the assistant only in the cab, Assist is built to work on any mobile device, so users can access it wherever the job takes them. It pulls responses from a curated knowledge base that combines technical documentation with dealer and support information, aiming to cover the questions that slow crews down: machine settings, step-by-step troubleshooting, and parts identification. Hitachi says the system is being developed in a controlled, structured environment to reduce incorrect answers, with availability planned as a staged rollout, machine by machine, starting in North America.

Hitachi’s shift to LANDCROS, scheduled for 2027, is being framed as a brand change rather than a reset of the business. The company’s line is continuity: the same management, the same engineering teams, and the same machines. What changes first is the name on the iron, starting with updated decals. That distinction matters. Hitachi has been on construction equipment for decades, and replacing that badge is not a light move. The wager is that customers will follow the product and the support behind it, even as the branding transitions to LANDCROS.

Hitachi at CONEXPO 2026: Award-winning Booth, Autonomy Demos, and a Clearer Path to LANDCROS published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.