Karleen C. Chinen
With the arrival of the new year came the announcement that Hawaii Hochi, Ltd., the parent company of The Hawai‘i Herald and its Japanese-language sister publication, the Hawaii Hochi, had acquired Obun Hawaii, a full-service commercial printing company that had been owned by aio. The announcement was made jointly by Hawaii Hochi, Ltd. president Taro Yoshida and aio president Susan Eichor. The acquisition is limited to the two companies’ printing operations.
The acquisition of Obun Hawaii, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, will expand and supplement both companies’ commercial printing capabilities to include high-quality offset and digital printing, mailing, bindery and design services. The two companies will continue to operate at their current locations and maintain their current names.
“Hawaii Hochi, Ltd. and Shizuoka Shimbun are excited to welcome Obun Hawaii to their Hawai‘i operations,” stated Taro Yoshida in a jointly issued press release. “Our common values and long-term commitment to Hawai‘i provide the foundation for our companies coming together. We look forward to serving the community for many decades to come,” he added. Yoshida will be president of the combined operations.
“We see this as a great partnership and opportunity for both companies,” said Susan Eichor. “We are very pleased that Hawaii Hochi recognized Obun Hawaii’s outstanding employees as its most important asset and will be carrying over employees into the merged company,” she added. “With the support of Hawaii Hochi, Ltd.’s parent company Shizuoka Shimbun, Obun Hawaii is positioned well for the next 50 years.”
Hawaii Hochi, Ltd. is a subsidiary of Shizuoka Shimbun and the Shizuoka Broadcasting Group, a multimedia company based in Shizuoka, Japan. The Hawaii Hochi newspaper was established in 1912 by Fred Kinzaburo Makino to stand up for Hawai‘i’s immigrant Japanese community and has been publishing its Japanese language newspaper in Hawai‘i for 107 years.
The aio family of companies is a locally owned, diverse group of businesses, which includes some of Hawai‘i’s most recognizable brands in media, sports, technology and food.
