Air Water Plant and Engineering (AWP), a subsidiary of Air Water which holds the largest share in the tank truck market, will establish a joint venture with Hitachi High Tech Technologies. The new company, called Hitachi High Tech AW Corp Cryo (HTAW), will get underway on June 2 in Canada. The company will be engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing containers and related products for the transport of LNG. The new company will be capitalized at CAD$2.2 million, with Hitachi High Tech Technologies putting up 66% and Air Water 34%.

The Hitachi High Tech Technologies group is engaged in manufacturing and marketing devices used in the electronics and industrial sectors. It has marketing knowhow and a sales network in North America. For its part, Air Water manufactures and markets tank containers for the transport of LNG. These containers utilize the superior performance of the Air Water thermal insulation technology in resisting vibration and shock. The 2 companies will be using their respective strong points to target sales of 12 billion by 2020 by selling chiefly to users in the US and Canada.