Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) is investing US$170m in its Ulsan production plant in South Korea, increasing capacity by 50%. The move will support the business's growing presence in the booming global construction equipment market while providing a manufacturing base for a new generation of electric and hydrogen-powered equipment.
The investment, to be delivered over the next four years, will increase production at the giant plant by 4,800 units a year, bringing annual capacity to 15,000 excavators, wheeled loaders and other construction models.
HCE will merge the production and assembly functions currently in Factory 1 and Factory 2 into a single facility, simplifying processes and increasing savings by maximising efficiency. This will reduce the working hours involved in machine production and cut logistics costs throughout the supply chain. The move will also reflect HCE’s environmental, social and governance factors, using eco-friendly sub-materials when conducting interior and exterior finish work.
The company is increasing its market share in every business region by responding to current market trends in the global construction equipment market and by looking ahead to the customer requirements of tomorrow’s infrastructure and construction projects. The company is also planning to benefit from the recent US launch of the ‘Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative for developing countries.
HCE announced in 2020 that it plans to bring to market a range of excavators powered by hydrogen fuel cells, produced in cooperation with Hyundai Motors, which has its largest automotive plant in Ulsan. The company has already unveiled a range of hydrogen-powered industrial forklifts that will launch in 2023. It continues to develop the low and zero-carbon emissions equipment that the customer will demand in the future.
“Strengthening the competitiveness of the Ulsan factory is the first challenge that needs to be addressed to reach the global top 5, the goal of the construction equipment division of the Hyundai Heavy Industries group,” said CEO Choi Cheol-gon. “With this investment, we will further raise our brand competitiveness by producing and delivering construction equipment with increased efficiency.”
In November 2020, HCE completed the construction of a technology innovation centre, investing €57.4m (US$65m). The new centre includes 16 laboratories, employing more than 100 researchers. It is involved in research and development projects focusing on eco-friendly technologies, high efficiency and noise reduction technologies and a virtual verification system. The site also performs quality research and verification of components and completed equipment.
HCE says it will continue to invest in the business to remain a global top tier manufacturing company. The off-highway machine giant completed a quality assurance centre to verify the reliability of components in June 2021 and remodelled its global training centre to develop excellent human resources in June 2021. The focus is on increasing production efficiency and building the infrastructure for the rapid growth planned for the coming years.
