Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) will invest approximately USD170 million in its Ulsan factory, its major production base, in a drive to strengthen its competitiveness in light of the boom in global construction equipment.

The upgrade will increase capacity by 50%, to more than 15,000 machines per year. The move will support Hyundai’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.

This is the largest investment since HCE’s launch as a newly established corporation within the Hyundai Heavy Industries group.

The company will merge the production and assembly functions currently undertaken in Factory 1 and Factory 2 into a single facility, simplifying the flow of 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 ramp-up of production includes a focus on hydrogen-powered equipment, with a range of fuel cell forklifts due to launch in 2023.

“Strengthening the competitiveness of the Ulsan factory is the first challenge that needs to be addressed to reach the global top five, the goal of the construction equipment division of the Hyundai Heavy Industries group,” says CEO Choi Cheol-gon.

“With this investment, we will further raise our brand competitiveness by producing and delivering construction equipment with increased efficiency.”