Person: Duck Joo Ra

Industry Profile
- 1 Dec 2005 ( #237 ) - INCHEON, Korea, Republic Of
2 min read
DJ Ra at Doosan Infracore's stand in CeMAT 2005.
DJ Ra at Doosan Infracore's stand in CeMAT 2005.
Duck Joo Ra, executive managing director of Doosan Infracore Co Ltd, headquartered at Incheon, South Korea, is an affable man with an unassuming manner. The Forkliftaction.com team was privileged to meet him at a dinner during CeMAT 2005 in Hannover.

Ra joined Daewoo Forklifts (now known as Doosan Infracore) in 1973 after graduating from Seoul National University with a mechanical engineering degree.
"I started my career at the R&D centre, developing industrial robots, laser-machining tools and remote-controlled helicopters. In 1990, I moved to the aerospace division and developed basic trainer aircraft for the Korean air force," Ra said.

Ten years later, Ra joined the industrial vehicle division and was soon overseeing manufacturing and marketing of Doosan-Daewoo forklifts.
"I particularly enjoy meeting new people, especially our invaluable customers. As we are growing our business into one of the world's top forklift suppliers, it is my job to make our brand strong and competitive at a world-class level.

"Thankfully, I have a lot of good people helping me," Ra said.

At the CeMAT dinner, the Forkliftaction.com News team had the chance to mingle with Ra's subordinates. A UK-based staff member said he had once been invited to dinner with Ra and his family. "Ra is a very humble man. I remember him treating me as if I were part of his family and this is very rare for a man high up there," the Doosan Infracore employee said.

Ra told Forkliftaction.com News that although he had worked on many interesting projects, it was the people he worked with who brought him the most joy.

"When you reach a higher level in business, the most satisfaction comes from seeing people work together to meet our business objectives. We have a good team working together."

He said the materials handling industry was now more competitive than it had ever been. "Even though there has been some consolidation in the market, no one can take their share of the market for granted. Product design is changing as a result, but changes in the market's requirements are less dramatic."

"It used to be that the mechanics of the machine were most important. Now new technology has become much more integral to the design of forklifts, but I'm not totally convinced it is all customer-led," he said.

"Some changes clearly are. Like environmental pressures that have led to the increasing demand for electric models, which in turn has led to higher specifications and higher expectations of performance.

"At the same time there's now much more focus on total life cycle costs, particularly with fleet users who want to keep them as low as possible," Ra said. "We've always felt this was a particular strength of ours, perhaps because of our experience with defence and construction equipment."
Getting to know Allan Leibowitz
Getting to know Allan Leibowitz 12 Nov 2020 - 4 min read
Getting to know Elisabeth Ausimour
Getting to know Elisabeth Ausimour 20 Feb 2020 - Ancenis, France - 2 min read
Interview highlights TVH plans
Interview highlights TVH plans 16 Jan 2020 - Waregem, Belgium - 2 min read
Previously about:
Doosan dealer yields to economics News Story - 26 Mar 2009 - Rome, GA, United States - 1 min read
Daewoo founder gets 10 years News Story - 1 Jun 2006 - SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of - 1 min read
Texan companies join forces News Story - 22 Dec 2005 - WACO, TX, United States - 2 min read
Hyundai and Doosan unite – and compete News Story - 2 Dec 2021 - Tessenderlo, Belgium - 1 min read
Doosan’s giant engine order News Story - 22 Apr 2021 - Seoul, Korea, Republic Of - <1 min read
Forklift manufacturers lead Yellow Table Top 50 News Story - 19 Apr 2012 - Wadhurst, United Kingdom - 2 min read
Do you have materials handling news? Submit your news here

PREMIUM business

Hawker Powersource, Inc.
HAWKER® offers a range of hybrid motive power solutions customized to adapt as your operation's needs change.

Use your high-impact banner on our high-traffic technical forum pages to promote your products, services, or career opportunities directly to forklift technicians and engineers.

Starting at just $396 (USD) for 100,000 impressions.

Since our launch in February 2005, Forkliftaction has been home to the leading global discussion forum for forklift technicians, attracting 98,000 visits every week.

Spaces are limited—contact us today!

Words of support …

After advertising with Forkliftaction.com, we got many enquiries regarding interest to be our distributor. Mostly from Europe and USA but including a few in ASEAN. We feel that the advertisement was useful and good for market expansion.

Lawrence Xu, Assistant Sales Manager - Resonac Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Use your high-impact banner on our high-traffic technical forum pages to promote your products, services, or career opportunities directly to forklift technicians and engineers.

Starting at just $396 (USD) for 100,000 impressions.

Since our launch in February 2005, Forkliftaction has been home to the leading global discussion forum for forklift technicians, attracting 98,000 visits every week.

Spaces are limited—contact us today!

PREMIUM business

BSL New Energy Technology Co., Ltd
BSLBATT - practical expertise and excellent design in the industrial lithium-ion battery market.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Inside The News
There is simply no ignoring the push for a greener, more sustainable materials handling equipment industry as manufacturers and customers alike seek eco-friendly solutions to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions... Continue reading

PREMIUM business

Lift Technologies Inc.
Global leader - manufactures masts, carriages, sideshifters & fork positioners

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Use your high-impact banner on our high-traffic technical forum pages to promote your products, services, or career opportunities directly to forklift technicians and engineers.

Starting at just $396 (USD) for 100,000 impressions.

Since our launch in February 2005, Forkliftaction has been home to the leading global discussion forum for forklift technicians, attracting 98,000 visits every week.

Spaces are limited—contact us today!