It’s been difficult to track the various machinations of Hyundai Doosan Infracore, Hyundai Genuine, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Develon (formerly Doosan). And so on.
What are the brands in North America, what do they make, and where is it all going?
Construction Equipment sat down with three top executives to find out.
The main players are Young-cheul Cho, CEO of HD Infracore and Hyundai Genuine, which is an intermediary company of the construction division in the HD Hyundai group; Edward Song, EVP and head of sales for the construction equipment division of Hyundai Doosan Infracore, based in Korea; and Chris Jeong, CEO of Develon and president of Hyundai Doosan North America, based in Suwanee, Georgia (who took over Develon’s U.S. operations from Song).
Read also: Doosan rebrands as Develon
First, a brief summary of the largest organizations named.
Hyundai Genuine was established following the purchase in August 2021 of Doosan Infracore, by Hyundai Heavy Industries Group. Doosan Infracore has since been renamed HD Hyundai Infracore.
The group has raised eyebrows by targeting the capture of 5 percent of global equipment sales by 2025. The two manufacturing businesses now combine their research and development efforts to increase technological competitiveness.
Read also: Hyundai Genuine aims for 5% global share
Hyundai Construction Equipment (now HD Hyundai Construction Equipment) and HD Hyundai Infracore continue to operate under their own management structure and systems, competing as sister companies within the global equipment market. Hyundai Genuine will provide support to both businesses, while maximizing the available synergies between the two.
This is how Hyundai Genuine works:
- HD Hyundai Construction Equipment and HD Hyundai Infracore compete within the global equipment market
- Technological synergies have started with joint development of integrated excavator and wheeled loader platforms (they also share an ADT model)
- Hydrogen engines are being developed for construction machinery
- R&D is combined to push technological development
- Further investment in Mergers and Acquisitions, start-up businesses, automation, and electrification.
Currently in North America, Hyundai makes wheel loaders, ADTs, wheeled and crawler excavators, skid steers, CTLs, and rollers. Develon makes crawler, wheeled, and mini excavators, ADTs, material handlers, wheel loaders, a dozer, and a CTL.
Cho, Song, and Jeong stressed at every turn that the two brands customers now see will continue to be separate.
"So far we have decided to operate and keep the two brands separate." Cho said. "Hyundai and Develon have two businesses always, branding, different names, and different channels. We are going to keep the brands, and compact and heavy machinery."
This is not the right time, Cho added, to decide if one brand will eventually become a premium brand and the other a value brand.
Concept X
One of the splashier developments underway among the two brands is "Concept X," an advanced smart construction solution featuring unmanned construction equipment.
The Concept X project, unveiled in 2019, enables realization of a safe and efficient future construction site based on unmanned and automation technologies and XiteCloud, the first product that partially commercializes the technologies of Concept X.
Concept X is a comprehensive control solution that measures and analyzes the topography of construction sites by using 3D drone scanning devices and creates operation plans based on the topographical data. Concept-X is the world’s first smart construction solution, Develon says, to successfully demonstrate the entire process from measurement to the use of equipment while being automatically operated with no human intervention. Thanks to this solution, those in charge of the construction site can monitor and remotely control the whole process at the control center called “X Center.”
Read also: Hyundai, Doosan show Concept X at CES
“XiteCloud” is a cloud-based All-in-One construction platform that enables integrated management of construction sites. It provides a “digital construction platform” (XiteAnalyst/XiteFleet) that can analyze and plan 3D information and manage equipment efficiently in a cloud environment, and a “construction automation system” (XiteAuto/XiteSafety) that improves productivity and safety through automation of equipment.
So far, the equipment involved includes drones, and diesel-powered excavators, wheel loaders, and articulated dump trucks.
HD Hyundai Infracore targets commercialization of Concept X (now updated to Concept X2) by 2025.
"After 2019, we did our best to upgrade all the machines. The main models have not changed much, but the efficiency has been increased," Cho said.
But will the North American market be ready for automation?
Read also: Doosan debuts "XiteCloud solution in South Korea
""My point of view is that initially there were some concerns that because it’s automating, it’s eliminating some jobs on the operating side," Song said. "I think that as time passes, even from 2019, there are a couple of trends that we see. One is the desire to have more efficiency in the market. Two is that people are becoming more cognizant of the safety issues and see the importance of having those [automation] features on the machines. I think people are more open now to these machines with these changes, and I think that trend will continue. Acceptance is going up as time passes.
"The goal is still obviously to shoot for 2025, but I think because of a lot of complexity that we are finding, we’re not definite that it will be launched in 2025," Song said.
"The demand is there," claimed Jeong. "The customers are very interested in trying this technology on their job sites. These days, sustainability, safety, and efficiency are the most important factors for all the customers."
Cho noted that productivity between Concept X and X2 has been improved by 13 percent because of the machine learning and AI. Concept X2 technologies will be released into the market sequentially.
Both Develon and Hyundai are also at work on alternative power sources.
"This year, we launched the DX20ZE-7 [electric] excavator, and we have product development for extending the range," Jeong said. "At this moment, we’re focusing on the compact excavator segment for electrification because this is the biggest market segment in the industry. We also have a roadmap to develop electrification for mid-sized excavators and wheel loaders."
The companies also see hydrogen in their futures.
"Hydrogen technology is already available at the moment," Jeong said." We have technology available for a 14-ton wheeled excavator, but as for when the product will be launched and commercialized, it depends on the infrastructure to support running that machine. Even though the technology is ready, the infrastructure is not ready yet. I think this is one of the biggest challenges for all the OEMs to tackle, including us, with many future partnerships possible among companies as well."
Cho said that HD Hyundai Infracore has an engine business that is heading the hydrogen project. "In 2025, hydrogen combustion engines could be offered," he said.
For the current time frame, Develon is working on improving its coverage in North America and expanding its product offerings. "We have [dealer coverage] over 70 percent of North America," Jeong says. "We still have some open space to get in, but we have a very strong network as compared to other competitors."
"We are looking at more expansion in the compact segment," Jeong said. "And, one of the key products, not only for North America but globally, we're looking to expand our excavator range. Now we have 2-ton to 100-ton machines, but we see an opportunity in mining and larger excavators to go beyond 100 tons."
The market will dictate additional product family growth and new product categories.
"I think bringing on our Korea-produced mini excavator and the dozer is the result of listening to customer voices, so rather than just deciding which product we are bringing, we will continuously be working with our customers," Song said. "That is how the dozer and CTL came about; listening to our customers and dealers and assessing which ones to bring on."
Song noted that loyalty to incumbent brands is very strong in North America. "Whatever story you try to tell, unless you are being consistent for multiple years and you deliver what you have committed to, that change [on the part of buyers] is very difficult to make, especially for a player like us whose presence is very weak, but is becoming strong."
