Korea Develops Zero
Tail-Type Excavator
Set an example of promoting co-prosperity among large corporations and SMEs.

Collaboration between large Korean corporations and SMEs has enabled the development of a zero tail-type excavator on their own technology.
Nam Ki-man, director of Machinery, Aerospace & Defense Industries Division at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, said the 3.5 ton mini-excavator is significant in that it can be operated in a narrow space within 110 percent of its width in such places as urban development, reconstruction sites, and forestry work sites.
The project, launched in October 2003 under the support of the MOCIE, cost 7.1 billion won during the three-year period. Hyundai Heavy Industries, Doosan Infracore, 10 SMEs, including Korea Electronic Industry Co., Korea Polytechnic University and Koreas Institute of Industrial Technology participated in the project.
The excavator, which is in a stage of commercialization thanks to collaboration between large corporations and SMEs, is to be put on the market in the early next year.
The mini-excavator is 60 percent smaller than the existing one because the latest one has no tail. As a result, the conventional excavator needs to require at least two lanes of a road to do its jobs, but the new mini-excavator can perform its job only on one lane. The mechanic joystick of the conventional excavator is replaced by a hydraulic joystick to give operators with more safety and convenience.
MOCIE officials said the zero tail-type mini-excavator is a new conception of excavator made with consideration of human body as well as intense layout design, development of hydraulic parts, system integration and testing and evaluation technologies.
The size of the global excavator is estimated to surge from $1.5 billion this year to $2.4 billion to maintain a steady growth with an average annual rate of more than 17 percent. Korea is forecast to occupy an over 10 percent share in the global market. Korea is expected to compete with advanced countries like Japan,
Lee Jae-hoon, director-general for industrial policy at the MOCIE, said despite their rivalry in the construction machinery segment, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Doosan Infracore participated in the project, representing an example of promoting co-prosperity among large corporations and SMEs. nw

The brand-new zero tail-type excavator, developed by Korean large-size and smaller companies and research institutes.