Doosan Eyes Brazil

Doosan Infracore plans to build heavy equipment plant in Brazil as base for inroads into Latin America

Chairman Park Yong-man of Doosan Infracore

Chairman Park Yong-man of Doosan Infracore, said the company plans to build a heavy equipment plant in Brazil as early as in the first half this year to produce excavators and wheel loaders and other construction equipment and Doosan Group may also decide to build a power generation equipment plant also in a separate move. The chairman said the group financial restructuring has been completed and denied rumors of merger of heavy equipment production plants of Doosan Heavy Industries, Doosan Construction and Doosan Infracore and Bobcat of the United States.
During an interview with a local daily, Park said Brazil is the largest potential market in the world asked to name one. Brazil is likely to become a second China, where Doosan Infracore has been operating with a great success. Brazil has the potential for great economic growth and huge demand for heavy equipment in the future.
Park said Doosan Infracore has been making plans to invest in the Latin American country in the past several years to build a heavy equipment plant with most of the plan nearing completion so that the project might be kicked off in the first half of the year. The company has decided to go ahead with its project to secure an advanced base in South America where economies are growing rapidly, joining the company's other plants around the globe. The company has plants in China, Belgium, and Korea, in addition to Bobcat plant in the United States.
The chairman indicated that other Doosan affiliates might join Doosan Infracore in setting up projects in the Latin American country as the country will have large markets for power generation equipment( Doosan Heavy), heavy equipment (Doosan Infracore) and plants( Doosan Construction), among others.
He said financial restructuring among the group's major affiliates is nearing an end as shown in the lack of news on Doosan Group's financials in media from the second half of last year, a major indication that the group's financial restructuring is over in most cases. He also added that the risks involving Bobcat will be taken care of completely.
On the possible merger of Doosan Heavy and Doosan Construction, he said the matter has not been discussed in the group and as other construction firms in the country, Doosan Construction has had tough times due to the downturn in the construction market.
The construction affiliate merged with Doosan Mechatech to diversify its business areas such as plant construction, not requiring more financial restructuring, the chairman said.
He did not comment much about the rumors of Doosan Infracore's construction equipment unit and lathe unit off shot, saying that it's a long-term subject requiring consideration much later in time, not an immediate concern. He, however, denied emphatically the talks about the merger of Doosan InfracoreOs construction equipment unit and Bobcat of the United States, producing small construction equipment, saying it is impossible legally as they are in different countries with different laws.
On October 14th, the construction of Doosan Infracore's Gunsan Plant was completed. The plant is set to produce about 4,000 large-type construction machines per year, including excavators, wheel loaders, etc.
On the same day, Doosan Infracore held the completion ceremony for the Gunsan plant for the production of construction machines in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, which was attended by about one hundred people, including Wan Ju Kim, the Governor of Jeonbuk; Dong Shin Mun, the Mayor of Gunsan; Y.H.Park, the Doosan chairman; domestic and overseas dealers; and customer representatives.
Doosan Infracore has invested a total of 114.6 billion won since 2007 to promote the construction of the Gunsan plant as part of its strategy to become the worldOs leading construction machine company by securing a stable production capability.
The plant, which has been established on a site of 610,000§³ (180,000 pyeong), within the Gunsan industrial complex, is capable of producing about 4,000 large-type construction machines per year, including six types of excavators and four types of wheel loaders.
The characteristic of the Gunsan plant is that is 'a plant that has three no's' - no delinquency, no storage and no forklifts. Delinquencies were prevented through the automatic welding facility and double examinations, and it was possible to operate the plant without any storage facilities by getting rid of the parts inventories by sharing real-time production data with the parts companies.nw