Doosan Infracore announced on October 26 that it held a tape-cutting ceremony to inaugurate a second production complex in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, China. The plant has been established to cope with surging demand for small-sized excavators, and will form one of the Company’s two pillars of mass production of excavators in China, along with the Yantai plant in Shandong Province, which is focused on the production of mid-to-large-sized equipment.
The Suzhou Plant, with a total floor space of 24,000 sq. meters, has been completed with combined investment of US$ 659 billion since 2007, including investments by Doosan Infracore’s Chinese affiliates DICI(25%) and DICC(75%). The plant, which has the capacity to roll out 9,800 excavators per annum, will produce small-sized excavators weighing eight tons or less. Doosan Infracore plans to push for phase 2 expansion of the plant by 2015 through its Chinese subsidiary, and increase the output there to up to 13,600 units per year.
Doosan Infracore has constructed its Second Production Base in China in order to cope with surging demand in the Chinese small excavator market, step up sales in southern China regions, and secure price competitiveness by cutting logistics costs and production costs. The Chinese small-sized excavator market has posted annual average growth of 34 percent over the past five years, accounting for 34 percent of China’s excavator market in 2010. Indeed, the Chinese excavator market is expected to post an annual growth rate of about 10 percent in the coming years due to Beijing’s urbanization policy and new rural development policy.
Doosan Infracore plans to step up its foray into the Chinese market and global market by banking on its two main pillars, including the Yantai Plant, which ranks first in cumulative excavator sales in China. The Suzhou plant will focus on small-sized excavators, while the Yantai plant will specialize in the production of mid-to-large-sized excavators.
The Suzhou region has been cultivated into an advanced industrial region, and is armed with a well-developed inland and marine transportation network. Adjacent to China’s southern region,which posts the largest demand for excavators in China, the new plant is expected to help reduce logistics costs. Moreover, since many suppliers are packed in areas around Suzhou, the plant will likely have a network for stable parts supply, and secure price and quality competitiveness.
In attendance at the inauguration ceremony were Chairman Y.H. Park of Doosan Group; Y.S. Kim, CEO of Doosan Infracore; Tony Helsham, CEO of Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment; Consul General Chongghee Ahn from the Korean Consular General in Shanghai; Wang Jinhua, Deputy Party Secretary of the CPC Suzhou Committee; and Yang Zhiping, Deputy Secretary of Suzhou Industrial Park CPC Working Committee & Director of SIP Administrative Committee.
Doosan Infracore has been ranked first for seven consecutive years in a customer satisfaction survey conducted by the ‘Brand and customer satisfaction survey committee for the Chinese market’.
