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HD Hyundai, Doosan to vie with Caterpillar, John Deere, Kubota at CES
A rendered image of HD Hyundai's exhibition booth at CES 2024 / Courtesy of HD Hyundai
By Park Jae-hyuk
Event to showcase latest construction equipment, technologies
Major domestic and overseas construction equipment manufacturers will gather at CES 2024 in Las Vegas from Jan. 9 to 12, to showcase their emerging construction technologies.
Their participation is expected to transform the world’s largest annual trade show, previously called the Consumer Electronics Show and now known by its acronym only, to embrace a wider variety of innovative technologies.
Among the participating heavy machinery makers, HD Hyundai has drawn significant attention as Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Ki-sun is among the five keynote speakers of the show. He will deliver a speech on Jan. 10 regarding his company’s strategies for infrastructure construction.
“Improving the productivity and sustainability of the construction industry is key to tackling many, if not all the human security challenges of our civilization,” Chung said. “CES and the world will see our vision for digital twin and smart construction solutions systems. It is about changing the way we build so that we can change our future.”
Philip Moyer, vice president of Google Cloud’s global artificial intelligence (AI) business, will join Chung during his speech to emphasize the two companies’ cooperation on applying AI technologies to shipbuilding and construction equipment manufacturing.
“Chung will showcase how tech innovations are empowering ‘future builders’ to change the way we build infrastructure — the very foundation of our civilization and a sustainable future for all,” the CES organizer said.
When HD Hyundai participated in CES 2022 and 2023, it focused more on introducing its flagship businesses of shipbuilding and offshore engineering, based on its “Ocean Transformation” vision.
As mega-size construction projects including those in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have made construction equipment manufacturing into HD Hyundai’s core business, the group developed the “Xite Transformation” vision for this year’s CES through the participation of HD Hyundai XiteSolution, which counts HD Hyundai Infracore and HD Hyundai Construction Equipment among its subsidiaries.
The company will also play a promotional video for its Develon construction equipment brand on an electronic board of the 2 Times Square building in New York until Sunday to let the public know about its participation in CES 2024.
“At a booth larger than last year’s, we will exhibit our unmanned and automated construction equipment technologies for next-generation construction sites and our digital twin technologies for remote control of heavy machinery,” an HD Hyundai official said.
Doosan Bobcat's S7X all-electric skid-steer loader, which received a CES 2024 Innovation Award / Courtesy of Doosan
Doosan Group, which started participating in the tech fair in 2020 to introduce its drones and robots, will offer an exhibition booth for the first time in two years to showcase the technologies of its affiliates, including Doosan Bobcat, which generated the largest revenue among Korean construction equipment makers during the first three quarters of last year.
With Bobcat’s AI-powered, unmanned and electrified products to be unveiled at CES 2024, Doosan is expected to accelerate efforts to consolidate its lead in the construction equipment sector, which once faltered when the company sold Infracore to HD Hyundai in 2021 to escape financial difficulties.
“Chairman Park Jeong-won will attend CES with the group’s top executives, including Vice Chairman Park Gee-won,” a Doosan official said. “This will be the first time in four years for the chairman to visit the show.”
Foreign rivals to appear
The Korean companies will not only compete with each other, but also with multiple foreign rivals to attract visitors at CES 2024.
“CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show is held triennially, so a growing number of global construction equipment makers having advanced technologies will show interest in CES,” an industry official said.
Kubota, a Japanese construction and agricultural equipment manufacturer, is set to make its first CES appearance.
“Show attendees will get a peek behind the curtain, particularly at the residential market where we are working on exciting innovations that will help shape the future of compact equipment for our company, our dealers, and our customers who have come to expect quality, versatility and reliability from Kubota,” Kubota North America Senior Vice President Todd Stucke said.
HD Hyundai CEO Chung Ki-sun examines John Deere's heavy equipment at the U.S. firm's exhibition booth for CES 2023 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada in this January 2023 file photo. Courtesy of HD Hyundai
Caterpillar and John Deere, both of which blazed a trail for the construction equipment industry’s participation in CES, will exhibit their new products again this year, as the two U.S. firms caught attention last year with their gigantic heavy machinery displayed in the center of the exhibition hall for global mobility companies.
“This event is known as the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators which makes it the ideal place for us to showcase our leadership in power systems and integrated service solutions to help our customers in the energy transition,” Caterpillar Senior Vice President Rod Shurman said.
The company has participated in CES since 2021. It plans to focus this year on electric machines and energy solutions to satisfy its customers who want to electrify their worksites.
John Deere, which has participated in CES every year since 2019, is expected to come up with sustainable and eco-friendly products, given that the industry’s first participant in the show received a CES 2024 Innovation Award in the sustainability, eco-design and smart energy category.