Image of the first DEVELON branded equipment, 10T Dozer (DD100), revealed in the Korean market by HD Hyundai Infracore

HD Hyundai Infracore released a bulldozer model in the Korean market with its new brand DEVELON forecasting a change in the domestic market which has been dominated by non-Korean manufacturers since Daewoo Heavy Industries (former entity of HD Hyundai Infracore) stopped its dozer production in 1999.

Since launching its new brand DEVELON, HD Hyundai Infracore made a soft landing after revealing its first new product, the 10T Dozer (DD100) to the Korean market. Five dozers were produced first, of which all were sold out.

Korea-made dozers phased out and stopped production in 1999 during the Daewoo Heavy Industries times, the former entity of HD Hyundai Infracore, as the method used for civil engineering changed, excavators replaced certain dozer roles, and demand reduced with Korea’s foreign exchange crisis.

The bulldozer market used to be dominated by global players as the equipment required sophisticated performance to push earth and flatten surfaces.

In fact, 90% of the Korean market has been dominated by a single company based in USA, making it even more necessary to localize dozers. Acknowledging the importance, HD Hyundai Infracore started investing and developing dozers since 2020 to make a re-release, and was able to successfully present the new dozer to the domestic market after 24 years since sunset.

The newly released 10T dozer is equipped with a DEVELON engine that satisfies the EU Stage-V regulations, maximizing performance and fuel efficiency among its equals. Visibility has also been improved for safe operation with an optimized cabin and cover line design to elevate the front view, along with a rear-view camera.

High performance attachments are also something to keep an eye on. The new dozer has a ripper applied at the rear to break hard or frozen earth, and has 700mm-wide track shoes that maximizes stability and driving performance.

*Track shoe: The chain wrapped around the excavator crawler

A representative of HD Hyundai Infracore mentioned, “The Korean customers are excited to see a locally produced product in the market which has been occupied with International brands,” and added, “We plan to expand the Korean market by providing differentiated products and services, and will release a 13T dozer in NA and Korea within this year, diversifying our lineup.”

Meanwhile, the global bulldozer market volume is around 20,000units per year in which the North America takes up half the volume. <EOD>