HD Construction Equipment: a new plant in South Korea

HD Construction Equipment aims to expand its market presence: a clear intention it plans to achieve with some seriously heavy artillery. And no, we aren’t talking about military hardware, but rather the completion of its new, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for engines and battery packs. Which, as it turns out, will actually be tied to the military world after all. But let’s take it one step at a time.

HD Construction Equipment’s facility is a massive complex located in the heart of the Gunsan National Industrial Complex in Jeonbuk Province, southwestern South Korea, along the Yellow Sea coast. Last Wednesday, October 28, the company hosted the inauguration ceremony for its new engine plant at the Gunsan Campus.

The event was attended by approximately 200 guests, including key executives and officials such as HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Cho Young-cheul, HD Construction Equipment President Moon Jae-young, Jeonbuk Governor Lee Won-taeg, National Assembly member Kim Eui-kyeom, Gunsan Mayor Kim Jae-jun, and Park Tae-hyeon, Director General for Industrial AI Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, alongside strategic partners and customers.

HD Construction Equipment: a record-breaking hub in Gunsan

Built over two years with an investment of 116.8 billion KRW (approximately €77 million), the new facility spans 62,700 square meters within the Gunsan Campus. The company has maximized both quality control and operational efficiency by integrating advanced assembly robots, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), predictive defect detection systems, and a centralized control tower.

At full capacity, the new smart factory guarantees an annual production capacity of 120 tank engines for defense applications and 1,250 ultra-large generator engines ranging from 1 to 3 MWe. Its annual battery pack output also reaches 1,460 MWh, enough to power roughly 9,400 electric buses.

In response to the rapid growth in demand for high-output generators driven by AI data centers, HD Construction Equipment plans to launch full-scale production of its ultra-large generator engines right at the Gunsan plant. The rollout will begin in the first half of next year with a 37-liter model (1.3 MWe), followed by a 77-liter model (3 MWe) in 2028 and a 50-liter model (2 MWe) in 2029.

Furthermore, the new facility will enable the company to reliably meet growing medium- and long-term demand for defense tank engines, while expanding battery pack supplies across the commercial vehicle, construction equipment, and industrial application sectors.

During the ceremony, the company unveiled its 37-liter ultra-large generator engine, the DX37, along with the new name and slogan for its engine division. Reflecting its mission to provide the energy that drives industries into the future through engines and battery packs, the division has been named the Power Solutions Business Division. The new slogan, “Powering the Next,” embodies the company’s commitment to developing future technologies and creating new opportunities.

Under this new slogan and backed by the new Gunsan plant, HD Construction Equipment will focus on meeting rising demand for generator engines, defense engines, and battery packs. The company aims to reach 2.5 trillion KRW (nearly €1.7 billion) in engine sector revenue by 2030, almost doubling the 1.3 trillion KRW recorded in 2025.

“We will pioneer future technologies and proactively create new business opportunities to meet emerging energy demands,” said Moon Jae-young, President of HD Construction Equipment, during the ceremony. “Through these efforts, we will ensure our company grows hand in hand with the local community.”