Hyundai invests £165m in South Korean facilities

Hyundai has announced a £165m expansion plan for its production facilities in South Korea.

The new facilities, close to its existing factory on the outskirts of Ulsan, will more than double the plant's size to 181,000m² and boost production capacity from 22,000 units to about 60,000 units per year when it comes on-stream in October 2010.

Also included in the new building will be technical engineering offices, test laboratories, a machine depot and sales and marketing offices.

Hyundai expects to move production of its current and future machines (tracked and wheeled excavators, wheel loaders, mini/midi excavators, skid steer loaders and forklift trucks) to the new plant, while the older factory is prepared for the introduction of new product lines and larger machines currently under development.

Kiu-Hyun Park, chief operating officer of the Construction Equipment Division, said the project was "a mark of our confidence in the future, our expanding product range and the growing acceptance of our products in the global marketplace".