HD Hyundai is moving towards Industry 4.0
Rajiv Chaturvedi, Vice President, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment India
What cutting-edge innovations in your product offerings are helping to address the challenges of large-scale infrastructure projects, such as highways, metro rail, tunnelling, mining, railways, and mega-industrial projects?
HD Hyundai is engineering equipment that caters to the needs of large-scale infrastructure projects like highways, metro rail systems, tunnelling, mining, railways, and mega-industrial developments. The company’s products focus on safety, productivity, and sustainability in response to the construction industry's demand for high-tech, high-performance machines.
In our product, we focus on bringing in the innovations that add value to our customers. To give some examples, our HX520L mining excavator features Intelligent Power Control (IPC), offering three fuel-efficient modes, significantly reducing fuel consumption without compromising power.
To mitigate the harsh conditions in large-scale infra projects, we built our excavators with a reinforced undercarriage and high-tensile steel, making it ideal for extreme conditions, ensuring longer machine life. To ensure reduced downtime, we have Hi-MATE and Hi-TRACK, remote management systems that provide AI-powered predictive maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime, enabling proactive fixes before problems cause delays, thereby maintaining high operational efficiency.
We equally focus on operator comfort and safety and the same is demonstrated in all our products. Our HL930I and HL950I wheel loaders are perfect examples of the same. Both wheel loaders feature climate-controlled cabins and enhanced visibility to minimise operator fatigue.
We are equally working on having a sustainable future. A perfect example of the same is our HX35Az mini excavator, which is compliant with tier-4 emissions standards, and the HL930I and HL950I wheel loaders will feature BS-V engines by 2025, ensuring minimal environmental impact through reduced emissions.
How do these innovations accelerate project delivery and reduce costs? How is your company leveraging AI, IoT, and autonomous systems to enhance efficiency, safety, and timelines?
HD Hyundai’s focus on fuel-efficient engines, advanced cooling systems and auto-idle features results in significant savings on operational costs, especially for long-term projects. This is very important for our customer to keep a check on the project cost.
Our AI-powered predictive maintenance Hi-MATE and Hi-TRACK allows for real-time data analytics, enabling predictive maintenance to anticipate wear and reduce unexpected downtime. This keeps machines running at peak performance, minimising delays and associated costs.
At global level, we have started working on autonomous systems for enhanced productivity. Autonomous capabilities and IoT integration will help HD Hyundai’s machines to perform tasks like earthmoving and material handling with minimal human intervention. This accelerates project timelines and reduces errors, enhancing overall project efficiency. We have not kept any timeline yet to launch the autonomous system yet. But we will be keen to bring it in India as soon as possible.
In the past few years, you have been focusing on exports. However, global markets are quite competitive. What strategies does your company employ to differentiate its products and services on a global scale?
HD Hyundai has become the No. 1 exporter of crawler excavators from India, shipping over 6,000 units to 45+ countries. The company’s global success stems from its unique approach and core philosophy, “Advantage India”, which drives strategic actions to differentiate its offerings.
Key differentiation strategies:
- Customised products and competitive edge: HD Hyundai tailors products to regional market needs and develops competitive strategies to stay ahead of local competitors, ensuring their products provide superior value.
- Engaging global partners and dealers: HD Hyundai strengthens relationships with its international partners by showcasing its state-of-the-art factory and engaging in live product demonstrations.
- Proactive field engagement: The company’s sales and service teams maintain strong field presence in key export markets, regularly visiting clients and gathering Voice of Customer (VOC) insights to continuously improve products and services.
How are you overcoming barriers such as price competitiveness, tariffs, logistics, and local content regulations in key export markets?
HD Hyundai addresses global market challenges through strategic shipment planning, establishing stockpiles in key locations, and leveraging long-term relationships with shipping agents. To maintain competitiveness:
- Focus on machinery with advanced features that clearly differentiate HD Hyundai from competitors.
- Virtual training tools ensure consistent and efficient skill development across regions.
The company’s product development process is closely aligned with real-world customer applications, reducing manufacturing lead times and improving delivery efficiency.
Given the rising production costs and operational challenges, how is your company optimising manufacturing processes and addressing supply chain issues? Are specific innovations or partnerships helping you reduce costs without compromising quality or delivery timelines?
HD Hyundai is moving towards Industry 4.0. The company added robotic welding, electric torque tools and many other latest technologies to enhance production precision, cut errors, and increase efficiency. These measures help reduce overall production costs.
By strengthening partnerships with local suppliers and adopting a lean manufacturing approach, HD Hyundai reduces dependence on imports, mitigating supply chain disruptions and supporting the “Make in India” initiative.
Also eco-conscious measures and energy optimisation strategies have helped reduce utility costs, bolstering the company’s ability to maintain cost-effective manufacturing without compromising quality.
How does the YouTube Silver Play Button award motivate the company to continue engaging with its audience?
Achieving the YouTube Silver Play Button for surpassing 1,00,000 subscribers is a testament to HD Hyundai’s growing digital presence and the trust built with its audience. This milestone encourages the company to continue engaging with its audience, focusing on content that adds value at every touchpoint. With an emphasis on digital-first strategies, HD Hyundai aims to meet the evolving expectations of the next generation of customers through e-commerce, tech-enabled experiences, and meaningful content.
How does your participation at Bauma India 2024 reflect the ‘Innovation for Nation Building’, theme, and what specific innovations are you showcasing that align with this theme?
At Bauma India 2024, HD Hyundai showcases innovations that align with India’s vision of becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’. Through cutting-edge equipment, the company contributes to nation-building by enhancing infrastructure development across the country.
Our products are equipped with the cutting edge technologies and we are utilising Bauma as a platform to launch new products and variants of existing models. Each of our products is designed on the company philosophy of “building a comfortable tomorrow” by bringing in new innovations in our product.
Innovations on display:
Mining excavator: HX520L, HX380 and HX360 offer superior fuel efficiency and robust performance for large scale mining applications.
Infrastructure excavator range: We have displayed our highest selling 8t to 20t machines, which are creating new benchmarks in the segment.
Mini excavators for urban infrastructure: Compact, manoeuvrable, and ideal for precision work in urban projects like metro systems and road construction.
Next-gen wheel loaders: Built for heavy-duty applications, these loaders feature high performance and a focus on operator comfort, with BS-V engines to reduce emissions.
Through these innovations, HD Hyundai demonstrates its commitment to supporting India’s infrastructure growth under the “Make in India” initiative, delivering high-performance solutions that accelerate nation-building.
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