Doosan Bobcat breaks ground on new plant in Mexico

With investment injection worth $300m, new plant to increase compact loader production capacity by 20%

Officials from Doosan Group, Doosan Bobcat and Mexico's local government, including Park Gee-won (fifth from right), vice chairman of Doosan Group, pose for a photo during the groundbreaking ceremony for Doosan Bobcat's new manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, on Thursday. (Doosan Bobcat)

Doosan Bobcat, a South Korean industrial machinery builder under Doosan Group, has broken ground on a new manufacturing plant in Monterrey, Mexico, to handle increasing demand for loaders in the North American market, the company said Friday.

Officials from Doosan Bobcat and the Mexican local government took part in the groundbreaking ceremony held on Thursday local time. The new overseas site will be Doosan Group’s first manufacturing facility in Mexico.

Doosan Bobcat will invest $300 million in the new manufacturing site, which will cover 65,000 square meters. The company aims to complete construction and begin production in 2026. The new facility is expected to create an additional 600 to 800 jobs in the region.

“Doosan Bobcat has led the global construction machinery market through bold investments and innovation,” said Park Gee-won, vice chairman of Doosan Group.

“The new plant in Mexico will respond to the increasing demand for Doosan Bobcat’s products including the North American market, which is where the biggest demand exists, and back up Doosan Bobcat’s continuous growth.”

The Monterrey site that is projected to increase Doosan Bobcat’s North American compact loader production capacity by 20 percent will manufacture Bobcat M-Series compact loaders for North American distribution.

The company said that the new overseas foothold was selected for its well-established industrial sector, skilled workforce, proximity to the United States, cost competitiveness and strong business environment. It pointed out that the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will afford zero-tariff benefits for the machinery manufacturer.

With this new overseas production site, Doosan Bobcat will operate manufacturing facilities in eight countries: South Korea, the US, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, China and Mexico.

Last year, Doosan Bobcat logged a record annual revenue and operating profit of 9.76 trillion won ($7.08 billion) and 1.39 trillion won, respectively, on the back of its surging sales in the North American market.

By Kan Hyeong-woo(hwkan@heraldcorp.com)