Press Release

On July 13, Doosan Corporation’s Industrial Vehicle BG (“Doosan Industrial Vehicle”) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding at its business site in Dong-gu, Incheon. In attendance were more than 500 people—including Hyunsoo Dong, vice chairman of Doosan Corporation, and Sang Chul Kwak, executive vice president and head of the Industrial Vehicle BG, as well as other Doosan officials and dealers. Since rolling out Korea’s first forklift in 1968, Doosan Industrial Vehicle has focused on its forklift manufacturing business while continuing to make R&D efforts in the area, consolidating its position as Korea’s leading material handling equipment provider. After producing Korea’s first electric forklift in 1979, the company started to pursue global expansion by establishing overseas entities in the U.S., U.K. and Belgium, and manufacturing operations in China and Germany. The event started off with a video presentation on the theme of “Past, Present and Future.” Afterward, members of the audience got a glimpse into how unmanned forklifts would be produced at a smart factory and looked at other changes that would take place in the manufacturing plant in the fourth industrial revolution. The technologies that caught the eye of attendees were the manufacturing execution system (MES)—a computerized system that considers and controls suppliers’ and customers’ information using a QR code, which allows for a quick and easy response in comprehensive areas from quality management to service—and unmanned forklifts. The company also presented its BS7 Series that runs on lithium-ion batteries, which are emerging as next-generation batteries, for the first time. Compared to electric forklifts that run on lead-acid batteries, the BS7 Series lasts about two to three times longer once it is fully charged and can be charged in only one-third of the time. Furthermore, the new forklift provides consistent power and high productivity even at low operating temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius. Other positive features of the BS7 Series include easy maintenance and eco-friendliness. Other new technologies showcased during the event were Lin-Q, a telematics solution for the smart management of forklifts, and an artificial intelligence-based smart mode application that is scheduled to be released in the second half of this year. Lin-Q is a remote monitoring system developed in-house that provides information in real-time for equipment improvement and operation. The smart mode application analyzes the equipment’s engine data in real-time using AI-based machine learning, and automatically adjusts the engine power to the operating environment.