South Korea’s largest shipbuilder HD Hyundai has signed a deal with German engineering giant Siemens to turn its shipyards into smart ones.
The agreement will see the pair jointly develop a platform to innovate its shipbuilding process from design to manufacturing, HD Hyundai said.
The digitalised automated production system is expected to help cut costs and boost productivity, the group said, the latest in a series of measures Korean yards are taking to battle a labour shortage.
HD Hyundai explained it will first introduce robots for steel plate molding and welding at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard’s shipyard by 2025 and establish a cyber-physical system related to design.
The group will then combine its digitalised automated production system with a next-generation design platform.
Under Chung Ki-sun, the 41-year-old grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-young, HD Hyundai has been advancing its plans to position itself as a self-styled “future builder” over the last couple of years.
Other Korean yards are also introducing more automated processes and robots with local estimates suggesting the local shipyard workforce is around 10,000 people light, and production delays have been reported as the Koreans battle through record-long orderbooks.