Doosan Bobcat plans merger with Doosan Robotics to develop autonomy
26 July 2024
Doosan Bobcat’s board of directors have announced that it plans for Doosan Robotics to complete a merger with Doosan Bobcat by early next year.
Bobcat’s Rogue X machine. (PHOTO: Bobcat)
Under the plan, Doosan Bobcat would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Doosan Robotics. In a company presentation, Doosan said that the strategy is part of a plan to “become a global full-range autonomous/automated solution provider.”
In a letter to shareholders, Doosan Bobcat CEO, Scott Park wrote that, “The combination of robot and AI is forming an autonomous/automation megatrend across diverse sectors including industrial sites, automotives, retail stores, and homes.
“Through the combination with Doosan Robotics, the Company aims to innovate the manufacturing process and enhance technology development efficiency backed by R&D collaboration in the short term. Eventually, we expect to lead future markets by developing new innovative products in the long term.”
Under the proposed new structure under Doosan there would be ‘three pillars’ of the brand consisting of Clean Energy, Smart Machine and Advanced Materials. Doosan Robotics and Doosan Bobcat fall under Smart Machine and would represent around 43% of the business.
Doosan Enerbility (a small nuclear reactor manufacturer) and Doosan Fuel Cell come under Clean Energy and Doosan Tesnal (a semiconductor company) under Advanced Materials.
If approved by shareholders on September 25, Bobcat would become a fully owned subsidiary of Doosan Robotics by the end of the year.
In the most recent Yellow Table, International Construction’s ranking of the world’s top construction OEMs by sales, Doosan Bobcat was ranked at the world’s tenth biggest OEM with sales of US$7.4 billion in 2023.
