Doosan opens Czech Republic Innovation Centre

Doosan Infracore Bobcat Holdings (DIBH) has opened its new Innovation Centre at the company’s facility in Dobris in the Czech Republic.

The Innovation Centre is now part of the Doosan campus at Dobris, which integrates research and development with manufacturing, sourcing and training on the same site.

Doosan believes will help the company become world leader in the compact equipment market.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Jose Cuadrado, vice president for compact equipment in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who welcomed Scott Park, president and CEO of DIBH, and Martin Knoetgen, president of DIBH’s business in EMEA.

The event was also attended by the Korean Ambassador for the Czech Republic, His Excellency Ambassador Hayong Moon.

“The Innovation Centre demonstrates the long-term commitment of Doosan and the bold decisions taken by the company when Europe and the rest of the world were experiencing a pronounced economic downturn,” said Mr Cuadrado.

“By integrating every part of our operations and product development on one site from engineering and design, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, aftermarket and distribution to training for our EMEA dealers and customers, the Doosan campus will bring enormous benefits to every part of our business.”

Ambassador Hayong Moon spoke about the close cooperation between Korea and the Czech Republic which is being demonstrated by companies like Doosan, with business ventures in a wide range of different markets in the Czech Republic.

Martin Knoetgen added: “We are developing the Dobris Innovation Centre as a European Engineering Centre of Excellence. It will serve as an expert research and development centre for all Doosan engineering teams across Europe and take responsibility for small loaders and compact excavators from 1 to 3 t.”

The facility, which has more than 8000 sq m of floor space for prototyping, houses integrated cross-functional product development teams including product management, product engineering, test laboratory and advanced analysis.

Technology includes modern prototype shop machinery including rapid prototyping, climate-controlled laboratories for extreme conditions tests, static and dynamic test facilities and a new noise test chamber.