Develon debuts with driverless excavator

Hyundai Doosan Infracore CEO Young-cheul Cho (third left), and CEO Seung Hyun Oh (second left), were among the executives leading the ribbon-cutting event for the new brand.(Photo: Develon)

Following months of anticipation and an online launch earlier this year, Hyundai Doosan Infracore has officially debuted its new Develon brand at a live event.

Formerly known as Doosan Construction Equipment, the machines of which are famed for their distinct orange livery, Develon’s first “in-person” appearance was marked with an opening ceremony at the ConExpo 2023 construction trade fair in Las Vegas, US.

Hyundai Doosan Infracore CEO, Young-cheul Cho, and CEO, Seung Hyun Oh, were among the executives leading the ribbon-cutting event for the new brand, which will continue to manufacture construction equipment as an independent subsidiary alongside Hyundai Construction Equipment as part of the Hyundai Genuine group. 

The decision to replace the Doosan name was made back in 2021, when HD Hyundai completed its acquisition of Doosan Infracore. 

Living up to its new name, which is a combination of the words “develop” and “onwards”, Develon made a splash with show visitors by displaying the latest driverless machines to be added to its technology-based Concept-X2 equipment range.

A comprehensive update of the Concept-X machines demonstrated in Korea in 2019, the Concept-X2 autonomous construction equipment on show included the DD100-CX dozer and the DX225-CX crawler excavator. Both machines incorporate a cabinless design and have been presented with a consistent visual style.

The Develon DX225 Concept-X2 excavator. (PHOTO: Develon)

While a Develon decal has now been added to the existing orange-coloured equipment developed under Doosan, the Concept-X2 machines feature an eye-catching grey livery and are being used in live demonstrations at the show.

The Concept-X2 machines are being showcased alongside the company’s updated XiteCloud smart construction platform. XiteCloud comprises the XiteFleet, XiteAuto, XiteAnalyst and XiteSafety tools, which together allow users to manage multiple projects and to accumulate data for future planning.

“With XiteCloud solutions, a customer can manage multiple tasks such as surveys, terrain analysis, machine purchases, equipment operation and construction management on a single platform, thereby reducing construction costs and saving time while increasing work accuracy, which in turn raises productivity,” said Develon.

The coming year will see the Develon name rolled out across the manufacturer’s network of equipment dealers. According to the company, customers will start to see newly branded machines at their local dealerships and on jobsites by the end of June, 2023.

Develon DX225LC excavator at ConExpo 2023. (Photo: Develon)

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