Doosan Infracore Shandong Co. (DISD), Doosan Infracore’s Chinese affiliate, said, on March 6, that it had broken ground for the construction of its Wheel Loader R&D center within the Muping District, Yantai City, China.

The project will entail an investment amounting to 11 billion won. The R&D Center will have five stories, with a combined floor space of 7,953㎡, to be completed by end of this year. The R&D Center will house state-of-the-art research facilities, including a ‘power train testing room,’ ‘hydraulic testing room,’ ‘electrical testing room,’ and ‘3D precision measuring room,’ as well as a wheel loader technology exhibition hall and ‘auditorium.

The Chinese wheel loader market demanded 221,000 units in 2011 showing a potential of 5-10 percent annual growth rate. Since Doosan has entered the Chinese market in 2009, the company has continued to expand its market share. With the construction of the Wheel Loader R&D Center, the company aims to meet the diverse needs of customers in a timely manner by developing reliable and high quality products to raise the sales while exporting products to emerging markets, including Brazil and India.

A Doosan Infracore official said, “As the Wheel Loader R&D Center opens by the year’s end, the company will become a player armed with a top-class research and development capacity in the Chinese and emerging markets growing robustly.” He added, “By using the center as a springboard, the company will take another leap forward in China and increase its presence in the global market.”