Attendees to the grand opening of Hyundai-Wia’s new U.S. headquarters viewed live cutting demonstrations
on 13 machines shown for the first time in the U.S. market.
If you’ve noticed a lot more cars labeled “Hyundai” on the road lately, it’s not just coincidence—the company’s share of the U.S. automotive market has grown steadily during the past several years, according to data from autonews.com. Recent developments suggest that if the huge South Korean conglomerate gets its way, you might see a lot more machine tools labeled “Hyundai” as well.
During a recent press conference, Heung-Soo Lheem, CEO of Hyundai Wia Corp., said the company’s goal is nothing less than achieving the same status for Hyundai-Wia Machine America in the machine tool market as Hyundai Motor America has achieved in the automotive market. And the company has already made strides in this area. After all, the press conference was conducted at the grand opening ceremony for Hyundai-Wia’s new corporate headquarters and technical center in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The opening of the nearly 90,000-square-foot facility also marked the U.S. debut of 13 recently developed machine tools, a range that runs the gamut from traditional turning and milling machines to multitasking and vertical turning models.
Additionally, developments in the company’s home country of South Korea suggest it is well-positioned to invest in the United States and other markets abroad. The unveiling of the new U.S. headquarters comes on the heels of another facility opening, this one a 75,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at the company’s headquarters in Changwon. Built to accommodate demand that has resulted in a significant equipment backlog, the new plant has already increased capacity by 30 percent, exceeding the company’s initial expectation of a 25-percent increase, Mr. Lheem says. The company also recently went public in the Korean Stock Exchange, a move that brought a large influx of both brand awareness and cash that it can reinvest.
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