HD Hyundai Robotics is accelerating its push into the North American market by leveraging welding automation technology integrated with artificial intelligence (AI). Following the supply of robotic welding solutions to U.S. shipyards, the company aims to expand its customer base by targeting labor shortages and productivity issues in the local shipping and manufacturing industries.
According to industry sources on the 25th, HD Hyundai Robotics participated in 'Fabtech 2026,' North America's largest specialized exhibition for welding, cutting, and metalworking, held from the 21st to the 23rd (local time) at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) in the United States. The company is showcasing AI-based welding automation technology and shipyard-specialized robotic solutions to global customers.
A representative product is 'ArcPak,' which automatically generates and corrects welding paths based on CAD data. 'ArcLift GO·SLIDE' is a collaborative robot welding solution designed to operate even in confined spaces. The company is also exhibiting 'ArcAdapt IQ,' which uses AI to analyze welding quality in real time and autonomously adjust working conditions, as well as the HDC collaborative robot launched this year.
HD Hyundai Robotics took its first step into the North American market by supplying robotic welding solutions to U.S. shipyards this year. ArcLift GO and ArcLift SLIDE have completed performance verification at domestic shipyards, and the company has also signed a supply contract with U.S. shipbuilder Schuster Group.
The reason the company is paying attention to the North American market lies in moves to expand production capacity in the U.S. shipping industry. Although the United States is stepping up efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of its domestic shipbuilding sector, a shortage of production personnel, including skilled welders, is cited as an obstacle to boosting production capacity. In particular, welding is a core process in ship construction where the workload is heavy and productivity and quality are heavily influenced by the worker's skill level. This is why HD Hyundai Robotics expects demand for welding automation using robots to grow as production capacity expansion gains momentum.
Having shipbuilding affiliates such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries serves as a differentiating factor. Unlike automobile factories, shipyards face frequently changing work targets and environments depending on ship types and designs, making robotic automation highly complex. HD Hyundai Robotics has the strength of being able to refine automation solutions specialized for shipyard sites by combining robot technology with the shipbuilding and production process experience accumulated by the group's shipping companies.
This also aligns with the group-level push into the U.S. shipbuilding market. The HD Hyundai Group is expanding cooperation with the U.S. shipping industry, centered on 'MASGA,' a Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project. If the group's entry into the U.S. shipbuilding market gains full momentum, HD Hyundai Robotics' welding automation solutions could become a pillar supporting bilateral cooperation.
The company is also accelerating the refinement of 'Physical AI' technology that combines robots with AI. At the 'Future Innovation Technology Expo 2026,' held at Daegu Expo on the 21st, it unveiled an 'Intelligent Dual-Arm Robot.'
An HD Hyundai official said, "Taking this exhibition as an opportunity, we plan to introduce automation solutions that can resolve labor shortages and productivity issues in the local shipping and manufacturing industries, and move to expand our North American customer base."
in INDUSTRY
