Major Construction Equipment Companies Minimize Participation of Domestic Employees at US 'CONEXPO' Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Doosan Infra, Doosan Bobcat, Hyundai Construction Equipment, and Other Major Domestic Construction Equipment Companies Participate
Promotion and Marketing to Be Utilized Mainly Through Local Subsidiaries

Doosan Infracore exhibition hall at ConExpo 2017, the world's largest construction equipment exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA in 2017

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Major domestic construction equipment companies are minimizing the dispatch of domestic executives and employees to the world's largest construction equipment expo, ConExpo 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and are preparing the event centered on their local subsidiaries. To prevent adverse effects such as marketing contraction and reduced transactions, companies are actively promoting new products and technologies online and conducting video conferences, among other various measures.

According to the machinery industry on the 10th, major domestic companies such as Doosan Infracore, Doosan Bobcat, and Hyundai Construction Equipment are participating in ConExpo Con/AGG 2020, a construction equipment expo held from the 10th to the 14th of this month (local time) in Las Vegas, USA. ConExpo is a construction equipment exhibition held every three years and is considered one of the world's top three construction equipment expos along with Germany's BAUMA and France's INTERMAT.

Although COVID-19 is spreading worldwide, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the organizer of ConExpo 2020, decided to proceed with the event as planned. ConExpo 2020 will showcase products and technologies from over 2,300 companies from more than 170 countries in a 241,000㎡ venue. In addition to product and technology exhibitions, dozens of various conferences will be held. Therefore, the industry expects about 140,000 people, including industry officials and technicians, to attend the event. ConExpo has recommended participating companies to implement campaigns such as 'no handshakes' and 'social distancing' to prevent COVID-19 infections among participants.

ConExpo 2020 is considered a prime opportunity to understand industry technology trends, promote companies, discover potential customers, and conclude contracts and business agreements. Therefore, major domestic construction equipment companies such as Doosan Infracore, Bobcat, and Hyundai Construction Equipment plan to operate their booths at their U.S. sites as usual. Doosan Infracore will showcase the hydrogen fuel cell drone and the construction site integrated control solution 'Concept-X,' based on 5G real-time communication. Doosan Bobcat will unveil a new model of the R-series mini excavator loader equipped with smart functions. Hyundai Construction Equipment will also introduce a new version of the heavy equipment remote management system 'Hi-Mate,' which manages operation rates, fault information, fuel consumption, and movement paths. Additionally, they will showcase wheel loaders and wheel excavators with maximized specifications.

However, these companies plan to minimize participation by executives and employees from their Korean headquarters and conduct the event mainly with local subsidiaries and employees at their U.S. sites. This is because if quarantine measures for foreign entrants from Korea are imposed in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 situation, they may be stranded. Therefore, they are on high alert for potential adverse effects such as marketing and business agreement disruptions caused by the absence of senior executives. An industry insider explained, "Due to the COVID-19 situation, not only domestic companies but also overseas companies are in the same situation," adding, "In addition to face-to-face marketing centered on local subsidiaries, we will actively utilize available means such as video conferences and online marketing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.