DIA is committed to R&D. One of its latest products is the DNM 500.

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NASCAR racing company Joe Gibbs Racing houses three NASCAR teams, has won three cup championships in the past decade and won the 2009 Nation­wide Series champion­ship. The company has done this with the help of its largest sponsor – Doosan Infra­core America (DIA) Corp’s Machine Tools – for its innovative machinery. “Because our machines are very accurate, they can produce a quality engine that, in turn, helps drivers perform their best,” Division President and COO J.Y. Lee says.

DIA is a sector of The Doosan Group, the third-largest machine tool builder in the world, and Korea’s largest manufacturer of machine tools, forklift trucks and con­struction equipment. In 2007, the com­pany acquired Bobcat Co., further diversifying its expansive product portfolio. The Doosan Group is a $20 billion company, but sales are still affected by the re­cession, Lee says.

“Since we are in the man­ufacturing industry, the recession has hit us pretty hard,” Lee says. “The auto­motive sector was a big consumer of machine tools, and with it being hit very hard – especially with GM and Chry­sler filing for bank­ruptcy – their suppliers are not ordering mach­inery.”

The economy is slowly creeping up­ward, Lee notes, and Doosan’s business is following suit. “The hope for our in­dustry for next year is about a 20 to 25 percent sales increase,” he says.

Continuous Innovation
The economy may have slowed, but DIA’s R&D department has not. “The biggest innovations as of late are to the lathe side of the business,” Lee notes. “They’re now called multi-task mach­ines. Not only can they do simple lathe operations, they can handle complex mill­ing geometries, as well, reducing hand­ling time and reducing set-up time. We are also producing a higher-quality part.”

Doosan designs increasingly sophisticated machines that, in turn, require their op­erators to have higher skill levels, Lee says. He adds that he sees an increasing demand in the energy sector. “There is a trend for that sector for bigger and larger machines, especially for wind turbines,” he says.

These machines also are becoming in­creasingly sophisticated because there is a need for faster processing speeds, which require that computerized technology be built into the machines, he adds.

The aerospace industry is the fastest-growing sector, he says. “Boeing is still trying to get their 787 plane out,” Lee notes. “A lot of machines will be need­ed to produce parts for aerospace and the mil­itary. That will help us start 2010 in a positive place.”

Valuable Service
DIA is a medium-sized company, Lee says, which enables it to stay flexible and respond swiftly to market demands. “We are not a big organization, so we can react quickly to market situations, whether it is to add additional stock in our inventory for our customers, or to hold off on production,” he explains. “We have the ability to react faster than the big boys.”

The company also has the ability to keep long-term relationships with its customers. In addition to its innovative, reliable machinery, Lee says Doosan’s service makes it a valued business partner.

Its relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing is an example. Doosan has been Joe Gibbs Racing’s official supplier for the past two years, and the company uses 16 of Doo­san’s machines for its three-car team.

“The product quality, the support they re­ceive from us and our dealer network in South Carolina – and really just the relationship we’ve formed – [have been positive],” Lee says. “[Joe Gibbs Racing] evaluated companies as to how they do business, and we were selected on that basis. The way we do business and the understanding that was formed with them has kept our relationship very strong.

“Our long-standing reputation of quality equipment, parts and product support has continued to instill customer confidence be­cause everything we do is [done] with the customer in mind,” the company adds. It developed Doosan Elite Plus with this mindset.

“We take our customer commitment one step further by offering a full suite of product support solutions that helps increase productivity, decrease downtime and improve your bottom line,” it says. “Doosan Elite Plus is de­signed to protect and enhance resale value and help [clients] control costs. Our ‘repair before failure’ approach allows [them] to manage [their cash].”

Evolving Company
Doosan Infracore America Corp. maintains offices and technical service centers throughout North, Central and South America, where its products are sold through its network of independent distributors. It is headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., in a facility that features a state-of-the-art, 24-hour service center; sales; parts; training and manufacturing.

“In April 2005, Daewoo Heavy Industries America Corp. changed its name to Doosan Infracore America Corp.,” the company notes. “DIA has maintained the same high quality for which Daewoo products are known, and is responsible for North American sales, service and technical support of all Doosan and Daewoo machine tools.”

DIA is a subsidiary of Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd, which is an affiliate of the Doosan Group. Doosan Infracore was formed in 1937 and specializes in various industries.