Doosan Bobcat’s board of directors announced that Doosan Robotics plans to complete its merger with Doosan Bobcat by early next year.
Bobcat’s Rogue X machine. (Photo: Bobcat)
Under the plan, Doosan Bobcat will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Doosan Robotics, a strategy Doosan said in an internal presentation as part of its plan to “become a global, full-range autonomous/automation solutions provider.”
“The combination of robotics and AI is shaping the autonomy/automation megatrend across many sectors, including industrial, automotive, retail and the home,” Doosan Bobcat CEO Scott Park said in a letter to shareholders.
“Through our integration with Doosan Robotics, in the short term we aim to innovate our manufacturing processes and streamline technology development through R&D collaboration. Ultimately, in the long term we hope to lead the future market by developing innovative new products.”
The proposed new organizational structure under Doosan will have “three pillars” of brands consisting of clean energy, smart machines and advanced materials. Doosan Robotics and Doosan Bobcat will be under Smart Machines, accounting for about 43% of the business.
Doosan Energy (a small nuclear reactor maker) and Doosan Fuel Cell are in the Clean Energy division, while Doosan Tesnal (a semiconductor maker) is in the Advanced Materials division.
If shareholder approval is granted on Sept. 25, Bobcat will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Doosan Robotics by the end of the year.
In the latest Yellow Table released by International Construction – a ranking of the world’s top construction OEMs by revenue – Doosan Bobcat was ranked as the world’s 10th largest OEM with 2023 revenue of US$7.4 billion.
