P U B L I C I D A D E

ABRIR
FECHAR

P U B L I C I D A D E

ABRIR
FECHAR
Voltar

Technology with no borders

Complex of Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea gathers some of the most modern production lines of the world to produce ships, engines and heavy machines

In one of the largest industrial complexes of the world, the installations of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) located in the Korean city of Ulsan gathers what may be considered the state of the art in technology. After all, this real enclave of heavy industry gathers production lines of ships, offshore platforms, engines, electric and electronic systems, modules of renewable energy and construction equipment.

Since it was built in 1972, the Complex of Ulsan works in superlative tasks that could be recorded in several categories of the Guinness World Records, as we will see ahead. Currently an independent company, HHI was originated from Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., founded in 1947 by Chung Ju-yung (1915-2001). As time went by, the group was divided in three parts, generating the subsidiary companies Hyundai Motor Company (1967) and Hyundai Electronics (1983). Together, these companies compose the largest industrial conglomerate of the world. HHI alone had revenues of 47.3 billion dollars in 2014, what shows the size of this organization. “HHI is the heart of South Korea and its business results put it among the largest companies of the world”, states Seung Cherl Lee, financial director and one of the founders of HHI Brasil.

Since it is the largest manufacturer of ships in the world, its list of records is obviously started with the shipyard, the flagship of the brand with a share of 31.4 percent in the group revenues of 2013 and an average production of 100 units per year. And it is important that the reader makes no mistake: Ulsan plant is really the largest shipyard of the world, stretching by four kilometers along the coast of Mipo Bay, southeast of Han Peninsula, in a strategic position that may be accessed from open sea.

The installations cover an area of 7.2 square kilometers and produced almost three thousand ships demanded by more than 50 countries, with aggregate loads above 10 million DWT (Deadweight Tonnage). Such volume corresponds to 16 percent of the global market of the industry. One of its recent achievements was the manufacturing of the CSCL Globe container ship—with a cost of US$ 136.6 million—which is the largest ship of the world in its category. It is 400 m long, 58.6 m wide and has a capacity of 183,800 ton, designed to carry 19,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit), unit equivalent to a twenty feet container. “The ship is produced in sections inside the shed and is then transported to the dry dock for the final assemblage”, explains Felipe Cavalieri, CEO of BMC-Hyundai, joint-venture that represents the brand in Brazil. “And when we imagine 90 ships being produced simultaneously—with all logistics of parts, cutting, welding and piping—we see how impressive it is.”

NURSERY

Indeed. And the structure of the shipyard is also impressive with its 18 dry docks (ten at HHI, six at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and two at Hyundai Samho, subsidiary companies that are part of the complex). At HHI, the largest dock has 672 m x 92 m and is used to produce ships with one million DWT.

The supporting fleet of the shipyard includes approximately 2500 lifting equipment (56 jib cranes, 86 tower cranes and 10 Goliath gantry cranes) which allow it to produce ships of any size. Large-sized equipment such as bulk carriers, container ships, tankers and LGP and LNG transporters, among others, are born in these unbelievably silent nurseries.

The spotlight of this fleet has the nickname of Kockums and just doubled the capacity of the shipyard. It is the largest Goliath ever built, with height of 138 m, lifting capacity of 1600 ton and rail length of 710 m, configuration needed to move and lift complete ships. Manufactured in 1973, this giant was originally installed at Malmö, in Sweden. It was disassembled in 2002 and brought to Ulsan, where it was orange-painted and received an increase in its capacity and dimensions. This machine was nicknamed Malmö Tears by the South Koreans. They say that the inhabitants of this Swedish town cried when Swedish State TV transmitted the start of its long trip (8000 km). This is a strong symbol, since the sale of the giant gantry crane represented also the transferring of the hegemony of European naval industry to Korea.

But gantry cranes are just the more visible part of the structure. The shipyard of Ulsan is also equipped with state-of-the-art installations and equipment coming from all-oriented steel cutting lines to eco-friendly painting machines. Other installations include metallurgic and forging units, mechanical shops and off-line welding robots. In September, 2014, HHI also designed and attached a device to paint the bottom of the ships.

If the open-sky scenario is already impressive for the observer, inside the sheds another industrial epic is being carried out. Ship engine manufacturing represents 35 percent of the world production, with 133 million BHP (brake horsepower) delivered till 2013. They are immense gears, starting motors with the size of a truck that power larger engines and together equip the ships of its own and of third-part brands, as well as some variations dedicated to power generation. But this is not the end.