South Korea Robotics Maker Is Opening an Americas HQ in Plano

Doosan Robotics focuses on cobots—short for collaborative robots—that can help automate various parts of the manufacturing process across different industries.

With clients including Hyundai, Samsung, Shell, and Johnson & Johnson, Doosan is setting up shop in Plano to serve the Americas and most importantly the U.S., its "single largest market." Its parent company had $15 billion in 2020 revenue.

A global robotics company is planting roots in North Texas, aiming to help streamline tasks across a number of industries.

Focused on manufacturing cobots—short for collaborative robots—South Korea’s Doosan Robotics is launching an Americas-focused business unit with a U.S. headquarters in Plano.

HQ establishes company in its ‘single largest market’

With applications from material handling to welding and medical uses, the company’s main line of robots resembles a programmable, customizable arm (as seen in the photo above). The cobot can be integrated to automate various parts of the manufacturing process across different industries. In addition, the robotics division of holding company Doosan Group makes a robotic camera, as well as an unmanned modular café that can brew one of 15 different types of coffee in 45 seconds.

Doosan said the Plano headquarters will help it increase its customer service capabilities, along with driving business development and awareness across the U.S., which the company calls its “single largest market.” The HQ will combine the company’s North and South America operations under the name Doosan Robotics Americas.

Doosan has around 150 employees worldwide, and says it has an annual production capacity of 10,000 units. Its biggest clients include Hyundai, Samsung, Shell, and Johnson & Johnson.

Leadership moves and a parent company with $15B revenue

“The company is focusing on developing solutions to dominate not only the manufacturing sector, but also the service robotics field,” Doosan Robotics states on its website.

As part of the move, the company has tapped Alex Lee as its North and South America general manager. Before joining Doosan Robotics, Lee held a similar position at global engineering firm STXI Motion. Lee’s appointment comes after the company named William Ryu, former VP of corporate strategy for its parent, as its new top executive last August.

Doosan Group launched its robotics division in 2015. With numerous business units focused on things like fuel cells, semiconductors, and chemical processing equipment, the holding company said it generated $15 billion in revenue in 2020.

“The formation of Doosan Robotics Americas will provide a team dedicated to North and South America, which is a source of many existing and potential customers across several vertical markets from automotive to manufacturing,” Lee said in a statement.

Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.

Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.

One quick signup, and you’re done.

R E A D   N E X T

  • Pudu offers many commercial service robots. Free 1-week trials of the PuduBot food delivery robot (far right above) are being offered to Dallas restaurants for a limited time. [Image: Pudu Robotics]

    The free, one-week trial of the company's PuduBot food delivery robot is open to Dallas restaurants, cafes, hotels, offices, hospitals, and other catering operators for a limited time. The robot navigates around tables with 3D obstacle avoidance technology and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). Oh, and it can sing "Happy Birthday," too.

  • With around $4 billion total under management in its U.S. and Europe ETFs, ROBO Global tracks the performance of robotics, AI, and healthcare tech companies worldwide. Now it's leveraging that expertise to launch its first private fund in those areas, aiming to invest in early-stage startups "that are using innovation to grow the business."

  • The city’s inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Residence position was recommended by the Mayor’s Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to better foster the start-up environment in Dallas. "While Dallas is known as a great place for big business, now we need to show that we are a great place for scalable, sustainable, and high-growth startups as well," Vaca says.

  • Yariv Bash, co-founder of Israel's SpaceIL, was part of the team behind the 2019 Beresheet moon mission. Now, as co-founder and CEO of Flytrex, he's partnering with Dallas-based Brinker International on drone deliveries of chicken wings to Dallas-Fort Worth back yards and businesses. The launch begins today in Granbury, 30 miles southwest of Fort Worth, with potential plans to expand to "a suburb east of Dallas" as Flytrex' footprint grows.

  • The IT managed services provider is the second Dallas-Fort Worth company in the last six month to participate in the program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Apprentices will receive on-the-job and structured training, paired with mentorship and real work experience. With 18,600 DFW tech job postings last month alone, more talent is definitely needed.