Future agriculture leading corporations Daedong(000490) will convert the Daegu plant into a future production base built on physical AI by applying AI and robot technologies.
Daedong said on the 20th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Daegu Metropolitan City for reshoring and factory AX investment.
Based on the "Daegu plant manufacturing AX master plan" now being drawn up, Daedong will push four strategies: ▲ reorganization of production and logistics structures ▲ establishment of a new AX production line ▲ AX conversion of existing production lines ▲ establishment of a factory operation system based on data and AI. Each task will proceed in stages through 2029.
The core of this manufacturing AX is for AI and robots to replace human work on the actual production floor and to self-optimize factory operations by consolidation of production, quality, and logistics data.
Daedong will gradually apply physical AI technologies to 15 key processes on the new AX production line. Using Autonomous Driving logistics robots (AMRs) and robotic equipment, it will automate material supply; engine and transmission assembly; and cab and tire transfer and installation. It will deploy 12 robots in the painting process to improve work efficiency and quality uniformity and to enhance the work environment.
AI will also be actively used for quality control. Through camera- and AI-based vision inspection, it will automatically detect quality anomalies such as incomplete assembly and oil leaks, and at the final stage of the production line it will automatically check the software and system status of completed agricultural machinery. It will also build an AI quality management system that links inspection results with production history data to analyze the causes of defects and predict their likelihood.
Factory operations will also shift to a focus on data and AI. It will integrate production, logistics, and quality data and gradually introduce AI agents into purchasing, materials, production, and quality work. It plans to further advance the system so a factory operations center can manage production, quality, and equipment status in real time in an integrated manner and perform production planning optimization and equipment anomaly prediction.
Production capacity will also expand significantly. Regular annual tractor production capacity will increase about 67% from 21,000 units to 35,000, and painting capacity for main units will expand about 80% from 35,000 units to 63,000. By shortening the per-unit cycle time from 2.3 minutes to 1.9 minutes, painting productivity is expected to rise about 17%.
Daedong sees this manufacturing AX as a key foundation supporting the expansion of its global business. With a goal of achieving 3.59 trillion won in sales in 2030 and expanding future businesses such as global agricultural machinery and AI agricultural machinery and agricultural robots, it plans to convert its production system itself to a future model to secure manufacturing competitiveness.
Daedong Vice Chairman Won Yu-hyun said, "We will develop the Daegu plant into Daedong's standard model for manufacturing AX and a core production base for future agricultural machinery," adding, "We will gradually expand the AI-, robot-, and data-based production system built on the new AX production line to existing production lines and global manufacturing hubs."