Daedong will put AI and robots on 15 processes at its Daegu tractor plant, lifting capacity 67% to 35,000 units a year by 2029

Daedong said in a press release on Aug 20 that it has signed an MOU with Daegu Metropolitan City on reshoring and factory AX investment and will turn its Daegu plant, which builds about 200 tractor specifications for export to some 70 countries, into a physical-AI production site under four strategies running to 2029: reorganising production and logistics, a new AX line, converting existing lines, and a data and AI operating system.

On the new line, AI will sequence production and AMRs and robot cells will automate material supply, engine and transmission assembly and cab and tyre handling across 15 main processes; 12 robots go into the paint shop; camera-based AI inspection will catch missing parts and oil leaks, and the line will run automatic software and system checks on finished machines.

The company expects regular tractor capacity to rise from 21,000 to 35,000 units a year, about 67%, and main-body painting capacity from 35,000 to 63,000 units, 80%, with paint time per unit falling from 2.3 to 1.9 minutes.

No investment figure was given. Vice chairman Won Yu-hyun said the model would later spread to Daedong's other plants worldwide. The company is targeting KRW 3.59 trillion of consolidated revenue in 2030, against KRW 1.4847 trillion in 2025 according to its own company profile, which makes the plant upgrade a test of whether an incumbent machinery maker can fund AI and robot automation from its core business.