Fraser Industries in modernization MOU with HD Hyundai

Written by Marine Log Staff

L to R: South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, HD KSOE CEO Kim Hyung-kwan, Fraser Industries CEO Patrick Kelly and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick

Fraser Shipyards, located in Superior, Wis., on the shore of Lake Superior, is set to become a “demonstration model” for rebuilding the U.S. shipbuilding industry under a shipyard modernization Memorandum of Understanding recently signed by Fraser Industries with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), the intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding division.

The agreement is one of many to be announced following the launch of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C.

The signing ceremony. was attended by key executives from both companies — including Fraser Industries CEO Patrick V. Kelly and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering CEO Kim Hyung-kwan as well as Shin Jong-Gye, technology advisor and professor emeritus at Seoul National University, who served as a bridge during the early stages of the collaboration.

Under the agreement, the two companies plan to cooperate across the entire cycle from shipyard construction to operation, including:

shipyard diagnosis and solution derivation
yard and plant layout design
introduction of robotics and automation equipment
optimization of cost, process, quality, and productivity
application of AI- and data-based digital solutions
supply-chain expansion and technical-workforce development.

Fraser Industries CEO Patrick Kelly said, “We are very pleased to join hands with HD Hyundai, which possesses world-class technological capabilities, to introduce advanced techniques across shipyard operations,” adding, “The cooperation between the two companies will be an important starting point for the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry.”

HD KSOE CEO Kim Hyung-kwan stated, “We plan to provide the know-how needed from shipyard design through to operation so as to support Fraser Shipyards in becoming a hub for the rebuilding of the U.S. shipbuilding industry,” adding, “Going forward, we will expand the scope of cooperation into various areas and become a reliable partner for the U.S. shipbuilding industry.”