HD Hyundai Robotics, Daegu, South Korea, announced it has secured a contract to supply robotic welding systems to four Chouest Group shipyards — three in North America, including at least one in Louisiana, and one in Brazil — marking the South Korean company's first foray into the U.S. shipbuilding automation market.
The deal centers on ArcLift GO, HD Hyundai Robotics' automated arc welding platform, which the company says can be operated by workers with limited robotics experience. The system is designed around a plug-and-play concept that allows a single operator to run two to three robots simultaneously across varied hull geometries and work environments, delivering consistent weld quality without requiring a skilled welding workforce.
The Chouest Group, Cutoff, La., owns and operates five commercial shipyards in the United States and a fleet of roughly 300 vessels, with deep roots in the offshore service vessel sector.
For HD Hyundai Robotics, the contract is a direct response to what the company describes as a structural — not merely cyclical — labor shortage in American shipbuilding. Skilled welder shortfalls have become a persistent drag on U.S. yard productivity, and the company is positioning robotic systems as a phased solution: technology validation first, then process optimization, then broader deployment.
The deal was brokered through the company's subsidiary HD Hyundai Robotics USA Inc., Duluth, Ga., which handled business development and project coordination on the ground.
HD Hyundai Robotics also cited the policy environment as a tailwind. Proposed U.S. legislation — including the so-called "Robot Security Act" — aimed at strengthening supply chain resilience in shipbuilding and manufacturing has elevated the strategic profile of domestic automation partnerships.
The company said the Chouest contract gives it a working reference inside the U.S. shipbuilding supply chain, which it intends to use as a springboard for broader North American expansion. It also plans to leverage the deal in ongoing discussions tied to the MASGA initiative — a framework for international shipbuilding cooperation — alongside HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai's shipbuilding holding company, which is separately exploring U.S. opportunities, including commercial vessel joint construction.
