As part of global climate warming measures, regulations on air pollutant emissions have been tightened around the world. Various emission regulations are under way in countries across the world. Then, how is Korea’s emission regulation being implemented?

In Korea, since 1987 the regulations on automobile emissions have been enforced and have been amended each year. Starting with the exhaust control ‘Tier 1’ in 2004, the standards have gradually been increased to ‘Tier 4’ which was implemented from 2015. The ‘Tier’ refers to the emission controlling system adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets the multiple standards for the specific pollutants from automobiles, construction equipment, and agricultural machinery; carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), etc. There are stages 1 to 4, and the higher the number, the stronger the regulation. The Korean Ministry of Environment announced that the stringent ‘stage 5’ emission regulation will be implemented from 2022.

In response, a new model is necessary in the construction site, as equipment for construction emits a plenty of pollutants second to ships among non-road sources of air pollution.

As the tightened exhaust regulations will be enforced by the Ministry of Environment in 2022, HCE created HW115A, an adequate model for the domestic construction environment. HW115A meets the stringent exhaust allowance by installing ‘SCR’ and ‘DPF’; a catalyst that reduces NOx in exhaust gas and a system that regularly oxidizes the particles collected in the filter.

In Northern Europe, due to high labor costs, drivers often handle all the work by themselves. Therefore, some useful functions that can be performed without assistant action become known in Korea through SNS. Influenced by this, HW115A included advanced convenience features which can meet the needs of domestic customers; Auto Brake, Joystick Steering, Radar, Boom suspension, etc.

Also, visibility is important for wheel excavators as it runs on the road. In order to expand the driver’s view, the layout of the equipment was changed and various parts were slimmed.

HW115A is waiting for evaluation in the market as a model for domestic demand suitable for construction sites. HCE will take the lead in preparing for environmental regulations on emissions by continuous improvement of equipment.