According to the Korea Expressway Corporation’s traffic accidents in highway construction sections from 2018 to 2022, there were 50 deaths and 179 injuries. According to the data, while the death rate from general traffic accidents was 9.9% over the past five years, the death rate from traffic accidents at construction sites was found to be 25.7%. Zeda Korea (CEO Jaein Moon) is receiving a lot of attention by developing a variety of innovative road management vehicles with its own technology. Powerkorea sat down with Moon and learned its technology.

Taking the road less traveled with a spirit of challenge and innovation

18 types of specialty vehicles

Zeda Korea is the only road specialty vehicle company in Korea that walks the road less traveled and leads the domestic market. With a business philosophy that emphasizes challenge and innovation and excellent technology, the company started producing fracking special vehicles in 2014, developed the first bridge inspection vehicle in Korea, and has manufactured and supplied a total of 18 types of special vehicles and machinery to the market, including the tallest aerial work vehicle in Korea and an advanced innovative road management support vehicle. The company has recently attracted a lot of attention in the industry and has been growing rapidly, not only replacing European-made specialty vehicles with pure domestic technology, but also providing vehicles with better performance and reasonable prices. The company has developed and produced 18 types of road management specialty vehicles such as bridge inspection, traffic signals, traffic blocking, aerial work, road management support, and document shredding with pure domestic technology, among which the LCS traffic signal car, multi-refractive bridge inspection car, and refractive skies have received the most attention in the market recently.

LCS traffic signal car is the world’s first and saves lives

LCS traffic signals, also known as K-traffic signals, communicate the presence or absence of road construction to drivers and guide them to safety lanes, travel lanes, and controlled lanes. They act like mobile traffic lights because five traffic lights mounted on the vehicle can control two, three, four, or five lanes of traffic without the need for an attendant to be present. The vehicle has a boom outreach of up to 15.5 meters, and the traffic lights use ultra-bright LED panels for day and night visibility and durability, while being designed to withstand high wind speed and pressure. It’s reverse structural design using weights and horizontal bars greatly improves safety, and a radar mounted on the rear of the vehicle provides a voice announcement of road construction when a vehicle that does not recognize the guide vehicle approaches within 200 meters. It has double hydraulics in the cylinder, which is designed to prevent the spring from falling, and a Class 1 Truck Mounted Attenuator is installed at the rear of the vehicle to ensure the safety of the driver in the event of a rear-end collision. CEO Moon said “LCS traffic signals have demonstrated excellent accident prevention and reliability in field use at Korea Expressway Corporation. It enables unmanned control of highway and sectional traffic signals and protects both drivers and workers by directing traffic smoothly.” LCS traffic signals can not only guide road construction, but also prevent human casualties in the event of flooding, landslides, avalanches, falling rocks, and sinkholes, and can quickly and safely prevent secondary accidents by guiding vehicles unattended. Experts agree that LCS traffic signals should be designated as emergency response vehicles. The LCS traffic signal is the first of its kind in the world, and the company has received many inquiries from overseas. 

▲ Zeda Korea / CEO Jaein Moon

Polyrefractive bridge inspection vehicles have been recognized as the optimal equipment for inspection and repair of national infrastructure

The ultimate bridge inspection device, made with pure technology, attracts attention

There are about 57,000 bridges in South Korea, and the government has been maintaining them since the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge in 1994. In recent years, the number of old bridges built in the 1960s and 1980s has increased dramatically, and there is a severe shortage of vehicles and facilities for maintenance. Bridge inspection vehicles are still using aging equipment imported from Europe more than 30 years ago, and structural changes such as the expansion of bicycle lanes and sidewalks and the installation of suicide prevention fences have severely limited their use in the field. Zeda Korea has supplied bridge inspection vehicles and multi-refractive bridge inspection vehicles to Korea Expressway Corporation, which have been recognized as the optimal equipment for inspection and repair of national infrastructure such as bridges, dams, and ports due to their superior functionality, excellent performance, and high versatility. The company produces a total of six different models, ranging from a compact 13m with excellent maneuverability to the world’s longest platform at 24m, with the highest quality high tensile tubes and rigid structural design for extreme durability, and a one-piece frame to minimize torsion. It is equipped with the most advanced electric control technology (self-diagnostic controller) to improve usability, and a large-capacity traveling motor to maximize its climbing ability. The length of the first boom is the most important aspect of the articulated bridge inspection vehicle, and the company has the technology to make it from 2 meters to 6.4 meters. Most bridges in Korea are more than 5 meters wide. However, the maximum width of the bridge inspection vehicles imported and operated in Korea is 4.3 meters, which is not suitable for the domestic bridge. Therefore, most of the vehicles are currently inoperable, but Zeda Korea’s vehicles can operate from 6 meters up to 6.4 meters wide. It is also very useful for inspecting not only bridges but also facilities such as dams, so the government and overseas countries are showing a greate interest.

Receiving a great interest at the 2023 International Road & Traffic Expo

Export contracts in Australia and Asia

Zeda Korea’s specialty vehicles received overwhelming interest from Korea Expressway Corporation and various local governments at the 2023 International Road & Traffic Expo held at KINTEX late last year. The company has recently accelerated its overseas exports, and is currently building a multi-articulated sky vehicle in response to a development request from Australia, and has already exported four units of the boom articulation part, a key component. The company also exported a platform-type bridge inspection vehicle to Bangladesh in June last year, and has signed an MOU with Australia for exports worth about 50 billion won from 2024. CEO Moon said “We have focused on R&D and product awareness until 2023. We are targeting 2024 as our banner year for exports and are stepping up our efforts to explore overseas markets. In 2025, we expect our exports to gain even more momentum, with three to four more models scheduled to be exported. In order to increase our production capacity accordingly, we plan to build an additional production facility on a 2,000 square meter site in March this year. We will achieve outward growth in both domestic and export markets and continue to develop various vehicles for safe road construction in the future.”