Hyundai Heavy Industries has set the goal of achieving 100 trillion won ($88 billion) in yearly sales within four years.

The shipbuilding group’s sales target was announced during an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of its foundation on Thursday.

While the group posted sales of 66 trillion won in 2011, it is aiming at 52 percent growth in four years to reach 100 trillion won in 2015.

Hyundai Heavy CEO Lee Jae-sung vowed to meet new challenges for further development during his speech at the event.

“On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, we have to exert every effort for the next 40 years or more,” he told the employees.

The group said it has mapped out key strategies including securing growth potential via diversification of business sectors, establishing global management system, and maximization of synergy among affiliates.

This month, Hyundai Heavy saw its accumulated gross tonnage of ships delivered reach 100 million.

This made the group the first shipyard in the world to achieve the milestone.

The record was achieved 40 years after Hyundai Heavy began its shipbuilding business in 1972. Hyundai Heavy achieved 10 million gross tonnage of ships in terms of volume in 1986 and 50 million in 2002.

Hyundai Heavy has so far delivered a total of 1,805 diverse types of ships, ranging from drilling vessels, LNG or LPG carriers and container ships to submarines and naval ships, to more than 280 ship owners in 49 different countries.

Those ships include 510 container ships, 351 oil tankers, 343 bulk carriers and 124 product carriers.

The group owns 11 docks in the country and builds some 100 vessels annually, with its annual shipbuilding capacity reaching 13 million in gross tonnage, the world’s largest.

Hyundai Heavy, which has seven business units, has recently been highlighting the construction equipment business as it begins making compact wheel loaders at its new factory in China.

It has completed the $49 million plant in Tai’an in eastern China with an annual capacity of 8,000 five-ton and three-ton wheel loaders, which are used to scoop up and move materials such as dirt and sand.

It plans to set the plant as another base for growth in the world’s largest wheel-loader market by accomplishing its goal of increasing output to 10,000 units by 2015.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)