Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning 'construction' for big projects. Example projects include the construction of large buildings, chemical plants, the H-IIA rocket and also includes the production of construction equipment such as cranes and bulldozers. Alternatively, heavy industry projects can be generalized as more capital intensive or as requiring greater or more advanced resources, facilities or management.

Look up heavy industry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Law and government[link]

Heavy industry is often defined as a type of business that typically carries a high capital cost (capital-intensive), high barriers to entry and low transportability. The term "heavy" refers to the fact that the items produced by "heavy industry" used to be products such as iron, coal, oil, ships, etc. Today the reference also refers industries that cause disruption to the environment in the form of pollution, deforestation, etc

These definitions concentrate on the seriousness^{[clarification needed]} of any capital investment required to begin production or of the ecological effect of its associated resource gathering practices and by-products. In these senses, the semiconductor industry is regarded as "heavier" than the consumer electronics industry even though microchips are much more lighter by weight than the products they control.

Heavy industry is also sometimes a special designation in local zoning laws.

The zinc works at Lutana is the largest exporter in Tasmania, generating 2.5% of the state's GDP. It produces over 250,000 tons of zinc per year.^[1] The Zinc works were historically responsible for high heavy metal levels in the Derwent River.^[2]

Firm names[link]

Many conglomerates in South Korea (chaebol) and Japan (keiretsu), call divisions or companies responsible for capital-intensive manufacturing (shipbuilding, mining, industrial machinery) their "heavy industry" group.

Japan[link]

• Fuji Heavy Industries
• Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries
• Kawasaki Heavy Industries
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
• Sumitomo Heavy Industries

South Korea[link]

• Hyundai Heavy Industries
• Samsung Heavy Industries
• Hanjin Heavy Industries
• Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
• Doosan Heavy Industries

China[link]

• SANY Group Company Ltd.

References[link]

• Morris Teubal, Heavy and Light Industry in Economic Development The American Economic Review, Vol. 63, No. 4. (Sep., 1973), pp. 588–596.
• Some Definitions in the Vocabulary of Geography, IV, British Association Glossary Committee, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 118, No. 3. (Sep., 1952), pp. 345–346.

External links[link]

• Definition of 'Heavy Industry' according to Investopedia.com