Hitachi Energy has added over 8,000 employees between 2020-2023, including more than 1,200 in the U.S. The company has also announced over $150 million of investments in North America and future investment plans are under consideration.
“Demand for electrical equipment, including transformers and switchgear, is surging globally, and significantly in North America, and one of our highest priorities is making sure that we are growing our capabilities to address our customer's present and future needs,” said Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of Hitachi Energy. “To achieve our goals, we will continue to expand and optimize our footprint in the North American region, leverage our expansive global presence, and prioritize R&D and innovation to drive the energy transition without compromising safety and reliability.”
The investments in North America include $70 million in the construction of a distribution transformer factory in Reynosa, Mexico along with an additional investment of over $25 million to expand its South Boston, Virginia transformer factory, in the US. The transformer factory in Reynosa will address the need for single-phase, padmount distribution transformers used in the North American market and will create 350 jobs in the region.
The investment in South Boston will help expand the production capacity for large distribution transformers and is expected to contribute to the region's economic growth and development, creating about 100 new jobs ranging from skilled manufacturing to administrative roles.
Hitachi Energy announced projects in Canada of an overall $104.28 million investment to support the establishment of a HVDC simulation center in Montreal, and upgrade and modernize its power transformer factory in Varennes, and other facilities in Montreal. Globally, Hitachi Energy is investing in other markets with more than seven factories supporting the market demand for transformers coming from Europe, South America, and Asia.
The company has also announced a $60 million investment in its Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania facility to double production capacity for high-voltage switchgear and breakers, including dead tank breakers, gas-insulated switchgear and hybrid switchgear. The investment will create around 100 new jobs.
A significant portion of the investment includes the implementation of a gas-management system for EconiQ switchgear production. The EconiQ eco-efficient technology eliminates the use of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), the most potent greenhouse gas from high-voltage equipment.
