Hyosung Heavy Industries Corp. plans to nearly double its annual transformer production in the US to over 250 units within two years, capitalizing on surging demand driven by artificial intelligence data centers and aging power infrastructure.
The South Korean power systems conglomerate will invest hundreds of billions of won to expand capacity at its Memphis, Tennessee plant in two phases. Production will first increase by 53.5% to 200 units by early 2026, then exceed 250 units the following year, according to Jason E. Neal, president of the company’s US transformer division Hyosung HICO.
Neal projected the expansion would boost Hyosung’s US market share from 6% last year to over 10%, potentially surpassing current market leaders Siemens and General Electric within two years.
The company cites a five-year order backlog supported by replacement needs for aging power equipment and new installations for data centers. Hyosung HICO is the only US producer of 765-kilovolt transformers, which cost approximately 20 billion won ($14 million) per unit.
The expansion follows Hyosung’s 2020 acquisition of the Memphis facility from Mitsubishi Electric Power Products for $45 million, a move that helped the company avoid tariffs imposed during the previous Trump administration.
Hyosung’s cross-town rival HD Hyundai Electric announced similar plans earlier this year to increase its Alabama plant’s transformer output to 150 units annually from 100, investing approximately half of its estimated 2024 operating profit of 720 billion won.
Hyosung Heavy Industries reported record operating profit of 362.5 billion won in 2024, up from 44.1 billion won in 2020, with analysts forecasting profits exceeding 500 billion won this year.
