Hitachi Energy Pumping $100M+ Into Tennessee Plant Expansion
Hitachi Energy officials will invest more than $100 million to grow a transformer parts factory in West Tennessee, a project that will create 100 jobs by mid-2027 and is part of the company’s $1.5 billion global push to grow transformer manufacturing.
The expansion in Alamo, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, focuses on transformer bushings, the insulated components that connect transformers’ internal equipment to the power grid. Officials with Hitachi Energy say their $106 million plan to add 60,000 square feet to the plant—more than half of it for manufacturing—will make the Alamo site the largest bushings manufacturing facility in North America.
“This investment in Tennessee is also an investment in the future of America’s energy infrastructure,” Steve McKinney, head of Hitachi Energy’s transformers business in North America, said in a statement. “This facility plays a critical role in meeting fast-growing energy demand from AI as well as grid expansion and modernization, and we’re proud to grow our footprint and strengthen domestic manufacturing.”
In addition to new manufacturing capacity, the addition calls for 20,000 square feet of warehouse space as well as some new offices. The project will add an integrated logistics center and vertically integrated machine shop that will require less external warehousing.
Collectively, the manufacturers are looking to meet booming demand for equipment required for data center infrastructure specifically and electrification generally. A recent report from research firm Wood Mackenzie estimates that demand for power transformers has more than doubled since 2019 but that domestic manufacturing hasn’t been able to keep pace. That, the firm said, means supply shortages could soon reach 30% for some products.
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of business journalism experience and writes about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications T&D World, Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, FleetOwner and Oil & Gas Journal. With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati and later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector as well as many of its publicly traded companies.