Power management company Eaton is ramping up operations to increase energy supply platforms and management systems for utility, commercial, healthcare, industrial, and residential markets across North America. The company said it will invest $500 million in its North American manufacturing and operations to meet the rising demand, with the majority of investments completed in 2024 and 2025.
In particular, the company is making big investments in Texas and South Carolina, where it is adding manufacturing. Eaton plans to more than double the size of its Nacogdoches, Texas, manufacturing facility by adding 200,000 square feet. The project will add 200 manufacturing jobs. With the addition, Eaton’s production capacity of voltage regulators will double, and the company said it will address the acute supply shortage for single-phase, pole-mount, and pad-mount transformers by producing them in Texas.
Investing in the Texas facility also frees up the company’s Waukesha, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility, Eaton said. The facility will continue to produce regulators, including complex pole and substation voltage regulators, for utility customers in Wisconsin, but the company is also investing in equipment to increase manufacturing of three-phase transformers for utility, data center, and large commercial and industrial applications.
“Electrical infrastructure has to work harder and smarter to accelerate decarbonization and electrification. At Eaton, we’re all in on the energy transition, and our solutions are essential to reinvent the way power is distributed, stored, and consumed,” Mike Yelton, president, Americas Region, Electrical Sector at Eaton, said in a statement. “We’re making steady investments for our customers, distributors, and employees to meet growing demand in the Americas, and there will be more to come.”
In addition, Eaton announced its expansions in South Carolina will focus on busway products and electric vehicle charging technology used in commercial, industrial, and fleet charging applications. The expansion includes Eaton’s EV charging busway, which aims to “dramatically” simplify and expedite infrastructure for fleet charging, the company said. Last month, Eaton unveiled its fleet charging infrastructure, dubbed the EV Charging Busway. The overhead power distribution system aims to offer convenient, reliable, and affordable charging infrastructure for zero-emission pickup and delivery vehicles.
The investment plans for the manufacturing capabilities come on the heels of Eaton opening up its largest regional distribution center in Chicago. The company is also expanding its distribution facility in Dallas to serve commercial, data center, industrial, healthcare, and communications customers.
Eaton has also recently made moves to improve its sustainability through investments and partnerships. Earlier this year, Eaton announced it had partnered with Rewiring America, an electrification nonprofit in the US, to advance electrification education, awareness, and action.
Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for 100 years. The company reported revenues of $20.8 billion in 2022 and serves customers in more than 170 countries.