Power management company Eaton is expanding manufacturing in an effort to increase its product supply for the utility, commercial, healthcare, industrial, and residential markets across North America in a “significant” new investment.
Most of the upgrades will be complete in 2024 and 2025, the company reported.
“Electrical infrastructure has to work harder and smarter to accelerate decarbonization and electrification,” Mike Yelton, Eaton president for the Americas region electrical sector, said in a news release. “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.
“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.”
Texas, Wisconsin investments to advance electrification, grid modernization
Eaton is adding 200,000 sq. ft. to its Nacogdoches, Texas, manufacturing facility, more than doubling its size, the company said. The project will double production capacity of Eaton’s voltage regulators to help utility customers across North America accelerate grid modernization and resilience projects. Eaton will continue to produce single-phase, pole-mount, and pad-mount transformers in Texas to address the acute supply shortage for these products. The expansion will create more than 200 skilled manufacturing jobs.
The Texas expansion frees up capacity at the company’s largest Wisconsin manufacturing facility in Waukesha, where Eaton is investing in equipment to increase manufacturing of three-phase transformers for utility, data center, large commercial, and industrial applications. Eaton will continue to produce regulators, including complex pole and substation voltage regulators, for utility customers in Wisconsin.
South Carolina facility expands manufacturing for EV charging technology
Eaton is increasing production of busway systems to meet rapidly growing demand for this power distribution technology used in commercial, industrial, and fleet charging applications. This expansion includes Eaton’s EV charging busway, an industry-first innovation that dramatically simplifies and expedites infrastructure for fleet charging, while avoiding major infrastructure modifications. For more than 60 years, Eaton has manufactured hundreds of thousands of miles of busway in South Carolina and continues to expand manufacturing capacity regionally.
Increased production supports circuit protection, metering for homes, businesses
Eaton is increasing the manufacturing of its circuit breakers and metering for homes and commercial buildings. These investments include expanding capacity and diversifying production across various locations in the Americas region to increase the supply of its solutions for customers, enhance supply chain efficiency and boost manufacturing resilience.
Growth strengthens power backbone for infrastructure projects
Eaton is adding capacity to increase supplies of essential power distribution equipment to support infrastructure projects across industries. The company’s most recent investments enhance its manufacturing facilities for switchgear and switchboards, which provide the power backbone for customers across the Americas.
Expanded distribution supports data centers, other customers
Eaton is investing in the distribution capacity for its power quality products and connectivity solutions. The company recently opened its largest regional distribution center in Chicago and is expanding its distribution facility in Dallas to serve commercial, data center, industrial, healthcare and communications customers.