South Korea’s Hyosung Heavy Industries on Sunday announced plans to establish a U.S. production base for extra-high-voltage circuit breakers through a joint venture with a subsidiary of Quanta Services, a leading U.S. infrastructure solutions company.
The joint venture, named Hyosung HICO Breaker, is scheduled to be established in July and begin producing gas circuit breakers in October at Quanta’s facility in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The equipment to be manufactured will cover a range from 72.5 kilovolts to 800 kilovolts, the company said.
The partnership is intended to meet what Hyosung described as growing U.S. demand for power equipment driven by the expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence facilities, as well as efforts to modernize the country’s aging electrical grid. The companies said they plan to strengthen their position in the U.S. supply chain by meeting customers’ demands for timely delivery and consistent product quality.
The agreement will make Hyosung Heavy Industries the first South Korean power equipment manufacturer to operate U.S. production facilities for both transformers and circuit breakers, the company said. Hyosung already operates a transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee.
Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon finalized the agreement after meeting Quanta’s chief executive and other senior executives in the United States in March, according to the company. Cho determined last year that a partnership with Quanta, a leading U.S. infrastructure solutions company, would be important to Hyosung’s expansion in the American power market, the company said. The companies have since pursued cooperation in extra-high-voltage circuit breakers, direct-current technology and other advanced power solutions.
“The two companies have built a strong partnership through cooperation ranging from the supply of circuit breakers and substation equipment to transmission and renewable energy interconnection projects,” Cho said in a statement.
“As the explosive growth of the AI industry makes the modernization of power infrastructure an essential task, we will combine our experience successfully localizing operations in the United States, including at our Memphis plant, with the strengths of the new joint venture,” he said.
Cho said Hyosung aims to establish itself firmly as a total power solutions provider in the U.S. market.
Hyosung and Quanta are expected to expand their partnership into a broader range of businesses, including direct-current power solutions and data center infrastructure, following the establishment of the circuit breaker venture, the company said.