HD Hyundai Electric Reaches 1,000-Transformer Production Milestone at U.S. Plant
Key Takeaways
- •HD Hyundai Electric is the first Korean power equipment manufacturer to cumulatively produce 1,000 transformers at its U.S. facility, which was also the first Korean production base established in North America in 2011.
- •The Alabama plant has become the largest power transformer production base in the United States, with annual capacity expanding from 70 units at inception to 105 today.
- •HD Hyundai Electric has held the No. 1 position in the U.S. ultrahigh-voltage transformer market rated at 100 MVA or more for two consecutive years, with its market share rising from 17.2 percent in 2024 to 25.7 percent last year.
- •A second Alabama plant currently under construction is expected to be completed in April next year, increasing annual production capacity by approximately 50 percent and enabling production of transformers rated up to 765 kilovolts.
- •The milestone comes amid surging U.S. demand for grid infrastructure driven by data center expansion, transportation electrification, and industrial reshoring, which have strained aging transmission networks and caused transformer supply shortages.
HD Hyundai Electric has become the first Korean power equipment manufacturer to cumulatively produce 1,000 transformers at its U.S. production facility, the company announced Sunday.
A ceremony was held Friday (local time) at the company's North American production subsidiary in Alabama to commemorate the milestone. HD Hyundai Electric CEO Kim Young-ki attended the event alongside Georgia Transmission Corp. CEO Barbara Hampton. The 1,000th transformer will be delivered to Georgia Transmission Corp. for use in supplying electricity to Walton County, Florida.
The achievement comes 15 years after HD Hyundai Electric established the Alabama facility in 2011, marking another first — it was the first Korean power equipment maker to set up a production base in North America.
The 1,000 transformers produced to date have a combined capacity of approximately 200 gigavolt-amperes (GVA), sufficient to meet the electricity demand of roughly 130 million U.S. households. The milestone unit is a 500-kilovolt, 675-megavolt-ampere (MVA) ultrahigh-voltage transformer.
HD Hyundai Electric attributed its strengthened competitiveness in the U.S. power equipment market to its localized production capabilities. The milestone comes amid surging U.S. demand for grid infrastructure, driven by the rapid expansion of data centers, electrification of transportation, and industrial reshoring — trends that have strained aging transmission networks and contributed to well-documented transformer supply shortages across the country. Through sustained investment and capacity expansion, the company increased the annual production capacity of its North American facility from 70 transformers at inception to 105 today, making it the largest power transformer production base in the United States.
The company has held the No. 1 position in the U.S. market for ultrahigh-voltage transformers rated at 100 MVA or more for two consecutive years. Its market share grew from 17.2 percent in 2024 to 25.7 percent last year.
Construction is currently underway on a second plant in Alabama. Once completed in April next year, the expansion is expected to raise the company's annual production capacity by approximately 50 percent. The new facility will be capable of producing transformers rated at up to 765 kilovolts, a voltage class used in the highest-capacity long-distance transmission lines in the U.S. grid.
"Since establishing the facility in 2011, we have worked to build a world-class production base to meet growing demand for power infrastructure in North America," said HD Hyundai Electric CEO Kim Young-ki. "The production of our 1,000th transformer is a meaningful achievement made possible by the expertise and dedication of our employees and the trust of our customers."