Hyosung Heavy Industries opens new export-focused ultra-high-voltage circuit breaker plant in Changwon, doubling production capacity

[Financial News] Hyosung Heavy Industries has completed a new plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, for export-oriented ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers, increasing its production capacity for products rated 420 kV and above to about twice its previous level. The move is aimed at meeting rising global demand for power equipment driven by the expansion of AI data centers and investment in power grids. The existing plant will be reorganized to focus on products for the domestic market, while the new plant will be dedicated to export products.

Hyosung Heavy Industries said it would hold an opening ceremony for its new ultra-high-voltage circuit breaker plant at its Changwon facility in South Gyeongsang Province on the 16th. Some 300 people, including Hyosung Group Vice Chairman Lee Sang-woon, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Heo Seong-moo, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jong-yang, and Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute President Kang Sang-hee, are expected to attend.
The new ultra-high-voltage circuit breaker plant covers approximately 18,996 square meters and will produce export-oriented circuit breakers rated 420, 550 and 800 kV. The company has separated its production system, operating the existing circuit breaker plant mainly for domestic products and dedicating the new plant to export products rated 420 kV and above.
The new plant has an integrated production system that enables work to be carried out in one location, from parts manufacturing through assembly, testing and shipping. As a result, production capacity for ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers rated 420 kV and above has increased to about twice its previous level. Production capacity for insulation materials, a key circuit breaker component, has also increased to about twice its previous level.
Hyosung Heavy Industries plans to use the new plant to expand supplies of high-capacity circuit breakers needed for overseas power grid construction projects. An ultra-high-voltage circuit breaker is a device that protects power equipment by interrupting current when a fault or overcurrent occurs in a power grid.

The company is also working to expand its overseas production base. Last June, Hyosung Heavy Industries signed an agreement, through its U.S. subsidiary Hyosung HICO, with a subsidiary of local energy infrastructure company Quanta Services to establish a joint venture to produce ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers. The joint venture plans to manufacture circuit breakers rated 72.5–800 kV at a plant in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
Hyosung Heavy Industries also invested a total of $300 million in its ultra-high-voltage transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee, including acquisition and expansion costs. Once the expansion currently underway is complete, local transformer production capacity is expected to increase further.
Hyosung Heavy Industries plans to expand its business in Europe as well as at existing production bases, including in India. Centered on its European R&D center in the Netherlands, it will work with local power technology institutions and pursue the development of eco-friendly, customized circuit breaker products.
Meanwhile, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon has emphasized the need for proactive investment in supply chains to meet demand for power infrastructure resulting from the growth of the AI industry.
[email protected] Kim Mi-hee Reporter