LS Electric is planning to build an electric infrastructure technology center in August somewhere in Central US.
The center is expected to house up to 40 staff handling service engineering, maintenance and repair as well as research, the company said.
The building of the center will be followed up by a second phase where LS Electric build a production facility to make switchboards and other components for customers, the Korean company said.
LS Electric acquired Utah-based MCM Engineering II last year to start production in the US.
LS Electric executive vice president Ahn Gil-yung told TheElec that the company believes having a local production facility in the US will make it retain and gain new customers there.
The production facility will be located somewhere in between its large chip customer and large battery customer, Ahn said, without naming its customers.
LS Electric started to tap into the US market by supplying its switchboard solution for SK Innovation’s Georgia factory in 2019.
It recently won supply deals from Ultium Cells, the battery joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors, for their factories in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan.
Last year in June, it said it will also be supplying switchboards to BlueOval SK’s factory in Kentucky. BlueOval SK is a joint venture between battery maker SK On and Ford. LS Electric is also supplying its parts to Samsung for their fab being built at Taylor.
Ahn said LS Electric expects its annual revenue to hit at least 3.5 trillion won backed by the expansion of the chip and battery markets.
The company last year recorded 3.37 trillion won in revenue and 18.75 billion won in operating profit, an increase of 26.6% and 20.9%, respectively, from 2021.
