Riding on South Korea’s drive to expand investment in the US, power equipment producer LS Electric expects to strengthen its foothold in the market, the company said Wednesday.
As major Korean conglomerates accelerate US investments to mitigate the impact of tariff policies, LS Electric anticipates rising demand for power infrastructure will play to its advantage. The company has already supplied about 90 percent of the switchboards — a key component in electricity distribution — for US factories of domestic firms.
In 2022, LS Electric signed a 174.6 billion won ($125 million) deal to supply an electric distribution system to Samsung Electronics’ Taylor plant in Texas. It also secured contracts for Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution’s joint EV battery plant in Georgia, Hyundai Motor’s Savannah EV plant, the Hyundai Motor-SK On joint battery plant, and Ultium Cells, the LG Energy Solution-General Motors joint venture.
With these orders, LS Electric’s current backlog exceeds 3.9 trillion won.
Recently, Korea’s four major conglomerates — Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group — announced plans for projects totaling roughly 126 trillion won in the US. LS Electric expects this surge in investment to expand its market share.
“The growing demand for power infrastructure driven by the local investments of major Korean companies is expected to serve as a solid stepping stone for LS Electric’s leap into the global market,” the company said.
LS Electric emphasized its competitive edge in distribution systems, which deliver electricity from substations to end users. The distribution market is generally estimated to be two to three times larger than the transmission market, which involves moving high-voltage power from plants to substations.
The company also projects rising demand from data centers.
“Global power demand for data centers is estimated to grow at an average annual rate of around 11 percent from 2023 to 2028. When including the energy needs of AI servers, the growth rate is projected to reach 26-36 percent annually. In response, LS Electric plans to continuously expand its market share in this sector,” the company said.
As part of its US expansion, LS Electric opened its Bastrop Campus production facility in Texas earlier this year to supply equipment to big tech firms. The company also pledged to advance its strategy through the Bastrop site and its MCM Engineering II factory in Utah.
“Unlike competitors that focus on select product lines, LS Electric has the full portfolio and capability to supply a complete range of power systems, including switchboards, equipment and transformers,” an LS Electric official said.
“Based on our localization strategy and world-class expertise, we aim to turn the Trump Round into an opportunity for global expansion.”
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
