'Power struggle' intensifies among Korean transformer makers in US

Korean manufacturers of power transformers and switchgear systems are ramping up efforts to increase their production in the United States to counter lingering uncertainty over the Donald Trump administration's tariff policies. LS Electric said Wednesday it has completed construction of its manufacturing facility in Texas, which is expected to begin full-scale production this year of medium- and low-voltage power equipment and switchgear systems for data centers operated by major U.S. tech firms. The company expects the new plant to mitigate risks related to U.S. tariffs and trade barriers by producing strategic power products locally. "We will invest an additional $240 million by 2030 to expand production facilities, hire local talent and grow the campus into a North American power solutions hub that thrives alongside the local community," LS Electric Chairman Koo Ja-kyun said Monday (local time) during a ceremony marking the completion of the company's Bastrop Campus. With its switchgear manufacturing subsidiary in Utah, LS Electric aims to close the gap with Schneider, Siemens, Eaton