RALEIGH, NC—Hitachi Energy will invest $155 million to expand manufacturing capacity across three plants in North America.

The plans include $25 million to expand Hitachi’s Virginia transformer factory, $60 million to expand its Pennsylvania high-voltage switchgear and breakers factory, and $70 million to construct a distribution transformer factory in Reynosa, Mexico.

Hitachi is pushing to keep up with rising demand driven in large part by the U.S., with the company’s order backlog more than tripling since 2020.

Hitachi Energy added more than 8,000 employees between 2020 and 2023, including more than 1,200 in the U.S., to keep up with demand.

“Demand for electrical equipment, including transformers and switchgear, is surging globally, and significantly in North America, and one of our highest priorities is making sure that we are growing our capabilities to address our customer’s present and future needs,” CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said.

The $25 million investment in South Boston, VA, will help expand production capacity for large distribution transformers and is expected to create about 100 new jobs. Hitachi previously modernized the facility in 2022 with a $37 million investment to add automated equipment and changes in plant processes to reduce factory cycle times and improve operational performance.

The $70 million Mexico transformer factory aims to address the need for single-phase, pad-mounted distribution transformers and bring 350 jobs to the region.