We all have heard about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that passed in 2021. Contractors and suppliers at every level are getting ready to bid on and work the large number of projects that are being proposed as funds become available. Major suppliers to the trade are moving to increase their capacity to provide equipment and material for the future projects.
As an example, after experiencing continued demand for its products in key critical infrastructure markets like data centers, EV (electric vehicles), and semiconductor manufacturing, Siemens is investing over $10 million to expand its existing Smart Infrastructure manufacturing hub in Grand Prairie, Texas. The expansion will include a 25,000-sq.ft. addition, featuring a new electric-powered paint line which will help the facility reduce its carbon footprint by 90%.
The over 500-person plant, which underwent a previous expansion in 2017, manufactures circuit breakers and equipment that supports essential power infrastructure in some of the country’s most critical installations including data centers, industrial sites, and healthcare facilities. This is part of an overall investment of $54 million across key U.S. manufacturing facilities that serve critical infrastructure markets.
In another project, Siemens is investing over $40 million to build a greenfield manufacturing site to replace a legacy facility in Pomona, Calif. The manufacturing location will produce vital low-voltage electrical equipment for industrial and commercial installations in addition to “make-ready” power distribution equipment to serve the expanding EV market.
The new Pomona facility will help Siemens deliver on its goal to build more than one million EV chargers for the U.S. during the next four years. A second investment will be for another new manufacturing site for its Made in America VersiCharge Level 2 AC series product line and additional advanced eMobility solutions. The new facility will be the company’s third U.S. eMobility hub and is projected to support about 100 new jobs across the manufacturing site and regional supply chain. Siemens plans to identify a location this later this spring and bring the facility online shortly after.
Building new facilities is only part of the program. The Siemens Spartanburg, S.C., manufacturing facility completed a three-year expansion last May, adding more than 180 new positions and 52,000-sq.ft. to one of the company’s key manufacturing hubs. An integral facility for the company’s SI (Smart Infrastructure) operations in the U.S., the 530-employee plant saw a need to expand its footprint due to an increase in demand from infrastructure customers across the construction, industrial and data center markets.
The facility, in operation for more than 50 years, produces busway products, lighting panels and power distribution switchboards for commercial buildings and critical electrical infrastructure for applications ranging from electric vehicle manufacturing to data centers for major cloud service providers.
With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, SI helps customers and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. SI creates environments that care. With around 70,000 employees worldwide, Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and its U.S. corporate headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USA.
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