Electric Research Manufacturing Cooperative Inc. plans to boost its transformer manufacturing capacity in West Tennessee via a three-phase project that will create 400 jobs.
The plan to grow in Dyersburg looks to be a significant one for ERMCO, which is part of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc., bills itself as North America’s largest manufacturer of oil-filled distribution transformers and employs about 2,000 people. Executives’ plans are being funded in part by $54.1 million in tax credit financing by a consortium of five lenders and will include an employee training center.
“This investment will enable ERMCO to expand our manufacturing capacity, create new jobs and support the nation’s critical infrastructure needs,” Adam Kruzich, the company’s CFO, said in a statement. “We’re helping to ensure a reliable and resilient electrical grid. We’re proud to contribute to the economic growth of Dyersburg and play a vital role in building a sustainable energy future for the United States.”
ERMCO officials didn’t respond prior to publication to a request for more information about the expansion plan and capacity growth. When the company celebrated its 50th anniversary in Dyersburg two years ago, officials said their operations were home to about 1,700 people and were producing more than 9,500 transformers per week.
ERMCO’s plan is the latest in a series of investments by several industrial players looking to feed a power sector starved of transformers. Among the recent headlines from other notable names:
- Hitachi Energy executives last month said they will expand their operations in South Boston, Virginia, and build a plant in Reynosa, Mexico. Combined, those plans will cost $95 million.
- The leaders of steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said in July they convert part of an idled West Virginia plant into a distribution transformer manufacturing center. That project is valued at $150 million.
- In February, Siemens Energy leaders pledged $150 million to expand its Charlotte, North Carolina, complex by building its first U.S. transformer manufacturing and refurbishment facility.
