Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
HD Hyundai Electric boosts capacity 70% with new automated Cheongju power distribution
Robotic arms assemble molded case circuit breakers on an automated production line at HD Hyundai Electric’s Cheongju Power Distribution Campus in North Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of HD Hyundai Electric
By Lee Gyu-lee
Company eyes North American AI data center market
CHEONGJU, North Chungcheong Province — HD Hyundai Electric has expanded its production capacity for power distribution equipment by 70 percent with the recent launch of its automated Cheongju power distribution campus, as the company bets on capturing surging global demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and power‑infrastructure investment.
The 116.1 billion won ($75.5 million) Cheongju campus in North Chungcheong Province, which was completed last November, consolidates manufacturing, engineering and logistics functions that had previously been spread across three facilities.
The campus produces more than 50,000 types of low and medium-voltage circuit breakers, ranging from air circuit breakers (ACB) and vacuum circuit breakers (VCB) used in power plants and industrial facilities to molded case circuit breakers (MCCB) widely installed in residential and commercial buildings.
The facility automates logistics from material receiving and warehousing to production and shipping through a network of 12 autonomous mobile robots, 10 autonomous case-handling robots and 20 logistics shuttles.
Automated case-handling robots store materials and finished products in high-bay racks at HD Hyundai Electric’s Cheongju Power Distribution Campus in North Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of HD Hyundai Electric
Automation rates reached 95 percent for manufacturing MCCBs and magnetic contactors and 65 percent for larger medium-voltage equipment, ACBs and VCBs, for which production involves more customized processes.
The new plant has lifted annual production capacity from 5 million units to 8.5 million, while overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) has risen to about 75 percent from 58 percent. The company aims to push OEE to around 90 percent and expand annual capacity to 13 million units by 2030.
The expansion comes as utilities, hyperscale data center operators and semiconductor manufacturers accelerate investment in electrical infrastructure to support AI-driven power demand.
“While replacement demand for aging infrastructure has led the U.S. market in the past, demand for AI-related electricity began to surge in earnest this year," Lee Chang-ho, the company’s executive vice president, said during a media briefing at the campus on Thursday.
“We’re seeing not only more demand for power equipment, but also a growing number of end‑user facilities like data centers that actually consume that electricity, which in turn is driving up demand for distribution gear. To respond to this global upswing, we’ve built this power distribution campus to automate production … and expand the business into full solutions.”
HD Hyundai Electric Executive Vice President Lee Chang-ho speaks during a media briefing at the company’s Cheongju Power Distribution Campus in North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. Courtesy of HD Hyundai Electric
Lee noted that the new campus will be a key production base for the company’s push into North America’s data center market, which it now views as its top‑priority destination for power distribution equipment.
"The established top-tier players have long dominated the market, but the Cheongju campus came online at a favorable time. Its expanded production capacity allows us to capitalize on the ongoing supply chain reshuffling, giving us a much stronger competitive position than incumbent suppliers in the data center market,” he said.
He said the company is already seeing tangible signs of that demand, with several data center-related projects and a clear increase in long‑term supply agreements compared with the past.
"The core issue for data centers today is speed," he said. "Quality is, of course, essential, but supply chains are also being reorganized, and we are capturing meaningful opportunities."
A robotic arm uses a vision inspection system to check completed molded case circuit breakers on an automated line at HD Hyundai Electric’s Cheongju Power Distribution Campus in North Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of HD Hyundai Electric
He added that HD Hyundai Electric holds roughly a 25 percent share of the North American power transformer market, while demand for gas-insulated switchgear is also accelerating, as data centers move closer to urban areas where land constraints favor more compact equipment.
Data center-related projects accounted for less than 10 percent of the company’s revenue last year, but Lee said that he expects that figure to rise to 15 to 20 percent this year.
“We're very positive about how long this market momentum can continue,” he said.