Hitachi ABB Power Grids thinking globally, but manufacturing locally in Jefferson City, Missouri

Despite this rather historic development, to quote French author Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr “the more things change, the more they remain the same,” at least when it comes to the company’s commitment to maintaining and strengthening its manufacturing footprint in the U.S., and Jefferson City in particular.

The Jefferson City plant has been a staple in the community since it first started manufacturing electrical transformers back in 1972. With a continuously growing workforce, the facility continues to hire local talent to support the nation’s growing need of transformers, a critical element of the world’s power grids.

This change has come at a particularly challenging time, as the world responds to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This crisis, though, has served to further highlight the important role the factory’s essential workers play in both the global energy market and their local economies.

Today, as utility companies such as Ameren Missouri, work hard to ensure that critical institutions like hospitals, data centers, power plants and other critical infrastructure facilities can keep the lights on and continue to care for their customers, demand for transformers and other key grid components remains strong.

“That’s why Jefferson City continues to operate, day and night, despite the obvious challenges,” said Steve McKinney, Senior VP and manager for Transformers North America at Hitachi ABB Power Grids. “Communities everywhere are depending on us to deliver these critical components. We have taken extra precautions to keep our teams safe and are committed to continuing to support our customers during this difficult time. In fact, we’re actively hiring local workers to better address this growing demand for electric power.”

As a provider of goods and services to critical infrastructure industries, Hitachi ABB Power Grids and its supply partners have maintained their operations since the COVID-19 pandemic started to ensure the health of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure.

For Ameren Missouri, Hitachi ABB Power Grids isn’t just a supplier, it is also an important customer. As a sizable manufacturing operation, the facility is a major user of power provided by Ameren Missouri; in fact, it is one of the largest in the region and a staple of the local industrial base. Hitachi ABB Power Grids is benefiting from Ameren Missouri's Smart Energy Plan to make their electrical infrastructure smarter, more secure and reliable. It also expands the market for its products as capital investments are being made across the state.

“This is our home – we all live around here,” said Jason Hoellering, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) manager for Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Jefferson City plant. “We’re proud to join the Hitachi team, and we’re also proud of the work we do here, both in terms of keeping the nation’s electrical grid up and running, but also contributing to the development of a smarter, greener, more reliable infrastructure. That’s not going to change.”