Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon is fostering power infrastructure and data center businesses as future growth engines in preparation for the artificial intelligence (AI) era. As global data center investment expands and the importance of stable power supply grows, Hyosung Heavy Industries is broadening its business scope from transformers and circuit breakers to power stabilization systems.

'A Super Cycle in 60 Years'… Goal of Global Top 3 Within 5 Years

Chairman Cho diagnosed that a 'super cycle unseen in 60 years' has arrived as demand for power infrastructure surges in the AI era. He also declared a goal to grow Hyosung Heavy Industries into a global top 3 player within five years, based on its total solution competitiveness spanning transformers, circuit breakers, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, STATCOM, and energy storage systems (ESS).

One area Chairman Cho is focusing on is AI data centers. Operating large-scale data centers requires enormous amounts of power, and stable power supply and related infrastructure are essential. He has emphasized that even if a data center is built, it is difficult to operate properly without stable power supply, and set a direction to develop the AI data center business, which consolidates Hyosung's related capabilities, into the group's future growth axis.

Expanding U.S. Local Production Base… Joint Venture with Quanta

Expansion is underway at the ultra-high-voltage transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee, which Hyosung Heavy Industries acquired in 2020. According to the company, once the expansion is complete, it will secure the largest ultra-high-voltage transformer production capacity in the United States. In July, the company established a joint venture with Quanta, a North American energy infrastructure solutions company, for ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers. Following transformers, it is expanding its U.S. local production system to circuit breakers as well, strengthening its on-the-ground responsiveness in the power infrastructure business.

New Data Center Business Team… Challenge to Become a 'One-Stop Partner'

The organization has also been reorganized. In early September, Hyosung Heavy Industries launched a Data Center Business Team that brings together design personnel for power equipment such as transformers and circuit breakers, along with power stabilization solutions including ESS, microgrids, and STATCOM, in a single organization. The company plans to expand its business scope from supplying individual power equipment to providing related facilities and stabilization solutions together, positioning itself as a one-stop partner in the global data center market.

U.S. Market Growth Potential… Goldman Sachs: '15% Annual Growth Until 2030'

The United States is a key market where Hyosung Heavy Industries is making significant efforts. According to Goldman Sachs, U.S. data center power demand is expected to grow at an annual average of 15% through 2030, with new power infrastructure investment to support this projected at approximately $50 billion.

Hyosung Heavy Industries has already built a business foundation in the U.S. ultra-high-voltage power equipment market. According to the company, it has ranked first in market share in the U.S. 765kV ultra-high-voltage transformer market since the early 2010s, and has supplied nearly half of the ultra-high-voltage transformers of that voltage class installed in the U.S. power grid. Its product lineup is not limited to transformers either. It has a lineup capable of supplying ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers ranging from 72.5kV to 800kV, and is also expanding its STATCOM business used for grid stabilization.

9.3 Trillion Won in Orders from January to August… Annual Target Raised to 12 Trillion Won

Order volumes are also growing. Hyosung Heavy Industries' new orders from January through August this year totaled approximately 9.3 trillion won, surpassing last year's full-year order figure. Accordingly, the company raised its annual order target for this year from 8.4 trillion won to 12 trillion won.

The direction Chairman Cho has laid out is aligned with responding to rising power infrastructure demand amid AI data center expansion, while extending the business scope from transformers and circuit breakers to power stabilization systems. The expansion of U.S. local production capacity and the establishment of a dedicated data center organization are also extensions of this strategy.

Attention at the Netizens' Awards… Competing in the Top 10 for the Business Leader Category

These management moves are also drawing attention at the Netizens' Awards in September. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon is currently ranked 10th in the Business Leader category, competing within the top 10. The Netizens' Awards is an online award where rankings are determined solely by netizen votes. Attention is focused on whether his management strategy, which early on recognized the growth potential of the AI and power infrastructure industries, will translate into voting enthusiasm, and how far each vote gathered during the remaining voting period will lift Chairman Cho's ranking. For Chairman Cho, currently in 10th place, to defend his top-10 position and leap to a higher ranking, steady netizen voting participation is expected to be crucial. It remains to be seen what results Chairman Cho's strategy of strengthening the power infrastructure business targeting the AI and data center era will yield in terms of corporate performance and netizens' evaluations.

[This article was written based on publicly available corporate materials, and the goals and market outlook presented by the company may change depending on future business conditions. It is not a recommendation to invest in any specific company or stock, and the final judgment and responsibility for investment rest with the investor. AI provided partial assistance in the writing of this article.]