A South Korean manufacturer of electric power equipment plans to set up its first U.S. production operations in Memphis, Tennessee, where the company aims to invest $86.9 million and create 410 jobs over seven years.
Gov. Bill Lee and his economic development team announced Friday that Hyosung Heavy Industries (HICO) will update an existing Memphis facility to increase production capacity and meet growing demand.
At the Memphis facility, Hyosung Heavy Industries hopes to begin producing state-of-the-art power transformers by the first half of next year.
Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, the company exports its products to customers around the globe and has established itself as one of the leading manufacturers in the power transformer business for the last 50 years.
Its products include transformers, switchgear, flexible AC transmission systems and energy storage solutions.
Takeshi Yokota, CEO of HICO, said the company negotiated "a multi-faceted agreement" with local and state leaders in Shelby County and "we look forward to continuing to be a part of the Memphis community for years to come."
Korea is among the top 10 countries for foreign investment in Tennessee, with Korean companies investing over $400 million in Tennessee since 2015. Tennessee is home to more than 1,000 foreign-owned establishments that employ approximately 150,000 Tennesseans.