Siemens Completes $36M Manufacturing Facility Expansion in South Carolina, Adds More Than 180 New Jobs
June 14, 2021
Siemens’ Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing facility has completed a three-year expansion, adding more than 180 new positions and 52,000 square feet to one of the company’s key manufacturing hubs. An integral facility for the company’s Smart Infrastructure operations in the U.S., the plant saw a need to expand its footprint due to an increase in demand from infrastructure customers across the construction, industrial and data center markets.
“Siemens is an important part of our South Carolina community and their growth is a reason to celebrate. We congratulate them on their latest expansion and look forward to their continued success,” said Governor Henry McMaster.
The 530-employee Spartanburg facility, in operation for more than 50 years, produces busway products, lighting panels and power distribution switchboards for commercial buildings and critical electrical infrastructure for applications ranging from electric vehicle manufacturing to data centers for major cloud service providers. Experiencing record order intake due to increased adoption of cloud computing, IoT devices, and overall digitalization of operations, amongst other factors, the factory first broke ground on the $36 million multiphase expansion in 2018, which was made possible in part by state and local support.
“Siemens’ critical infrastructure technologies, manufactured by the skilled workforce here in Spartanburg, are supporting the industries that form the backbone of America’s economy,” said Barbara Humpton, President & CEO, Siemens U.S. “As this economy rebounds, and the need for innovative infrastructure grows, our expanded Spartanburg facility will play a vital role in ensuring our customers and America’s supply chain remains strong — just as it has throughout the pandemic.”
Over the course of the expansion, the facility identified the need to initiate an apprenticeship program to prepare workers for skilled positions in the manufacturing sector. Three apprentices participated in the program where they pursued curriculum in either mechatronics or machine tool technology at Spartanburg Community College while receiving hands-on manufacturing training and experience at the Siemens facility.
“Today is an exciting day for the Spartanburg facility, as well as our infrastructure operations across the U.S.,” said Barry Powell, Head of Electrical Products, Siemens North America. “The expansion not only allows us to better support our customers, but to provide quality jobs and training for the community. We pride ourselves on being a supporter of both South Carolina and U.S. manufacturing and thank our local and state government for helping make this growth possible.”
The newly expanded 237,000-square-foot facility includes a new plating line, additional manufacturing equipment, and more than 50,000 square feet of additional floorspace for increased production. The facility also decreased its energy consumption by 13 percent through a newly installed plating line that reduces water and energy consumption in addition to LED lighting retrofits, energy efficient HVAC units and the implementation of a wood pallet recycling program.
