Eaton Corp. plc, an industrial manufacturer, is planning to spend $340 million retrofitting a brownfield site in South Carolina into a plant producing electrical equipment.

The Beachwood, Ohio-based company incorporated in Ireland plans to produce three-phase electrical transformers in an 861,000-sq-ft building on a 54-acre site in Jonesville, S.C., that previously housed a retailer’s distribution center.

Eaton anticipates going out to bid later this year for a contractor, a representative says. Production is scheduled to start in 2027.

The company, which already manufactures three-phase transformers at two plants in Wisconsin, says it will continue that production as well. It also plans to continue making single-phase, pole-mount and pad-mount transformers in Texas. 

Certain pieces of electrical equipment such as transformers have had long lead times in recent years. Eaton says it has invested more than $1 billion in its North American electrical manufacturing since 2023 to increase production of equipment for power distribution, electrical assemblies and grid infrastructure. 

“Electrical power demand is increasing dramatically, and our solutions are at the heart of energy systems everywhere, from the utility grid to industrials, data centers, buildings and more,” said Mike Yelton, Americas region president at Eaton, in a statement. 

The South Carolina Dept. of Commerce said its Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits to the project. State officials also awarded a $10-million Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to the county to support the project.

Eaton has 10 other facilities in South Carolina.