LS Group is expanding its business globally, capitalizing on the growing demand for power infrastructure driven by artificial intelligence (AI). In addition to replacing North America's aging power grid, the growing demand for green energy is also driving the rapid expansion of production capacity at its major locations.
According to industry sources, LS Group is working to secure production capacity by expanding its factories and pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to meet the surging demand for power infrastructure.
In a related development, LS Cable & Systems, a major subsidiary of the company, has decided to build a new factory for large-capacity distribution systems, known as bus ducts, in an industrial park in Queretaro, central Mexico. Construction is expected to begin later this year and be completed in the first half of next year.
The new factory has a site area of approximately 126,000 square meters (approximately 31 acres) and a total floor area of 16,800 square meters (approximately 4.15 acres). It will be LS Eco Energy's fourth bus duct production facility, following its Gumi factory in South Korea, its Wuxi factory in China, and its Ho Chi Minh City factory in Vietnam.
A bus duct is a method of supplying power by placing flat conductors inside a metal case. Because it is modularized, it is easier to install and move than cables, and can reduce power consumption by 30% or more.
LS Cable plans to use its bus duct factory in Mexico as an export base to enter the North American market, aiming to achieve sales of $100 million (136.2 billion won) by 2030. The North American bus duct market is growing rapidly due to the construction of large-scale data centers, semiconductor factories, electric vehicle factories, and battery factories. Mexico also has the advantage of low labor costs and the benefit of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The power super cycle is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, with global investment in power grids projected to increase from $235 billion in 2020 to $532 billion in 2030 and $636 billion in 2050, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), and companies involved in power equipment and power grids, including LS Group, are expanding their business.
