Hyundai Rotem is setting up its first production base for rail vehicle electrical equipment in the United States to push into the North American market.
Hyundai Rotem said on the 19th that it held a completion ceremony on the 18th (local time) in Riverside, California, for Hyundai Rotem Smart Electric America (HRSEA), a plant that produces electrical equipment for rail vehicles. Built on a site of about 8,500 square meters (2,600 pyeong), HRSEA was established to produce propulsion control units, traction motors, and auxiliary power units, which are electrical components for rail vehicles supplied locally.
In addition to production and testing of electrical equipment, the plant will also handle after-sales customer service (CS) management and follow-on projects for new electrical components. Hyundai Rotem said HRSEA, the first Hyundai Rotem electrical equipment plant to be established in the United States, is meaningful in that it lays the groundwork to expand local operations in step with growing U.S. rail demand.
The U.S. federal government implements the Buy America policy, which mandates the use of a certain percentage of U.S.-made materials and parts when funding infrastructure or rail projects. Hyundai Rotem expects to actively respond to the project needs of major U.S. rail operators through HRSEA.
In a commemorative speech that day, Chief Executive Officer Lee Yong-bae of Hyundai Rotem said, "In the rail industry, quality is absolutely "a value that cannot be compromised," and stressed, "The HRSEA plant will be an important starting point for realizing this belief of ours in the United States."