Power Profile: Introducing Hitachi ABB Power Grids

Still thinking globally, working locally

A big change has come to one of Jefferson City’s largest employers, the former ABB Power Grids plant. Previously a major division of the multi-national company, ABB, the Power Grids division has joined forces with Hitachi to form a stand-alone joint venture, Hitachi ABB Power Grids, which continues to focus on the global power market. 

Despite this rather momentous development, to quote French author Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr “the more things change, the more they remain the same,” at least when it comes to the company’s commitment to Jefferson City.

With a workforce of more than 800 and growing, “Jeff City” — as the facility is fondly called — manufactures transformers, a critical element of the world’s power grids.

This change comes at a particularly challenging time, as the world responds to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This crisis, though, has served to further highlight the important role the factory plays in both the global energy market and the local economy in Missouri. Today, as utility companies, like Ameren Missouri, work hard to ensure that critical institutions like hospitals can keep the lights on and continue to care for patients, demand for transformers and other key grid components remains strong. “That’s why Jeff City continues to operate, day and night, despite the obvious challenges,” said Steve McKinney, senior VP and manager for Transformers North America at Power Grids. “Communities everywhere are depending on us to deliver these critical components, and we’re committed to doing whatever it takes. In fact, we’re actively hiring and adding shifts to better address growing demand.”

As a provider of goods and services to critical infrastructure industries (as defined by the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies), Power Grids and its supply partners are expected to maintain their operations, to ensure the health of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure.

Still, the health and safety of employees, customers, partners, and other community members remains job one, and so the company has instituted a variety of measures to assess and mitigate health risks. For instance, active temperature screening is taking place at all the company’s North American manufacturing facilities. As important, Power Grids’ employees at job sites are employing face coverings, improved hygiene and social distancing practices, actively doing their part to protect the health of the community while continuing to meet a critical, nationwide need. Even as states continue to ‘open up,’ Power Grids will keep working to ensure the safety and well-being of its employees and the communities where they live and work. 

For Ameren Missouri, Power Grids isn’t just a supplier, it is also an important customer and member of the community. As a sizable manufacturing operation, the facility is a major user of power provided by Ameren Missouri; in fact, it is one of the largest in the region and a staple of the local industrial base. Ameren Missouri's Smart Energy Plan is helping Power Grids in two ways: the manufacturing plant benefits from a smarter, more secure and reliable energy grid; and it expands the market for its products as capital investments are being made across the state.

“This is our home – we all live around here,” said Jason P. Hoellering, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) manager. “We’re proud of the work we do here, both in terms of keeping the nation up and running, but also contributing to the development of a smarter, greener, more reliable grid. That’s not going to change.”