TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Tatung Company (大同公司), a historic industrial giant and one of Taiwan's pioneering publicly listed enterprises with a current market value of NT$96.857 billion (around US$2.9 billion), announced on Sunday (April 6) its plans to establish manufacturing operations in the United States. The century-old conglomerate revealed that it has already secured American customer orders during the first quarter of 2025, signaling an acceleration of its strategic investments in the U.S. market amid growing trade tensions between the two major economies.
Founded in 1918 during the Japanese colonial era, Tatung is working closely with global consulting firm KPMG to strategically expand its footprint in the American power sector. The Taiwanese manufacturer is actively seeking opportunities to acquire or invest in U.S.-based heavy electrical equipment producers with established transformer and cable production capabilities. According to the announcement, Tatung has already assembled a specialized U.S. heavy electrical business team that is aggressively pursuing transformer bids and orders from power utilities, with particular focus on companies operating within the Western Interconnection and the Texas Interconnection power grids.
The company's strategic pivot comes amid projections from the U.S. Department of Energy forecasting a dramatic 4-to-8-fold surge in electricity demand from artificial intelligence server farms between 2023 and 2028. This assessment aligns with separate estimates from an American grid strategy advisory firm that anticipates a substantial 128GW increase in overall power demand across the United States within the next five years. Tatung executives, expressing strong confidence in the growth potential of the U.S. power equipment market, disclosed that the company began formulating its strategic response plan last year in anticipation of former President Trump's protectionist tariff policies and campaign promises. The comprehensive strategy includes contingency plans for producing or assembling transformers and cables directly on American soil, particularly if suitable local manufacturing partners can be secured for joint ventures.
Beyond its American expansion plans, Tatung's broader international strategy reflects a sophisticated approach to geopolitical risk diversification, with established operations strategically positioned across Japan, multiple Southeast Asian nations, and key markets in the Middle East. This global network relies heavily on forming strategic alliances with local enterprises to secure regional contracts and navigate complex regulatory environments. Company officials emphasized that Tatung continues to methodically expand its international business footprint across multiple continents, with the dual objectives of creating a more balanced revenue stream across different geographic regions and establishing manufacturing redundancies that can effectively mitigate the potential impacts of escalating tariffs and trade restrictions in an increasingly fragmented global economy.
