The company is preparing to launch a new line of digital products for transformation of the U.S. power grid.
HUMBOLDT, Tenn.—Reinhausen Manufacturing Inc. (RM), a subsidiary of Germany-based Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, will expand its facilities in Humboldt to increase production capacity by 25 percent, the company said in a release.
The $3.3 million expansion will allow RM to meet increased demand for materials required for digitalization of the U.S. power grid. This includes a new product line—RM’s enhanced digital solution portfolio, ETOS® (Embedded Transformer Operating System). Reinhausen said it anticipates completion of the facility in early 2024.
The aged and vulnerable U.S. power grid requires critical upgrades. Efforts are underway to digitalize the grid, but long lead times for necessary materials cause delays, putting the power supply at further risk. The RM plant expansion in Tennessee is a necessary step toward supporting those critical upgrades by meeting the demand, the company said.
“A stable, reliable power supply is paramount to our nation’s safety and productivity,” said RM CEO and President Bob Vary, in the release. “Digitalization of the power grid is an important step toward achieving this goal, but it can’t happen without adequate—and timely—materials. Our plant expansion and the launch of ETOS, our new enhanced digital solution portfolio, will help meet those needs.”
An entirely new product line from RM, ETOS is said to be the first “systemic solution for the automation and digitalization of power transformers.” The Humboldt plant expansion is a key element in the launch strategy for ETOS, providing critical development and production capacity.
“ETOS will provide our clients with the exact tools and technology they need as they perform their important work of upgrading our nation’s power grid,” continued Vary. “ETOS intelligently links existing actuators, modern sensors, communication devices, and algorithms into a system with both ‘edge’ and ‘cloud’ components. This is a very exciting innovation, and it will be made right here in Tennessee.”
The physical plant expansion consists of office space totaling 1,050 square feet and production space totaling 4,265 square feet. It is expected to also provide significant local benefits via additional property tax for the City of Humboldt and the creation of 14 new high-tech jobs in the Humboldt area, according to Reinhausen.
“Our Humboldt plant has been in place since 1991,” concluded Vary. “We are honored to have been a vital part of this community for over 30 years, and we are looking forward to continuing and building on that relationship with our plant expansion and the launch of our exclusive, made-in-the-U.S. new product line, ETOS.”
Reinhausen said it would share more details about ETOS in the coming months.