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Energy manufacturing company expands
An energy company is making its footprint bigger in the Bay Area. FOX 13’s Haley Hinds reports.
GIBSONTON, Fla. - Siemens Energy is making its footprint larger in the Bay Area by investing $1 billion dollars into the workforce in the United States, with a lot of the work happening at its plant in Gibsonton.
What we know:
This means more job opportunities for these highly skilled workers and a boost to our economy.
In an interview on Tuesday, the company's president of North America said while their largest investments in the United States are in North Carolina and Mississippi, Tampa Bay plays a big part of their success.
At its plant in Gibsonton, they create blades and vanes that are used on gas turbines.
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That's the engine at the heart of a power plant which produces power for homes and businesses.
The company explained that this expansion is important to meet the growth of the United States because data centers and increased manufacturing are driving a sharp rise in power demand.
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What they're saying:
The company calls the Tampa Bay location a feeder plant into other investments around the country.
Tampa is one of the most important investments that we're making," Matt Neal, the president of Siemens Energy North America, explained. "We make blades and vanes for gas turbines, and that's the only facility for Siemens Energy in the world where we only manufacture blades and vanes."
He went on to explain the importance of these parts to their business and the world.
"These are really critical components for gas turbines, allowing us to build more gas turbines, to service more gas turbines and, right now with growth and electrification in the U.S. driven by data centers, blades and vanes are critical for the supply chain," he explained.
Big picture view:
The company is also expanding their Orlando location to upgrade research and development by building an artificial intelligence laboratory.
The president said about twenty-five percent of U.S. power generation relies on the company's technology.
Even the United States Secretary of Interior talked about the expansion, saying the investment is a big part of our power grid supply chain and is part of President Trump's plan to bring major manufacturing back to America.
Local perspective:
The company has more than twelve-thousand employees across twenty-five facilities, including eight manufacturing locations, which includes the plant in Gibsonton.
They explained they are always hiring and if you're interested in a job, look at their career page.
You can find that here.
The Source: FOX 13 gathered this information from an interview with Siemens Energy's president of North America and a news release from the company.