LS Electric on U.S. Big Tech’s radar for power system partnership: CEO

LS Electric CEO and Chairman Koo Ja-kyun speaks during the opening of the company’s Texas manufacturing plant in April. [LS ELECTRIC]

 
[INTERVIEW] 
 
BAC NINH, Vietnam — Koo Ja-kyun, CEO and Chairman of LS Electric, says the rapid boom of AI has been a boon for Korea’s power sector.
 
“A sudden surge in demand has left major industry players scrambling to meet the needs of their longstanding clients and failing to accommodate emerging entrants,” Koo said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily in Bac Ninh. “LS Electric sees this as an underserved niche and strategically positions itself to fill the gap.”
 
 
Korean power system providers like LS Electric, which provided the Korea JoongAng Daily’s transportation and accommodation at the event, are experiencing a robust upswing after Covid-19, driven by the rapid acceleration of AI, because they manufacture devices and systems used to generate and transmit electricity. 
 
That growth is especially driven by the U.S. market, as it races to open data centers and as enters a major replacement cycle for its aging power grid, with its existing infrastructure in regions like Silicon Valley vulnerable to outages. The International Energy Agency expects electricity demand from data centers to more than double, and the amount of electricity consumed by data centers is expected to be that of the entire nation of Japan does currently, by 2030.
 

LS Electric’s Texas manufacturing plant for medium- and low-voltage power equipment, including switchgear and transformers [LS ELECTRIC]

 
“Big techs keep asking for exclusivity. Engineers from major tech firms visit our Cheongju plant regularly and ask for supplies,” Koo said. “Whatever the client asks for — no matter how exacting — we find a way to deliver.”
 
The executive added: “We handle full customization. We accommodate every client request and that’s possible because we have 25 percent of all our employees in research and development.”
 
Back in March, LS secured a $112 million deal with a major undisclosed U.S. tech company to provide power distribution systems for its data center. 
 
It also in April completed the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Texas, specializing in medium- and low-voltage power equipment and distribution systems to meet anticipated demand for data centers. 
 
“Another major U.S. deal will likely be announced within the year,” Koo says.
 
LS Electric posted a record high of 4.55 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in revenue last year, up 7.6 percent on year. Its operating profit also jumped 20 percent to a fresh high of 389.7 billion won. More than half of those earnings came from the North American market.
 
Koo is confident that sales in North America alone will surpass 1 trillion won this year. 
 
“We are tapping U.S. companies to explore a potential acquisition target,” Koo said. “It will take some time, but we will execute if necessary.”

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]