Eaton is opening a new assembly plant in Santiago de los Caballeros, the company’s fifth manufacturing site in the Dominican Republic, to meet growing customer demand for its fuses. The company said this project will increase the supply of Eaton’s Bussmann series fuses, which provide safety functionality in electric vehicles (EVs), renewable and energy storage projects, data center as well as other industrial applications. Production at the new facility is expected to begin in 2024.

Eaton said demand for electrical solutions is growing amid the biggest changes to energy systems in over a century as the world shifts to more sustainable energy supplies, transportation electrifies and the growth of cloud-based technologies booms. To increase supplies of its fuses, Eaton said it is building a new 65,000 sq.-ft. assembly plant in the Santiago province and creating approximately 300 manufacturing jobs.

Eaton has operated in the Dominican Republic for more than 35 years. Recently, the company opened the first industry design center in the Dominican Republic, creating a hub for technical innovation and advancing industry education and training in the country.

Eaton said its new location in Santiago is part of the company’s investment in North American manufacturing. In 2023, Eaton announced nearly $750M in investments to increase manufacturing capacity for electrical assemblies, including switchgear, switchboards and circuit breakers; EV charging technology, transformers, voltage regulators and more; as well as underground protective connectors for the electric grid.