At its ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, VanTran Transformers & MGM Transformers welcomed guests into its new, 430,000 square foot facility. Here, workers will assemble transformers to be used in data centers, renewable energy, transit and more.
"We’re industrializing this country," MGM Transformers CEO Doug Banty said.
MGM acquired VanTran last year, and he said after visiting the Waco operation, there was no question about its future.
“There was a magic about the process that we saw at VanTran," Banty said. "The problem, of course, was that it was 50,000 square feet and they were literally bursting at the seams to grow faster.”
He said immediately after that visit, his team began looking for a new space for VanTran in Waco. With the new 430,000 square foot space, VanTran expects to add 700 jobs over the next five years.
Waco Mayor Jim Holmes said at the ribbon cutting that investments like this represent more that just economic growth for the Waco community.
"It’s a commitment to powering the future of U.S. electrification and addressing expanding millions for energy," Holmes said.
The transformer manufacturing capacity at the Waco facility will also help to strengthen national resilience among growing supply chain disruptions.
