Leaders from Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce member OG&E and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce recently joined Sungjin Transformer Inc. USA to celebrate the grand opening of its Oklahoma City facility.
Sungjin, established in 1989, is a South Korean based manufacturer of electric transformers, and it is known throughout the industry for its innovation and high-quality products. The Oklahoma City facility is its first office based in the U.S. and will serve as a warehouse and distribution hub for Sungjin’s U.S.-based customers. Company officials say their future plans include some equipment assembly and light equipment repair work being done at the Oklahoma City facility.
This is the latest economic development project OG&E, the state’s largest electric company, has helped bring to its service area. OG&E has an entire team that works closely with local, regional and state leaders to identify and pursue economic development that bring more jobs, investment and prosperity to the communities it serves.
The OG&E-Sungjin Transformer partnership dates back to summer 2022, a time when many companies were dealing with supply chain disruptions as the world emerged from a global pandemic. The electric utility industry was no different, said Johnny Whitfield, vice president of business intelligence and supply chain at OG&E. He said the Sungjin team worked closely with OG&E to design solutions to meet the electric company’s transformer needs. Since then, Sungjin has delivered more than 5,700 transformers that OG&E has deployed on the electric grid to support increased demand for electricity and its growing customer base in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.
“Having Sungjin in Oklahoma City will help us better serve our customers by providing us steady access to their reliable and high-quality components that help us provide our customers with the safe, reliable and affordable electricity they depend on to power their homes and businesses," Whitfield said. "OG&E and its 2,300 employees welcome Sungjin to Oklahoma!”
OG&E officials said having Sungjin in Oklahoma City will help its customers by providing the electric company with ready access to critical components that help it provide reliable service upon which its customers depend to power their homes and businesses.
Additionally, the Oklahoma City facility, at the crossroads of America, provides Sungjin with access to major interstate highways and providing the logistics necessary to serve other electric companies across the United States.
At the grand opening ceremony were Junghwan Kim, chairman of Sungjin General Electric Co., Ltd; Chris Kim, president of Sungjin Transformer Inc. USA; Whitfield; Dusty Nimmo, director of supply chain at OG&E; and Ernest Abrogar, research analyst at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.