SEOUL — Samsung Electronics is set to hold a groundbreaking ceremony next month for a new Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing facility in Gwangju, South Korea. The new plant will shift production of high-efficiency HVAC equipment—previously manufactured overseas by FläktGroup, which Samsung acquired last year—to the domestic site as early as next year.
Samsung is currently finalizing building permit procedures with the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. Following its application last month, the company has been conducting practical consultations regarding water supply, drainage infrastructure, and vehicle access points at the site located in Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju. Local authorities have already granted permits for road occupancy and excavation, while final reviews for traffic impact assessments and water supply connections are concluding smoothly.
The new FläktGroup HVAC manufacturing plant will be located at Samsung’s Green City Campus 3 within the Gwangju Hi-Tech Scientific Industrial Complex. The project will combine internal reconfigurations of existing production lines with the construction of a dedicated new factory building on idle campus land. Samsung Electronics is reported to be investing approximately 200 billion KRW ($146 million USD) into this expansion.
The Gwangju facility will primarily produce central air conditioning and precision cooling equipment tailored for Artificial Intelligence Data Centers (AIDCs). By transferring production functions previously reliant on FläktGroup’s European and overseas plants to South Korea, Samsung expects to establish an integrated domestic production framework and achieve significant import substitution effects.
This domestic manufacturing hub will allow Samsung to directly target major infrastructure initiatives, including the upcoming National AI Computing Center. Proximity to key domestic customers will significantly enhance supply chain stability, accelerate delivery timelines, and facilitate customized design solutions. Concurrently, Samsung is expanding its global HVAC manufacturing footprint, including investments in Pune, India, and evaluating potential new factory construction in the United States to serve the rapidly expanding North American market.
Industry experts note that securing local production capabilities for data center cooling equipment offers critical strategic advantages in maintenance and operational reliability amidst the booming global AI infrastructure race. However, while the ceremonial groundbreaking is set for next month, the actual start of heavy construction will depend on environmental procedures, specifically the capture and relocation of the endangered narrow-mouthed toad (Kaloula borealis) discovered on the project site.
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