Hitachi Energy to invest $77 million in new Brazil plant

SAO PAULO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Hitachi Energy will build a new plant in Brazil to produce components for power transformers, the company said on Thursday, in a $77 million investment aimed at expanding supplies of equipment essential to power infrastructure.

The announcement brings the current investment plan of the energy unit of Japanese conglomerate Hitachi in Brazil to $350 million, the firm said in an interview, adding that it would more than double its production capacity in the segment.

• The new plant will be located in Pindamonhangaba, Sao Paulo state, adjacent to a facility the company is building to manufacture high-voltage transformers

• The unit will make components such as bushings and tap changers

• The facility will supply the Brazilian market and other strategic export destinations, including North America and the Middle East

• Part of the investment will also be used to expand the production of electrical insulation materials at the firm's facility in Guarulhos, Sao Paulo state

(Reporting by Leticia Fucuchima; Writing by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)