It’s exhilarating to watch your manufacturing business grow… but that also means your facility has to grow too.
Increased production needs, more machinery and higher horsepower requirements won’t allow your current system to keep running indefinitely. Making timely upgrades to the correct components will:
- Prevent expensive downtime
- Improve safety
- Boost production capacity
OK, so here’s the deal – manufacturers spend millions each year on misguided upgrades. Here’s what SHOULD be priorities.
Here’s what’s covered:
- Why Facility Upgrades Matter Right Now
- The True Cost of Ignoring Your Infrastructure
- Key Areas Every Manufacturer Should Prioritize
- How to Plan Your Facility Upgrade
Why Facility Upgrades Matter Right Now
The production world continues to evolve rapidly. Facilities are becoming more automated, more electrified, and under increasing demand to meet production deadlines.
Consider electricity consumption. Each fab that TSMC builds in Arizona will, starting with their first plant, require an estimated 2.85GWh of power daily – equivalent to powering about 100k homes. This is one factory.
The Point? When electrical systems age they don’t like it. Expanding producers should plan ahead for upgrades BEFORE issues develop.
The True Cost of Ignoring Your Infrastructure
Downtime is a killer for manufacturers.
New Fluke research reveals that within the last year, 61% of manufacturers experienced unplanned downtime, costing the industry up to $852 million per week.
Just think about that…
Unused critical lines sitting idle for an hour cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most hours the reason is an electrical or mechanical issue that should have been resolved with preventative maintenance.
That’s why proactive manufacturers plan for upgrades ahead of time. They don’t play wait-and-see. They swap it out before it breaks.
Key Areas Every Manufacturer Should Prioritize
There’s no blueprint for the perfect upgrade path. However, certain categories apply to most expanding manufacturers. Here are the big categories.
Power Distribution & Metal-Enclosed Switchgear
The electrical system is the heart of any facility.
“If it doesn’t work, nothing works.” For that reason, power distribution should be priority number one when considering where to upgrade. Metal-enclosed switchgear is essential to power distribution as it safeguards equipment, manages electrical flow, and protects teams from live parts.
Upgrading to new medium voltage gas insulated switchgear may also make sense if you are a maturing manufacturer with heavier power loads. Not only does it take up less room, but it can handle higher loads and is more reliable than older air insulated switchgear.
Here’s what to look for when upgrading metal-enclosed switchgear:
- Arc-resistant designs for safety
- Compact footprint to save floor space
- Better fault protection ratings
- Compatibility with modern monitoring systems
Getting this part right sets the foundation for everything else on the upgrade list.
Automation & Control Systems
Automation is no longer optional.
Ramping up production: Growth manufacturers want to automate as many steps as possible.
- PLCs and modern control panels
- Sensor networks
- Automated inspection systems
- Robotics for repetitive tasks
The upside? Fewer human errors, increased speed of production and improved quality control. Facilities also have vastly more data about how the operation is performing. This data is gold when decision-making time comes around.
Safety & Compliance Upgrades
Manufacturing accidents are expensive – both in human cost and dollars.
Safety requirements are constantly evolving. Something compliant with code a decade ago may no longer pass inspection. That is why safety upgrades should be planned, rather than reactionary.
Focus on things like:
- Machine guarding
- Emergency shut-off systems
- Proper ventilation
- Updated fire suppression
Do not wait for an OSHA inspection to discover your deficiencies. That is the costliest method of discovery.
Energy Efficiency Improvements
Energy prices are rising. Industrial electricity demand is expected to grow 2.3% in 2025 and 3.8% in 2026, up from 1% in 2024.
Translation: the electricity bill is going up.
Simple upgrades can help offset that. Things like:
- LED lighting throughout the facility
- Variable frequency drives on motors
- Better HVAC controls
- Insulation improvements
These retrofits can surprisingly pay for themselves quickly. Many times manufacturers see a ROI in less than two years with lighting and motor improvements alone. Let alone any other efficiencies you implement.
Facility Layout & Workflow
Occasionally victories aren’t achieved with new machinery. Sometimes they’re achieved by reorganizing the machinery.
Critically examine the flow of materials, labor, and finished goods throughout your operation. Congestion and wasted motion compound quickly. A simple layout improvement can increase throughput without purchasing additional equipment.
Some things worth reviewing:
- Distance between production stages
- Storage and staging areas
- Loading and shipping access
- Break rooms and worker flow
Small tweaks here often deliver bigger gains than expensive equipment purchases.
How to Plan Your Facility Upgrade
Everything can’t get upgraded at once. And it shouldn’t be tried.
The smart approach is to prioritize. Start by asking:
- What’s most likely to break?
- What’s costing the most in inefficiency?
- What’s holding back production growth?
OK, when that’s done, develop a phased implementation plan. Start with the highest-risk issues and work your way down the list. This allows you to budget the expense out over time, keep production rolling, and have the team learn from one phase before starting the next.
A few tips to make it easier:
- Get a professional audit of the electrical system
- Talk to operators – they know where the pain points are
- Budget for surprises (there will always be surprises)
- Look at rebates and tax incentives for energy upgrades
The manufacturers who plan for the future are the ones that continue to grow. Those that don’t end up hitting unforeseen barriers. And barriers in manufacturing always cost more than the solution would have.
Bringing It All Together
Facility upgrades shouldn’t be looked at as just costs…they should be viewed as investments in maintaining growth potential. Whether it’s metal-enclosed switchgear for reliable power or automation to increase productivity, tie each upgrade to a specific objective.
A quick recap of what to prioritize:
- Power distribution and switchgear
- Automation and controls
- Safety and compliance
- Energy efficiency
- Facility layout and workflow
Don’t try to do everything at once. Begin with what matters most and expand your efforts from there.
Manufacturers are under more pressure than ever. Escalating energy prices, shorter delivery schedules and relentless demand for increased production. With planned upgrades in the proper sequence, any facility can be ready for whatever is thrown its way.
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