Eaton - Experts & Thought Leaders

Intelligent power management company - Eaton is adding a new clean energy project to drive carbon reduction at its operations in Wisconsin, advancing its commitment to achieve net-zero operations by 2050. The joint project with We Energies, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group, and Eaton will help strengthen energy security, deliver cost-effective power to the grid, and reduce Eaton’s carbon footprint at five locations in Wisconsin, where the company conducts research and makes electrical infrastructure for utility, data center, large commercial, and industrial applications. Carbon reduction goals The initiative will support a 58% reduction in Eaton’s greenhouse gas emissions across the state since 2018 Once energized in early 2026, the 4-megawatt solar project located adjacent to Eaton’s Thomas A. Edison Technical Center is expected to meet 30% of the annual carbon reduction goals at five Eaton sites in Franksville, South Milwaukee, Menomonee Falls, and two Waukesha facilities. Combined with previous energy efficiency upgrades, the initiative will support a 58% reduction in Eaton’s greenhouse gas emissions across the state since 2018. Megatrends of electrification and digitalization “At Eaton, we’re tackling the energy transition from all angles — including right here in Wisconsin, where we produce the technologies essential to modernize the grid and support a cleaner, more resilient energy future,” said Guillaume Laur, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Power Delivery and Regulation, Electrical Sector at Eaton. Guillaume Laur adds, “Around the world, we’re leveraging the global megatrends of electrification and digitalization to unlock greater operational and environmental value from energy systems. This project marks another important milestone on our journey, and there is much more to come.” Renewable energy credits Eaton will provide the land for construction and receive renewable energy credits for delivering clean energy Under the agreement, We Energies will build, own, and operate the system on Eaton’s behalf. Eaton will provide the land for construction and receive renewable energy credits for delivering clean energy to the local grid. Eaton is also contributing engineering expertise and essential technologies to the project, including electrical transformers produced at its Waukesha, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility. Eaton’s Grid approach to the energy transition “We’re pleased to partner with Eaton to bring more renewable energy to Wisconsin,” said Mike Hooper — President, We Energies, adding “Our focus on reliable energy supports all of our customers and strengthens economic growth across the state.” The Franksville solar project is an example of Eaton’s Everything as a Grid approach to the energy transition that is shaping a future where homeowners, communities, and businesses can reduce the cost and environmental impact of energy through intelligent power management and on-site renewable energy production. The company has deployed multiple solar projects across its global operations since 2009, including a first-of-its-kind clean energy microgrid in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, completed in 2024.

Intelligent power management company - Eaton announced that Gerald Johnson has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors effective July 23, 2025. Gerald Johnson is the retired Executive Vice President (EVP), Global Manufacturing and Sustainability, of General Motors, where he led the company's global manufacturing operations, labor relations, and sustainable workplace practices. Roles of increasing responsibility Over the course of his career, spanning more than 40 years at GM, he oversaw safety, quality, and productivity, and held several roles of increasing responsibility, including Vice President, Manufacturing and Labor Relations, North America, and Vice President, Global Operational Excellence. He currently serves on the Board of Caterpillar Inc.  “With his extensive experience in global manufacturing, engineering, and operations, Gerald is a valuable addition to our Board,” said Paulo Ruiz, Eaton's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), adding “As we continue our strategy to execute for growth at Eaton, I’m confident that Gerald’s breadth of experience and proven performance in operations excellence, along with his strong customer focus, will serve our company well.”

With its worldwide online “Eplan L!VE” event on 14 May, this time around solutions provider Eplan is guest at Eaton in Hengelo. Enquiring minds can gain first-hand experience about how Eaton's facility in the Netherlands has optimized all its processes in engineering and manufacturing for maximum efficiency. In just two-and-a-half hours, online attendees will get a compact overview how new ideas and tried-and-tested solutions for greater productivity look on the ground. News on Eplan’s portfolio and strategies round off the program. Benefits of a data-driven approach Dutch facility saw the benefits of a data-driven approach and recast its engineering method How can processes in engineering and switchgear system manufacturing be designed to be highly efficient? How can manufacturing be further automated? These are questions that Eaton in Hengelo asked itself years ago. The Dutch facility saw the benefits of a data-driven approach and converted its entire engineering methodology, including its processes, to work with Eplan. Eplan L!VE, now in its third round as an online format, will provide fascinating insights into this. Under the motto of “Forward Thinking from Design to Manufacture” will be streaming directly from Eaton’s production facility. New manufacturing approaches Attendees from around the world are invited to this online event to discover new manufacturing approaches that generate greater profitability in engineering and manufacturing. By the way, these approaches are in no way restricted to just larger corporations, but are also tailored for SMEs.  Eaton took a “one step at a time” approach and, depending on the task at hand, it can all be implemented at smaller control and switchgear system manufacturers. An in-depth look into engineering and manufacturing Eaton uses EEC to generate schematics, bills of materials, terminal diagrams and cabling lists Well over 1,500 attendees from around the globe will be tuned in online when the Eaton specialists will be showing how the in-house control and switchgear system design and manufacturing has been optimized for a high degree of automation and efficiency. The Eplan solutions used here play a decisive role – ensuring that a standardized foundation of data based on the digital twin is available from first designs all the way through to manufacturing. And if that weren’t enough, Eaton also uses Eplan Engineering Configuration (EEC) to automatically generate schematics, bills of materials, terminal diagrams and cabling lists – based on a new design methodology using functional engineering. Whereas the effort previously involved in updating documents linked to the schematics, including bills of materials, terminal diagrams and wiring lists, was immense, now these are all automatically kept up to date with Eplan. This is possible because everything goes back to a centralized source of data. Integration of manufacturing The company’s deep integration of manufacturing into this process is also bearing fruit – using Eplan Pro Panel, control cabinet layouts are designed in 3d, completely digitally, and the data provided is used for automatic cable routing. The Wire Terminal WT from Rittal Automation Systems can produce up to 1,000 wires per day, all fully automatically.  The processing of copper rails can also be simplified with machines from Rittal Automation Systems. All the processes for wiring and manufacturing are designed to be extremely efficient and overall processes benefits from greater consistency based on the data from Eplan. Sneak preview and strategy Also of interest is the direct access to device data in the Data Portal from Eplan Electric P8 in the future These in-depth insights into Eaton’s design and manufacturing processes will be rounded off with a sneak preview of the upcoming Eplan Platform 2026. As just one example, on 14 May attendees with get a first look at how the different views in Eplan Pro Panel accelerate 3D navigation. Also of interest is the direct access to device data in the Data Portal from Eplan Electric P8 in the future. Last but not least, the new single-line technology in Eplan Preplanning is interesting for users who want to logically link symbols and components in the preplanning phase. Online event attendees can also expect a glimpse into the future of engineering: Eplan CEO Sebastian Seitz will be presenting Eplan’s future strategy and some highlights on future topics – including use cases on the topic of artificial intelligence. Background Eaton, as the global intelligent power management company, has been a technology partner in the Eplan Partner Network since 2023 and specializes in the development, production, and sales of power distribution systems, LV and MV switchgear systems, and control devices at its facilities in Hengelo in the Netherlands. Eaton additionally provides a large number of its energy systems and components via directly integrated selectors in the Eplan Data Portal. The manufacturer also uses Eplan solutions for its in-house control system and switchgear system design and construction. Machines from Rittal Automation Systems simplify the company’s manufacturing processes – including the Rittal Wire Terminal WT and machines for processing copper rails.