Dubai: Power management company Eaton Corporation plans to increase Middle East revenues to $800 million (Dh2.9 billion), and double its headcount in the region by 2015.

The announcement came at a briefing on Thursday when the company discussed its latest $6 million investment in the development of a Middle East headquarters in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone.

With its increasing projects through its 19 offices across the region, Eaton forecasts an 18 per cent growth in 2013 revenues compared to last year’s total of $21.8 billion on a pro forma basis.

The opening of the new headquarters follows the $13 billion acquisition of Cooper Industries, a manufacturer of electrical products, in November 2012. The acquisition marked the largest such deal in Eaton’s 100-year history.

“Our new manufacturing capacity will play a critical role in ensuring Eaton can efficiently deliver local solutions to local customers,” said Eaton’s Middle East General Manager, Frank Ackland.

The plant covers almost 8,000 square metres, and will ship low and medium voltage products to oil and gas, utility and large infrastructure customers across the region. The facility will also house a regional service centre that will provide certification programs for consultants and engineers throughout the region.

Eaton’s President for the electrical sector in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Frank Campbell added that their new location will give customers additional choices and solutions they may not have had.

Speaking of the UAE’s current state of fuel efficiency, he said: “There [are] always opportunities to be more efficient. A lot of air-conditioning and light are used, so this is an opportunity for Eaton. Dubai is using a lot more power than they should be, but it’s relative, because I don’t think any economy is fuel-efficient enough. There are always ways to do more.”

Eaton sees various prospects for growth in the future especially with its forecast of 150 per cent increase in annual distances travelled by commercial aviation by 2030. The company is currently working on a Gulf Data Hub, the first collocation data centre in the UAE. It currently gets 50 per cent of its sales from outside North American, and hopes to raise the figure to 60 per cent.