Data centers are popping up all over the country, and for good reason. Capacity is doubling every three to four years, equipment is booked years out, and the race for AI computing power is creating opportunities that didn’t exist five years ago.
Keith Hutchens from Barry-Wehmiller Design Group joins us to discuss how data centers are driving manufacturing activity across the entire supply chain. He compares this moment to building railroads in the 1800s or the oil boom of the 1970s and how we’re witnessing transformative infrastructure that’s reshaping American industry.
The conversation covers why “mission critical” means something different in data centers, with downtime costing millions per hour. Keith explains how modularity is revolutionizing construction timelines, why industrial controls are replacing commercial systems, and how different data center builders each have varying priorities when it comes to speed, cost, and density.
Keith also shares BW Design Group’s approach to managing massive site teams and their philosophy of “truly human leadership” which has informed how they develop leaders, prevent burnout, and foster collaboration, even with former competitors.
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3 Quick Things from this Episode
- Building data centers is putting strain on construction across the manufacturing industry, from steel fabricators and equipment suppliers to control system integrators, with capacity now doubling every three to four years.
- Modularity is transforming how data centers are being built. Instead of waiting for a location to be finalized, modular structures and units are being set up in parallel, reducing timelines and allowing facilities to get up and running more efficiently.
- BW Design Group’s “truly human leadership” approach emphasizes empathy, collaboration, and burnout prevention which is essential for keeping large-scale teams aligned on mission-critical projects.
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Tweetable Quotes
- “I consider it almost like building railroads in the 1800s or the oil boom in the 1970s. This is the next transformative infrastructure that’s coming to America.”
- “Mission critical definition is [how] downtime is not an option. Losses can be millions of dollars per hour or just result in, major safety concerns.”
- “Don’t fear collaboration, even with people you thought were traditional competitors. It’s such a different market that there really is room for everyone and you should be ready to open your mindset to that.”
Please Scroll Down for Recommended Resources from this Episode
Do you want to connect with other leaders that are moving the needle in manufacturing everyday? Then make sure to join us in the Manufacturing Happy Hour Industry Community on LinkedIn.
Skillwork is the premier staffing agency focusing exclusively on skilled labor. Their team of highly skilled workers augments existing teams for elevated impact and decreased downtime. Partnering with hundreds of facilities in over 30 states, Skillwork deploys their traveling industrial technicians to work for you on a contract basis.
Fortinet secures the world’s largest enterprises, service providers, and government organizations along their digital transformation journey. The Fortinet Security Fabric platform delivers broad, integrated, and automated protections across the entire digital attack surface. They secure critical devices, data, applications, and connections from the production floor, to the data center, and to the cloud.
What We Discuss with Keith
- Why data center growth is creating supply chain strain across all manufacturing sectors
- How modularity enables building before location selection and faster deployment
- The differences between colocation, startup, and hyperscaler data center priorities
- Why industrial PLCs are replacing commercial DDC controls in mission-critical applications
- How the Barry-Wehmiller Design Group manages 70-person teams on single sites
- The shift from competition to collaboration in tackling massive projects
- Why leadership development needs the same rigor as engineering training
Recommended Resources
- BW Design Group, partners with manufacturing and technology companies in the food and beverage, life-sciences, advanced-technology, and industrial sectors, delivering fully-integrated strategy, architecture, engineering, construction and system-integration services.
- Sierra Nevada Taproom, part of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company crafts a farm-to-table dining experience that pairs several rotating beers with locally sourced dishes, offering guests a taste of the brewery’s craftsmanship and community spirit in Chico, California.
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