US expansion for manufacturer of data centre cooling products
A manufacturer of data centre cooling products is set to double its production and boost its international sales after securing a seven-figure deal.
Bromsgrove-based Excool will use the £4m trade finance facility from Lloyds Bank, which is backed by an 80 per cent guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF), to invest in its new state-of-the-art facility in the USA, located in Greer, South Carolina.
Established in 2010, Excool designs and manufacturers energy and water efficient, indirect air-cooling systems for data centres and critical systems environments. The firm’s products are believed to be the most efficient indirect economisers (heat exchangers) in the world for both water and energy usage. Excool’s customers include global companies such as Digital Reality, Cyrus One and Virtus Data Centres.
The expansion will help to facilitate Excool’s future growth ambitions and allow it to increase the size and complexity of customer orders in North America. It also provides the business with funding to invest in and hold more stock ‘on the ground’; which is a key factor to increasing the firm’s sales in the US market.
Excool has enjoyed considerable revenue and profit growth in recent years and the business now has an annual turnover of £40m, of which approximately 65% comes from export sales. The firm currently employs more than 160 people its head office and manufacturing facility in Bromsgrove and has ambitious plans to scale up its recruitment drive in the USA soon.
Jon Pettitt, chief commercial officer at Excool, said: “We’ve enjoyed solid growth in recent years as the data centre market continues to thrive. Now, having already established a presence in the USA, it’s the right time to take the next step in our growth journey and invest further in our premises in South Carolina. We pride ourselves on working with our customers to design the most efficient cooling solutions to meet their unique requirements, and this expansion provides us with the means to further boost our stateside production in the future, in line with increasing demand.
“Lloyds Bank has been fully supportive of our international growth ambitions and the team were able to give us sound guidance and necessary funding to support this development.”
Chris Pennick, relationship director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Excool has expanded and evolved rapidly over the last decade to become a leading player in the fast-moving data centre cooling products market. The investment in the USA site ensures the business is even better placed to serve its growing customer base there and gives the firm a strong foothold to maximise growth opportunities across North America.
“We’re dedicated to helping independent British firms like Excool to prosper overseas and our trade finance facilities can help companies capitalise on growth opportunities in new international markets.”
