A hyperscale campus is a fabrication project wearing a building. Here is the whole scope, organized the way a GC's procurement team splits it, and where a single fabricator can carry more than one package.
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- Three chains of fabricated metal on a campus: electrical, mechanical and structural/miscellaneous, plus a modular layer that cuts across them.
- GCs package by trade, phase and what a supplier can prove.
- The fabricator who wins more than one package shows structural, sheet-metal and code-piping capability under one roof, with the documentation each needs.
- Before awarding, ask what is built in-house vs. subcontracted, welder qualifications for structural and piping, finishing capacity, tagging and staging, and repeat-production history.
- How to Source Pipe Spools for a Data Center
- Prefab vs. Stick-Built E-Rooms
- What a Hyperscaler GC Buys from a Metal Fabricator (you are here)
The electrical chain
Substation dead-ends, bus supports and equipment stands at the fence; E-Rooms and power skids in the yard; switchgear and transformer enclosures; enclosed bus and overhead busway housings; PDU, UPS and battery cabinets; battery racks; copper and aluminum bus bar; grounding bars. Usually bought by the electrical contractor or directly by the developer as owner-furnished equipment.
The mechanical chain
Chilled-water and technology-cooling pipe spools; manifolds and headers; CDU, pump and chiller skids; pipe racks, trapezes and anchors; heavy-gauge duct and plenums; dunnage under chillers, towers and dry coolers; fuel-system steel for the generator yard. Usually bought by the mechanical contractor, increasingly as pre-piped skids and prefabricated assemblies by the GC.
The structural and miscellaneous package
Racks and frames; equipment skids, platforms and mezzanines; cable tray and ladder-rack supports; the overhead support grid and multi-trade racks; aisle containment frames; seismic bracing and anchorage; catwalks, stairs, guardrail and roof screens; fencing, bollards and gates. Usually the GC's miscellaneous-metals package, and the one most often split across a half-dozen local shops.
The modular layer
E-Rooms, power skids, prefabricated MEP assemblies and containerized units cut across all three chains. They are bought earlier, from fewer suppliers, by the developer or the GC, because they are the pieces that move the schedule.
How GCs package it
By trade, by phase, and by what each supplier can prove. The fabricator who gets more than one package is the one who can show structural, sheet-metal and code-piping capability under one roof, carry the documentation each package needs (AWS, ASME IX, hydrotest records, ISO 9001), and sequence deliveries to the energization plan hall by hall.
What to ask a fabricator before awarding
Which of these scopes they build in-house versus subcontract; their welder qualifications for both structural and piping; their finishing capacity (powder coat in-house, galvanizing through partners); how they tag and stage by area; and whether they have built the same part fifty times for the same customer.
Frequently asked questions
What fabricated metal does a hyperscale data center need?
Substation steel, E-Rooms, power skids, switchgear and transformer enclosures, bus duct and busway housings, bus bar and ground bars; pipe spools, manifolds, skids, pipe racks, ductwork, dunnage and fuel-system steel; racks, platforms, tray supports, overhead grids, containment frames, seismic bracing, stairs, guardrail, screens, fencing and bollards.
How do general contractors package data center fabrication?
By trade (electrical, mechanical, miscellaneous metals), by phase or hall, and by what each supplier can prove: structural, sheet-metal and code-piping capability, documentation and the ability to sequence deliveries to energization.
What should a GC ask a metal fabricator before awarding?
Which scopes are built in-house versus subcontracted, welder qualifications for structural and piping work, finishing capacity, how parts are tagged and staged by area, and whether the shop has run repeat production for the same customer.
Which fabricators can carry more than one data center package?
FabTek Industries fabricates the electrical, mechanical and structural metal scope at four plants in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, with AWS structural welding, ASME IX pipe welding, in-house powder coat and galvanizing through partners.
