January, 2026- Powering the artificial intelligence boom are data centers, which need multiple generators to provide backup powers for the servers inside them. Those emergency power generators require sound-attenuated enclosures made of steel and aluminum. That’s where Acoustical Sheetmetal (ASC) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, enters the picture, manufacturing power generation packaging systems. Building these systems involves sawing and otherwise machining metal workpieces.
For example, a data center with a 2.5-megawatt generator can require 24 or more backup generators, says Brandon Allen, ACS’s director of operations and executive vice president. “For the most part, everything we do for data centers is a 2.5MW to 4MW generator and 10,000-gallon or larger fuel cell with the sound attenuating enclosure on top of it.”
Allen has been with the company for over six years, having been hired by ASC CEO Margaret Shaia after she and her two partners purchased ASC in early 2019. Stepping back further, ASC started about three decades ago in a rented 1,000-squarefoot building at a junkyard with a handful of employees. Eventually, the company built its original Production Road 5.5-acre campus with 75,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 12,000 square feet of storage space and, later, its Hudome Way 23-acre campus with 235,000 square feet of manufacturing space. “We just broke ground right next door on another 21 acres. We’re building a 250,000-square-foot facility there, along with a 20,000- square-foot administration building.
”Prior to the acquisition, Allen says ASC had started producing a lot of generator packaging for the data center market, and the growth started to accelerate after the acquisition. When COVID hit, there was a significant uptick in remote work and virtual meetings, increasing the demand for cloud storage and data space. “The market really just started to explode. The market is still taking off and growing.”
One of Acoustical Sheetmetal’s SH-4030 semiautomatic scissor style band saws.
The level of growth meant ASC had to expand its capacity to satisfy customer demand and help secure future work while preventing the work from being taken by other manufacturers that were starting to target the industry, which Allen says is easier said than done.
“What we do is a very niche market, and there are not that many people across the U.S. that do this, especially to the level that we do,” he explains. To maximize the facilities, Allen and his team went through the plants and reconfigured the plant flow and how everything was laid out.
ROBUST AND RELIABLE
One area for improvement that was uncovered was band sawing, says Bob Fildlerman, Mid- Atlantic state sales for Cosen Saws International Inc. “They were using some other brands and having some problems with servicing parts. And they were looking for a more reliable and more robust product to use in manufacturing.”
Cosen’s distributor for the area, Southern States Machinery Inc. in Mooresville, North Carolina, contacted Fildlerman, he adds, and asked him to conduct a presentation to ASC regarding the sawing issues that manufacturer was having while its business was doubling in size. ASC saws a range of workpiece materials, including sheet metal, bar stock, I-beams and other structural components from 12-gauge to 3-inch thick.
Sawed stock is ready for the next phase of production.
The framework of a generator unit structure.
Fildlerman says Cosen is a good fit for ASC because Charlotte is only about four hours from Virginia Beach; the saw builder has a substantial parts inventory; its service people quickly respond to any need; and, more importantly, its saws are durable and long lasting. “They’re able to cut faster, more accurately.”
Allen concurs. “For areas like our tube cutting, we installed the Cosen band saws to gain that efficiency just because the saws cut very well. They cut quickly. They’re reliable. Their downtime is little to none.”
He adds that the saw department is able to get all the tube cut and stay ahead of the production on the shop floor by bundling it, putting it in a kit and having it ready when they need to pull more material on the floor for the next unit. “When all is said and done, we’ve been able to bring more capacity with having [machines] like the Cosen band saws.”
Sheet metal is installed onto the exterior of a unit.
SHORT RUNS
ASC has about a dozen Cosen semiautomatic band saws, according to Fildlerman, focusing on the SH-650M fabrication production saw, the SH-1000F dual-column saw and the SH-4030 heavy-duty saw. The semiautomatic design is effective when performing large cuts on onesies and twosies. “It’s easier just to measure the part without having an index. They don’t do 100 of this and 100 of that.”
He adds that the dual-column design enhances the squaring capability of the saw to enable better cutting performance. “We’re looking at probably another five or six saws next year. They’ve basically standardized on our products.”
Standardizing a product line helps make operator training more efficient, and Fildlerman says Cosen always conducts operational training when doing the initial setup. “They also have their own internal training because of some changeover that they do have inside staff.”
A completed generator unit is loaded on a truck for delivery.
Allen emphasizes that ASC had to look for areas to create efficiencies in the plant because finding and retaining skilled labor is only becoming more difficult for manufacturers. “Thirty years ago, a lot of people came out of high school, and they went into the trades. You just don’t see that as much anymore.”
Regarding maintenance, ASC has only needed to replace standard items on the band saws, such as carbide guides, wire brushes and V-belts.
Saw operators at Acoustical Sheetmetal prepare the Cosen SH-650M band saw for a new cut.
Having durable, reliable and productive band saws will assist Acoustical Sheetmetal as the market for data centers moves in one direction. “Demand is just going to keep going up, and we’re really looking at that as far out as we can,” Allen says.
Acoustical Sheetmetal Co., 757/456-9720, acousticalsheetmetal.com
Cosen Saws International Inc., 704/943-1030, cosensaws.com
Southern States Machinery Inc., 800/540-9713, southernstatesmachinery.com
