Kao Data, the specialist developer and operator of high-performance data centres for enterprise, cloud, HPC and AI, has announced it has appointed Gratte Brothers (GBL), a highly experienced and fully integrated engineering and construction services company, as principal contractor for the expansion of its KLON-06 data centre in Slough.
The project will see GBL buildout the IT capacity at KLON-06 to support the expansion of Kao Data’s high-performance platform – providing customers in West London a critical availability zone with a highly optimised, sustainable and OCP-Ready facility.
Gratte Brothers is a third-generation family company offering integrated engineering and construction services for data centres, buildings and other critical environments. With over 28-years’ data centre experience, its expertise includes design, build and installation services, as well as commissioning and maintenance.
The buildout at KLON-06 will adhere to Kao Data’s high-performance blueprint, providing a hyperscale-inspired facility that’s perfectly placed to support enterprise and large-scale cloud deployments across the West London availability zone.
From a sustainability and efficiency standpoint, the facility will include an ultra-efficient cooling system, lithium-ion (Li-Ion) UPS and be powered by 100% renewable energy. Furthermore, in line with Kao Data’s commitments to zero fossil fuels, all backup generators will be powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), removing 90% of net CO2 emissions.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Kao to deliver the technical expertise required to bring this high-performance facility to life,” said Iain Thomson, MD, Gratte Brothers. “KLON-06 provides a perfect opportunity for Gratte Brothers to showcase its commitment to engineering efficient and sustainable solutions and we look forward to working collaboratively with the team to deliver this project.”
“Our partnership with Gratte Brothers demonstrates Kao Data’s commitment to technical excellence in data centre design, build and operations and will help fast-track the development of KLON-06 in line with customer demands,” said Paul Finch, COO, Kao Data. “Slough is one of the UK’s most important data centre communities and the expansion of our portfolio within the world’s second-largest data centre hub illustrates our dedication to scaling our high-performance platform and supporting customers with sustainable, digital infrastructure solutions.”
Kao Data’s KLON-06 data centre will continue to provide the industrial-scale capabilities that the Kao Data brand is well-known for. The facility will become OCP-Ready and in-time, NVIDIA DGX Ready Data Centre Certified and Uptime Institute M&O Certified, serving the needs of enterprise, cloud and high-performance computing (HPC) customers, who rely on optimised, concurrently maintainable environments to support their mission-critical workloads.
Further, with carrier-neutral data centres East and West of London, Kao Data provides a highly resilient and sustainable high-performance infrastructure platform to support cloud, enterprise, HPC and AI organisations seeking to scale.
