Modine Announces India Expansion to Meet Growing Data Center Industry Demand

Rhea-AI Summary

Modine (NYSE: MOD) has announced plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Chennai, India by mid-2025, focusing on mission-critical cooling solutions for data centers. The facility will produce data center cooling equipment under the Airedale by Modine™ brand and cooling modules for stationary power generation equipment.

This expansion follows recent facility openings in Calgary, Canada, and Bradford, UK. The strategic move aims to capitalize on India's growing data center market, driven by economic growth, skilled labor availability, and enhanced connectivity to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. This will be Modine's second facility in India, following Modine Thermal Systems India which opened in 2007.

Positive

• Strategic expansion into India's growing data center market
• Increased manufacturing capacity to meet global demand
• Geographic diversification with new facilities in India, Canada, and UK
• Positioning to capture growth in high-performance computing and AI trends

Negative

• None.

Insights

Manufacturing Operations Expert

The strategic expansion into Chennai represents a calculated move to tap into India's burgeoning data center market. The facility's dual-purpose manufacturing capability for both Airedale cooling systems and power generation cooling modules maximizes operational efficiency and market reach. The location choice is particularly astute - Chennai offers robust infrastructure, skilled labor pools and strategic proximity to key Asian markets. The timing aligns with India's projected 35% CAGR in data center capacity through 2025. Modine's existing manufacturing presence since 2007 provides important operational experience and established supply chains, significantly reducing execution risks. The parallel expansion in Calgary and Bradford demonstrates a coordinated global capacity scaling strategy, positioning Modine to capture market share across multiple high-growth regions.

Data Center Infrastructure Analyst

This expansion directly addresses the explosive growth in India's data center sector, where hyperscalers and colocation providers are rapidly deploying capacity. The strategic value lies in Modine's comprehensive cooling solution portfolio - from campus-level power infrastructure to precision cooling at the rack level. India's position as a connectivity hub between Africa, Asia and the Middle East makes it an ideal manufacturing base. The timing is impeccable as the country's data center market is experiencing unprecedented growth driven by digital transformation, cloud adoption and AI workloads. Local manufacturing presence will provide important advantages in lead times, customization capabilities and after-sales support - essential factors for data center operators where cooling reliability directly impacts uptime and operating costs.

Financial Analyst

This expansion represents a significant strategic investment in Modine's high-margin data center segment. The move should enhance profit margins through reduced logistics costs and local market advantages. With India's data center market projected to reach $5.6 billion by 2025, this positions Modine to capture substantial market share in a high-growth region. The dual-purpose facility optimizes capital efficiency by serving both data center and power generation markets. Historical performance shows Modine's India operations have been successful since 2007, suggesting strong execution capability. This expansion, combined with recent facilities in Calgary and Bradford, indicates an aggressive growth strategy in the lucrative data center cooling sector, which typically commands higher margins than traditional automotive thermal management.

The new facility in Chennai will manufacture Airedale by Modine™ advanced cooling technologies and also cooling modules for stationary power generation equipment

RACINE, Wis., Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Modine (NYSE: MOD), a diversified global leader in thermal management technology and solutions, announced plans to open a new facility in Chennai, India, in mid-2025 to meet increased demand for mission-critical cooling solutions used at data centers. The facility will manufacture data center cooling equipment under the Airedale by Modine^™ brand, and also cooling modules for stationary power generation equipment. This expansion follows the recent opening of new manufacturing facilities in Calgary, Canada, and Bradford, UK in response to data center industry demand.

"This strategic expansion of two Modine businesses in India is an example of how we are driving growth by capturing the mega-trends connected to high-performance computing and AI," said Neil D. Brinker, President and CEO. "By increasing capacity and establishing production facilities in India, we are in a strong position to provide a range of highly engineered enabling technologies to the data center industry."

Data center investment in India has accelerated in recent years. In addition to having a growing economy that is driving demand for data, the availability of skilled labor and local investment in enhanced connectivity to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East make India an increasingly attractive market. Several data center hyperscale and colocation companies have already invested in India and need technologies to cool everything from the campus power infrastructure to inside the data center hall.

"India is a key part of our growth strategy to meet customer demand in India, Asia, and the Middle East," said Art Laszlo, Group Vice President, Global Data Centers. "Airedale by Modine invests heavily in research and development to design technologies that are suitable for all regions and plants. We solve our customers' most critical data center cooling challenges with tailored solutions from just outside the data center hall to the rack."

"Our cooling modules enhance the performance and efficiency of the stationary power generation units that serve as primary and back-up power and support load management on a data center campus," said Matthew Powell, Vice President and General Manager, Air-Cooled Applications. "We're already supplying customers globally and this additional capacity expands our manufacturing footprint so we can fulfill new global orders by this summer."

This will be Modine's second facility in India. Modine Thermal Systems India opened in 2007 and designs and manufactures cooling modules for off-highway and commercial vehicles, and power generation equipment.

For more information about Airedale by Modine solutions, please visit www.airedale.com.

About Modine
At Modine, we are Engineering a Cleaner, Healthier World™. Building on more than 100 years of excellence in thermal management, we provide trusted systems and solutions that improve air quality and conserve natural resources. More than 11,000 employees are at work in every corner of the globe, delivering the solutions our customers need, where they need them. Our Climate Solutions and Performance Technologies segments support our purpose by improving air quality, reducing energy and water consumption, lowering harmful emissions and enabling cleaner running vehicles and environmentally-friendly refrigerants. Modine is a global company headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin (U.S.), with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. For more information about Modine, visit www.modine.com.

Media Contacts:
UK: Nicola Ware | E: nicola.d.ware@airedale.com | Tel: +44 113 2391000
US: pr@modine.com

Investor Contact:
Kathleen Powers
(262) 636-1687
kathleen.t.powers@modine.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements, including information about future financial performance and market conditions, accompanied by phrases such as "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "projects," and other similar "forward-looking" statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Modine's actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements because of certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to those described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of Part I of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2024 and under Forward-Looking Statements in Item 7 of Part II of that same report and in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024. Other risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of potential adverse developments or disruptions in the global economy and financial markets, including impacts related to inflation, energy costs, supply chain challenges or supplier constraints, logistical disruptions, tariffs, sanctions and other trade issues or cross-border trade restrictions; the impact of other economic, social and political conditions, changes and challenges in the markets where we operate and compete, including foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in interest rates, tightening of the credit markets, recession or recovery therefrom, restrictions associated with importing and exporting and foreign ownership, public health crises, and the general uncertainties, including the impact on demand for our products and the markets we serve from regulatory and/or policy changes that have been or may be implemented in the U.S. or abroad, including those related to tax and trade, climate change, public health threats, and military conflicts, including the current conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East and heightened tensions in the Red Sea; the overall health and pricing focus of our customers; our ability to successfully realize anticipated benefits, including improved profit margins and cash flow, from our strategic initiatives and our application of 80/20 principles across our businesses; our ability to be at the forefront of technological advances and the impacts of any changes in the adoption rate of technologies that we expect to drive sales growth; our ability to accelerate growth organically and through acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired businesses; our ability to effectively and efficiently manage our operations in response to sales volume changes, including maintaining adequate production capacity to meet demand in our growing businesses while also completing restructuring activities and realizing benefits thereof; our ability to fund our global liquidity requirements efficiently and comply with the financial covenants in our credit agreements; operational inefficiencies as a result of product or program launches, unexpected volume increases or decreases, product transfers and warranty claims; the impact on Modine of any significant increases in commodity prices, particularly aluminum, copper, steel and stainless steel (nickel) and other purchased components and related costs, and our ability to adjust product pricing in response to any such increases; our ability to recruit and maintain talent in managerial, leadership, operational and administrative functions and to mitigate increased labor costs; our ability to protect our proprietary information and intellectual property from theft or attack; the impact of any substantial disruption or material breach of our information technology ("IT") systems; the impact of a material weakness identified in our internal controls related to IT system access in Europe on our financial reporting process; costs and other effects of environmental investigation, remediation or litigation and the increasing emphasis on environmental, social and corporate governance matters; our ability to realize the benefits of deferred tax assets; and other risks and uncertainties identified in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are as of the date of this press release, and we do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Modine

FAQ

When will Modine's new Chennai facility begin operations?

Modine's new Chennai facility is planned to begin operations in mid-2025.

What products will Modine (MOD) manufacture at the new Chennai facility?

The facility will manufacture Airedale by Modine™ data center cooling equipment and cooling modules for stationary power generation equipment.

How many facilities does Modine (MOD) now have in India?

The Chennai facility will be Modine's second facility in India, following Modine Thermal Systems India which opened in 2007.

What recent facility expansions has Modine (MOD) completed for data centers?

Modine has recently opened new manufacturing facilities in Calgary, Canada, and Bradford, UK in response to data center industry demand.

Why did Modine (MOD) choose India for its new facility expansion?

Modine chose India due to its growing economy, skilled labor availability, and enhanced connectivity to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, making it an attractive market for data center operations.