The UK is entering a new era of digital infrastructure. With nearly 100 new data centres expected over the next five years in the UK – according to BBC News – and more planned in Ireland and mainland Europe, the construction sector is preparing for one of its most significant growth phases in decades.
Data centres are no longer just discreet facilities tucked away in industrial parks. Many are now vast, complex structures, from Google’s £740m development in Hertfordshire to Blackstone’s £10bn AI hub in Blyth. These projects demand not only scale but also speed, precision, and a clear commitment to sustainability.
For contractors and developers, the challenge lies in delivering these high-profile builds to demanding timelines while navigating increasing scrutiny over embodied carbon, material efficiency, and long-term resilience.
At ASD, we are ready to meet this challenge.
Delivering Structural Steel Ready for Assembly
Our in-house processing and fabrication capabilities mean that we supply plate, beams, hollow sections, and other tailored structural solutions. From cutting, shot blasting and painting to drilling, tube laser cutting, and profiling, we reduce our reliance on subcontractors and ensure that projects run smoothly without interruption.
This ‘kit of parts’ approach helps data centre construction contractors meet critical deadlines, avoiding the delays often caused by fragmented supply chains.
Just-in-Time Delivery
With data centre builds requiring multiple phases of coordinated construction, timing is everything. ASD’s just-in-time delivery model ensures that materials arrive exactly when needed, with no costly hold-ups, no storage issues, and no compromising on programme schedules.
Unique Material Supply Offering within Our Group
Working closely with mills within the Hierros Anon group, as well as our extensive external supply chain, we supply standard materials as well as materials made to the exact sizes required. This unique capability helps construction customers reduce waste and lower emissions, making it easier to achieve their environmental goals. What’s more, we also supply Pre-painted Steel for façades and interior walls through our OCS branch, offering a seamless supply under one roof.
ASD Westok: Expertise in Low-Carbon Beam Design
When it comes to designing, building, and operating data centres, engineers and contractors have a key role to play to reduce the impact the project has on the environment. ASD Westok offers a free technical advisory service, employing a team of chartered engineers who are passionate about providing sustainable design guidance using lean design principles.
ASD Westok engineers have considerable experience with the economic and carbon-friendly design of steel-framed structures, and for data centre projects this often entails the design of clear-span floor and roof beams. We also assist with value engineering where alterative solutions are initially proposed.
Westok’s ribbon-cut cellular beams are typically the lightest-weight, lowest-embodied carbon cellular beams on the market. They significantly reduce material use and associated embodied carbon compared to alternative solutions.
This approach supports the industry’s net zero goals and also allows for better integration of cooling systems within large, high-tech buildings – making ASD Westok the perfect partner for data centre projects.
In an upcoming article, we will explore this approach to data centre design in greater detail.
Total Metals Management: Complete Project Support
For large, complex builds like data centres, supply chain visibility and control are as important as the materials themselves. That’s why ASD offers Total Metals Management (TMM), a service designed to give contractors and developers a single point of contact and complete oversight of their metals supply.
With TMM, we manage the entire process: sourcing or producing materials, scheduling, stockholding, and processing materials to exact specifications. This reduces waste, ensures compliance with BS/BS EN/ISO standards, and guarantees that projects have the right materials, in the right place, at the right time.
By integrating our TMM approach into data centre construction projects, clients benefit from assured quality, predictable lead times, and seamless coordination across every phase of delivery – advantages that can make a critical difference when building infrastructure at this scale.
Partnering for the Next Generation of Infrastructure
As demand for data centres grows across the UK, Ireland, and mainland Europe, ASD stands as a trusted partner to the construction industry. From Structural Steel to advanced design solutions, we bring the capacity, expertise, and reliability required to deliver these ambitious projects on time and with reduced environmental impact.
Data centres are powering the digital economy – and at ASD, we’re helping to power the construction that makes that possible.
Ready to Move Your Projects Forward?
Get in touch with our team today, and let’s talk about how we can help you build the next generation of data centres.