Vertiv Opens Malaysia Factory for AI Data Center Equipment

Vertiv expands manufacturing footprint to serve Asia Pacific AI boom

Vertiv Holdings Co., a major U.S. supplier of data center equipment, has opened a manufacturing facility in Malaysia to support the accelerating buildout of AI infrastructure across the Asia Pacific region.

The Westerville, Ohio-based company announced Wednesday that its new plant in Johor—located directly north of Singapore—will produce power and cooling systems essential for operating data centers throughout Southeast Asia, North Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The facility represents Vertiv's first manufacturing presence in Southeast Asia and is scheduled to reach full operational capacity in 2027.

Why it matters

The factory opening signals both the geographic shift of AI infrastructure investment toward Asia Pacific and the supply chain challenges equipment makers face in serving this distributed demand. By establishing local manufacturing rather than shipping from existing facilities, Vertiv can reduce lead times and logistics costs while positioning itself closer to some of the world's fastest-growing data center markets. The choice of Johor is strategic—the Malaysian state borders Singapore, a major regional data center hub, while offering lower operating costs.

Meeting surging demand for AI infrastructure

Data centers supporting AI workloads require substantially more power and cooling capacity than traditional facilities due to the energy-intensive nature of training and running large language models and other AI systems. Power and thermal management equipment has become a critical bottleneck as hyperscalers and cloud providers race to expand capacity.

Vertiv's decision to build dedicated manufacturing capacity in the region reflects confidence in sustained demand growth. The company's products—including uninterruptible power supplies, precision cooling units, and power distribution systems—are fundamental components that must be installed before data centers can begin operations.

Strategic location for regional coverage

The Johor location provides Vertiv with access to multiple high-growth markets within the Asia Pacific region. Singapore has emerged as a leading data center hub despite land and power constraints, while countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are attracting new facilities. North Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea continue to expand their AI infrastructure, and Australia and New Zealand represent additional demand centers the plant will serve.

By manufacturing locally rather than importing finished equipment from North America or Europe, Vertiv can potentially reduce costs, shorten delivery timelines, and customize products for regional requirements and standards.

Details about the facility's size, investment amount, and production capacity were not disclosed in the company's announcement. Bloomberg first reported the factory opening.