August 29, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Manufacturing and technology firm Emerson Electric (emerson.com) announced this week it is building a 35,000-square-foot data center in the company's headquarters of St. Louis, as part of an enormous initiative to consolidate 100 global data centers into four facilities, according to reports by the Associated Press.
The initiative is expected to take place over the next few years, and will also see the development of facilities in Marshalltown, Iowa, Singapore and Western Europe.
Announced publicly this week for the first time, the consolidation will enhance business efficiency and improve productivity, says Emerson vice president Steve Hassell.
He adds that Emerson does not anticipate any major changes in the company's staffing, considering that the facilities are mostly equipment and employ very few people.
Hassell says Emerson wants the St. Louis center to showcase Emerson products. The company says it will invest approximately $60 million to build the St. Louis and Marshalltown facilities.
Emerson's two largest data centers are currently being leased in facilities owned by other companies in Cincinnati and Chicago.
"It's our equipment operating in their centers," says Hassel. "We'll be moving out of those third-party centers into a primary center in St. Louis. We'll have as a backup, a refurbished facility in Marshall."
Emerson also plans to lease a small facility in Singapore and, later down the line, another facility in Western Europe.
