Dallas Wooden Spools

South Metroplex

Cable reel pickup in Midlothian

Midlothian has long been an industrial town in ranch country, with cement and steel making on its edges and cattle on the land between. Data centres have added a new layer. Google runs a data-centre campus on Railport Parkway here, and the construction, power supply and upgrades that go with it keep reels moving through Midlothian.

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Side of the Metroplex
South Metroplex, in northern Ellis County
County
Ellis County, with a small part in Johnson County
ZIP codes
76065
Highways and ring
US-67, US-287, FM 663, FM 1387, SH 360 to the north
Distance
About 24 miles south-west of downtown Dallas, and about 27 miles south-east of downtown Fort Worth, in a straight line
Where the reels come from
Data-centre construction, heavy industry, utility and transmission work, contractors, ranches
Pickup note
Data-centre and plant sites have strict gate procedures; rural roads can be soft after rain
Map of Midlothian in Ellis County, southwest of Dallas along US-67 and US-287
Midlothian lies on US-67, where it meets US-287 southwest of Dallas.

Data centres on Railport Parkway

Google's Midlothian campus sits on Railport Parkway in Ellis County, and in 2023 Google announced a second Ellis County campus nearby in Red Oak. Campus construction runs in phases, each one leaving hundreds of empty reels: medium-voltage drums from the power supply, 36 to 72 in nailed reels from feeders and distribution, and plywood and plastic reels from rack cabling and controls. Those reels collect in contractors' laydown yards on and around the campus, where a scheduled pickup every few weeks keeps them from piling up.

Power for a data-centre town

Data centres need power, and supplying it means substations, transmission and distribution lines, all built from reels of cable and conductor. Utility and transmission projects in the area add large reels and drums to the mix. Many utility reels are returnable to their makers; we take those that the utility or its contractors release.

Heavy industry

Midlothian's cement and steel plants run large maintenance and upgrade programs, with motors, drives and controls that are all wired from reels. Plant reels tend to accumulate slowly at the back of a site until a clear-out is due.

Pickup notes for Midlothian

  • Data-centre sites: badging, escorts and safety induction; plan with the general contractor's logistics team.
  • Plants: gate procedures, PPE and site rules.
  • Large drums: a forklift or telehandler rated for them; tell us what's on site.
  • Rural roads: some FM roads and ranch drives get soft after heavy rain; heavy loads may wait for dry weather.
  • Routes: shared with Red Oak, Waxahachie, Cedar Hill, Mansfield and Venus.

Ranches around Midlothian

The land around Midlothian is still ranch and hay country, and ranchers buy big spools for fence wire, water lines and hose. A truck heading south with spools for ranches can bring empty reels north from a data-centre site on the same trip.

Cement, steel and big motors

Heavy plants run large electric motors, kilns, crushers and conveyors, and their power and control cable is heavy too. When a plant replaces a motor control centre or rebuilds a conveyor line, it may empty several 60 to 84 in reels at once, plus a stack of smaller ones from controls and instrumentation. Plant reels are often stored inside or under cover, so they're in better shape than jobsite reels, and they tend to resell well. Grease or dust on the wood doesn't stop reuse, though it can limit recycling outlets.

Railport Parkway logistics

Railport Parkway takes its name from the rail-served industrial land along it, and distribution and industrial buildings share the corridor with the data-centre campus. Those buildings add their own reels from installs and freight, which ride along with data-centre pickups on the same trip.

Waxahachie and the county seat

South of Midlothian, Waxahachie is the Ellis County seat, with its own industry, contractors and growth along I-35E and US-287. Pickups there share routes with Midlothian and Red Oak.

Weather on the prairie

Ellis County is open country, and spring storms cross it fast, with hail, high winds and heavy rain. Reels standing on exposed laydown yards take a beating: plywood soaks, nail heads rust, and lighter reels can be blown over. Collecting reels promptly after each phase keeps more of them reusable.

Large reels from Midlothian's sites are often collected first on a southbound trip, so the truck returns north with its heaviest items low on the deck.

Ranchers west of town toward Venus and Maypearl often ask for 60 in spools with wide traverses for poly pipe.

Questions about Midlothian

Can you schedule pickups through a data-centre build?

Yes, with visits every few weeks through the electrical phase.

Do you take reels from plants?

Yes, from the yard or a loading area, once the plant releases them.

Do you deliver spools to ranches around Midlothian?

Yes, wherever a flatbed can reach safely.

  • Red OakCable reel pickup and used wooden spools in Red Oak, Ellis County, where Google announced a data-centre campus in 2023, with growth along I-35E and ranch land on every side.
  • Data-centre buildsData-centre construction in Dallas-Fort Worth leaves hundreds of empty cable reels in laydown yards. How we clear them, phase by phase, from Ellis County to AllianceTexas.
  • WilmerEmpty cable reel pickup and used wooden spools in Wilmer, a small Dallas County city on I-45 that holds part of Union Pacific's Dallas Intermodal Terminal and the inland port.
  • HutchinsEmpty reel pickup and used wooden spools in Hutchins, on I-45 just south of Dallas, home to part of Union Pacific's intermodal terminal and large inland port warehouses.
  • LancasterEmpty reel pickup and used wooden spools in Lancaster, part of the International Inland Port of Dallas, with big distribution buildings along I-35E, I-20 and I-45.
  • South MetroplexReel pickup and spool sales in the south: Midlothian, Red Oak, Lancaster, Wilmer and Hutchins, from data centres to the inland port.