Empty reels off data-centre builds

DFW's data-centre build-out

Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the country's largest data-centre markets. CBRE's first-half 2025 market profile put the region's inventory at 869.5 MW, up 47%, with 425.1 MW of colocation capacity under construction and 78% of it preleased. Those figures move fast, but the pattern holds: steady construction across the Metroplex, and steady streams of empty reels from it.

The builds cluster in a few places. Ellis County to the south has Google's campus on Railport Parkway in Midlothian, and Google announced a second Ellis County campus in Red Oak in 2023, with $600 million expected over several years. AllianceTexas in north Fort Worth lists about 2.5 million sq ft of data centres, according to the Texas Comptroller. Other campuses are spread across the Metroplex, from the northern suburbs to southern Dallas County.

The reels a data-centre job leaves

• Large nailed reels and drums, 60 to 96 in, from medium-voltage feeders, utility service and generator connections
• Mid-size nailed reels, 36 to 48 in, from low-voltage feeders, bus and distribution cable
• Plywood reels, 12 to 36 in, from branch circuits, controls, security and data cable
• Plastic reels from fiber, alarm and low-voltage cable
• Compartmental reels from paralleled feeder sets

A single campus building can leave hundreds of reels across its electrical phase, and a campus with several buildings repeats that pattern each time.

How pickup fits the job

Data-centre sites run tight. Badging, escorts, safety orientation, delivery windows and crane schedules all apply to our trucks just as they do to cable deliveries. We work through the general contractor or the electrical subcontractor, whoever controls the laydown yard, and fit pickups into the site's logistics plan. On most campuses, scheduled visits every few weeks during the electrical phase work better than a single clear-out at the end: the yard stays open for incoming cable, and the reels don't weather.

What helps on site

• A designated reel area near the gate, with reels grouped by size
• Forklift access, or a telehandler for the large drums
• Steel and returnable reels set apart, with the maker's paperwork if they're going back
• One site contact who can release reels and sign off a count

Records for the project

Many data-centre projects track waste diversion. We can confirm in writing what was collected on each visit, with counts by flange size, and whether each group went on for reuse or to wood recycling. We won't put a tonnage on a note unless the load was weighed.

Reels that need special care

Medium-voltage cable reels on data-centre jobs are sometimes returnable to the cable maker or the distributor, with a deposit attached. Steel reels from utility-grade cable almost always go back. Before a pickup, the electrical sub's project manager usually knows which reels carry deposits; those stay in a separate row with their tags. Everything else, typically the great majority, is one-way and can go on our truck.

Phases and reel volumes

Reel volume follows the electrical schedule. Early on, underground duct banks and medium-voltage feeders release the big drums. Mid-project, switchgear, busway and distribution feeders release dozens of 36 to 60 in reels. Late in the job, branch circuits, lighting, controls and fiber release hundreds of small plywood and plastic reels, often in a rush just before commissioning. Planning pickups around those waves keeps the yard clear when space is tightest.

Questions