EPG Tops Out $119M Modular Data Center Factory in Malaysia

By Daniel Okafor

EPG Modular Data Center has topped out its S$153 million ($119 million) factory in Senai Airport City, Johor, putting the structural frame of one of Southeast Asia's largest modular data center plants in place. The company announced the milestone in a statement on Wednesday.

The topping-out ceremony marked the placement of the final beam. The factory covers 107,450 square meters, with 70,000 square meters dedicated to production. It sits inside Phase 3 of Senai Airport City, an integrated industrial development in Iskandar Malaysia, and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2027.

Once fully operational, the plant can employ more than 800 professional and technical staff. EPG ranks it among the largest single-site modular data center manufacturing bases by production capacity.

Why Malaysia, and why now?

The investment moves EPG's manufacturing closer to its customers in Southeast Asia. Founder and Chairman Alick Wan framed the Johor plant as more than a capacity expansion.

Wan said the factory brings the company's manufacturing closer to its customers. He said the plan is to combine advanced manufacturing with local partnerships to build a responsive base in Malaysia that can serve other markets as well.

Gan Seng Keong, CEO of Senai Airport City, said the investment strengthens the airport city's growing data-centre manufacturing ecosystem and serves high-value manufacturing.

The location gives EPG a production anchor inside a free industrial zone in Iskandar Malaysia, one of the country's flagship economic corridors, with the airport city positioning itself as a hub for data center supply chains rather than data centers alone.

What will the factory actually run?

The plant is designed as a heavily automated facility. Production lines are designed for at least 80 percent automation, using automated welding and intelligent control systems.

Digital systems will connect the supply chain across five functions:

• supplier management
• product lifecycle
• manufacturing execution
• quality control
• warehousing

EPG says digital-twin technology will support production visibility and traceability, while sensors on the floor will deliver real-time safety alerts. In practice, that means every module built in Johor can be tracked from component intake to shipment, and problems on the line surface as they happen rather than at inspection.

How deep does the local footprint go?

EPG plans supplier partnerships in five categories: steel structures, electrical infrastructure, mechanical systems, cables and professional services. It also intends to work with Malaysian universities and training bodies to develop technical skills — a signal that the company expects the 800-plus workforce to be substantially local.

That supplier strategy matters for the economics of the plant. Modular data center construction consumes large volumes of steel and electrical components, and sourcing them locally in Johor shortens delivery cycles for a factory whose selling point is responsiveness.

Where does this fit in EPG's network?

EPG Modular Data Center builds prefabricated modular data center infrastructure. The company runs research centers in Singapore, Malaysia and Shanghai, and operates six manufacturing hubs across Malaysia and China. The Senai plant adds a seventh production site and, by the company's own ranking, its largest single-site capacity.

The expansion tracks demand. Data center growth is straining power supply across four Asian hubs, according to a recent BMI analysis — pressure that pushes operators toward prefabricated infrastructure, which can be deployed faster than conventional builds.

With completion set for Q1 2027, EPG has roughly a year to finish fit-out, install its automated lines and staff up before the plant starts feeding Southeast Asia's data center pipeline.