Modine Starts Texas Chiller Factory for AI Data Centers

Modine began commercial production on November 11, 2026, at a new 682,000-square-foot Airedale chiller factory in Grand Prairie, Texas. The company said the plant adds U.S. manufacturing capacity for data-center cooling equipment.

The purpose-built plant is dedicated to manufacturing 2MW and 3MW chillers with free cooling. Modine said the added capacity targets hyperscale cloud providers, colocation operators and high-density AI computing environments.

President and CEO Neil D. Brinker described the launch as “a milestone in Modine’s U.S. capacity-expansion plan.” He said locating capacity near customers is intended to support delivery of engineered cooling systems.

What does Grand Prairie change for data-center operators?

For data-center operators, the immediate change is more domestic capacity for 2MW and 3MW chillers with free cooling. They should not assume the plant’s full planned output is available yet: one line is operating, while equipment commissioning and workforce readiness condition the rest of the ramp.

That distinction matters because the plant’s commercial value depends on usable output, not only its opening. Modine says its cooling systems address complex, high-density thermal demands while maximizing energy and water efficiency. The practical gain is specialized cooling supply closer to customers, not simply more factory floor space.

A four-line ramp from one shift

Modine’s initial production line is operating. The company targets four operational lines by the end of its current fiscal year, subject to equipment commissioning, workforce readiness and other operational considerations.

Reaching four lines would quadruple the operating line count from the current one. The factory now runs one shift, with plans to scale systematically to three. Modine expects Grand Prairie to become the largest Airedale chiller manufacturing facility in its global footprint.

The schedule leaves execution risk at the center. Equipment commissioning and workforce readiness remain gating conditions, so the 682,000-square-foot facility does not equal immediate access to its planned four-line, three-shift output.

Cooling beyond the chiller

Chillers sit within a wider Airedale portfolio that includes dry coolers, coolant distribution units and intelligent controls. Modine describes the systems as designed for complex, high-density thermal demands while maximizing energy and water efficiency.

Modine says Grand Prairie is dedicated to the two chiller classes. Its wider Airedale portfolio gives the company a broader thermal-management offering for data-center customers.

The $100 million expansion behind the plant

Modine announced the $100 million investment on July 29, 2025. Management expected deployment over the following 12 to 18 months to expand manufacturing capacity for North American data-center cooling products.

The announced program covered:

• A new Dallas-area facility.
• An expansion in Grenada, Mississippi.
• Possible repurposing of existing Performance Technologies sites in Franklin, Wisconsin, and Jefferson City, Missouri.

The investment also included enhancements to engineering, product-development and testing capabilities. Modine said the program would support new jobs and the redeployment and retraining of existing employees.

Eric McGinnis, then president of Modine’s Climate Solutions segment, described the expansion as “a local-for-local strategy” focused on regions where Modine was seeing the greatest demand.

Why Grand Prairie

The City of Grand Prairie announced Modine’s site selection on October 14, 2025, and identified 2100 Refuge Way as the location. The city projected more than 1,000 new jobs, with an average annual wage of $66,760.

Modine cited the Dallas–Fort Worth location, transportation infrastructure and proximity to DFW International Airport. The company also cited access to a skilled workforce, regional training programs and cooperation with city staff.

A later operating start

The city’s original schedule called for groundbreaking in the fourth quarter of 2025 and operations in the first quarter of 2026. Modine’s November 2026 commercial-production start came later than that initial operating expectation.

That later start means the plant must move through commissioning and workforce preparation before Modine can approach the scale implied by a four-line, three-shift operation. The delay makes the ramp more consequential for the company’s broader data-center revenue program.

The fiscal 2028 revenue test

In the same investment announcement, Brinker set a management target for total data-center revenue to approach $2 billion in fiscal 2028. Grand Prairie turns part of that program into operating capacity, but its near-term contribution depends on equipment commissioning and workforce readiness.

The plant’s contribution is therefore tied to execution as much as demand. A completed ramp would support the delivery proposition Brinker described. A delayed ramp would constrain how quickly Grand Prairie contributes to the revenue target.

AI operators should track two operating markers: four lines and three shifts. A successful ramp would bring more engineered cooling capacity closer to U.S. data-center customers and support Modine’s nearly $2 billion fiscal 2028 data-center revenue target; commissioning or workforce delays would leave output below plan.