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Michigan factory doubles shifts as AI data centres drive air vent demand
Armstrong International, a family-owned Michigan factory, has seen demand surge for a niche air vent it has made for decades. The unexpected orders appear to be linked to the rapid growth of AI data centres, where specialised liquid cooling systems use vents to release excess air.
The product had usually sold in batches of about a dozen, but orders began reaching a thousand or more earlier this year. Sales director Andrew Wittek traced the purchases to data centre projects, though buyers and destinations remain difficult to identify. The surge has led the Three Rivers factory to add a second shift, while the limited information makes production planning, design work and customer development harder.
In short
- AI data centre growth has driven a surge in orders for a decades-old air vent.
- Bulk orders have risen from about a dozen to a thousand or more.
- Armstrong added a second shift but has limited information about buyers and destinations.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Family-owned factory stunned to realize why decades-old niche part has suddenly started flying off the shelves by the thousands”.