Q&A with Data Center POST’s Contributing Editor, Kathy Xu
Data Center POST recently took the time to speak with Larry Buck, General Manager of Simplex Isolation Systems, who will be attending Data Center World, which is taking place April 3-6 in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Center. Simplex Isolation Systems will have a product display at the conference where it will demonstrate its diverse data center containment product line, including Pro-Glide sliding doors and AirBlock™ Fire Suppression Access Ceiling. Also, in this Q&A, Mr. Buck discusses the goals of the company, how Simplex Isolation Systems has become successful and new company developments.
Data Center POST, Kathy Xu (DCP-KX) Question: Tell our readers about your company. What do you do and what problems are you attempting to solve?
Simplex Isolation Systems, Larry Buck (Simplex Isolation Systems-LB) Answer: Simplex Isolation Systems, a Division of TMI International, LLC, is a prominent leader in critical environment solutions. With over 35 years of industry expertise, we design and manufacture custom data center containment systems that are modular, expandable and high-performing.
By partitioning hot and cold aisles and preventing air to mix and compromise temperatures, containment creates a data center environment that affects improvements in energy efficiency, cooling capacity and operating costs within the data center. Through containment, data center managers report increasingly efficient use of the same or less cooling and as much as 50 percent in energy savings in some instances.
Our goal is to help data center managers align their containment objectives with their site-specific infrastructure requirements to secure the greatest efficiencies and enable modular, scalable and affordable growth.
DCP-KX Q: What do you attribute to your company’s success?
Simplex Isolation Systems-LB A: Innovation and owning the methods of production from plastic pellet to finished product. Subsequently, we set the quality standard in the containment industry. Our parts and materials are long-lasting and perform as designed. In addition, we are constantly sourcing new materials and developing new construction methods and products to help our customers achieve their objectives.
DCP-KX Q: How do you see the data center industry evolving? What do you think is the greatest challenge in the data center industry?
Simplex Isolation Systems-LB A: In terms of infrastructure, data center owners seem to be moving toward a turnkey approach that uses integrated, modular designs and off-site construction to speed time to market. This applies to the containment component as well.
DCP-KX Q: What new developments are on the horizon for your company?
Simplex Isolation Systems-LB A: Simplex will be announcing the release of a comprehensive data center containment catalog in March 2017. The catalog will feature in-depth content — including specifications, key features, drawings and accessory lists — and serve as a complete containment resource guide for data center managers as they make plans for hot aisle and cold aisle containment, and as they plan for data centers in general. We are also introducing a lighter, more streamlined data center containment frame, DC625, which lowers cost and enables greater flexibility when containing hot or cold aisles.
DCP-KX Q: What would you like to accomplish at Data Center World?
Simplex Isolation Systems-LB A: Our goal for Data Center World will be to demonstrate our diverse data center containment product line with our conference display. The display features our innovative Pro-Glide sliding doors, expandable filler panels, hardwall panels and softwall curtains and strips. We will also be featuring our new AirBlock™ Fire Suppression Access Ceiling, a ceiling system equipped with a UL-listed electromagnetic droplink mechanism that releases the ceiling panels in the event of a fire to allow sprinklers or suppression agents the ability to circulate freely. The ceiling design was specifically developed by our product management team as an aesthetic, fail-safe and NFPA 75 and 76-compliant solution to fire protection in the data center.
DCP-KX: Thank you for your time and best of luck at Data Center World. Readers, if you are interested to learn more about Simplex Isolation Systems, please visit http://simplex.is/. If you would like to attend Data Center World, please register at this link. Follow all things Data Center World on Twitter with the hashtag #DataCenterWorld.
