When the world’s biggest manufacturer of networking equipment needed to power a new office building in Milpitas, CA, they called on CH Reynolds. Cisco Systems’ 25,000 square feet of office space would house 5,000 different data locations, and CH Reynolds was asked to design and build the entire electrical infrastructure. CH Reynolds accepted responsibility for every aspect of the project, including quality, pricing and schedule, guaranteeing that Cisco would get its state-of-the-art workspace on time and on budget.
Because Building 20 was a fast track project that needed to go from initial design to completion under a tight deadline, CH Reynolds closely coordinated with everyone involved in the process. This included the local electric utility and general contractor to keep to a strict construction timetable. The project also required a complete shut down of the building’s main switchboard for installation and testing.
CH Reynolds delivered this $3.4 million project without a single delay or cost overrun, installing over 30,000 feet of high-tech electrical wiring. Specifically, the team installed six Cat5e cables in each of over 1,150 locations; all cabling was installed in a cable tray below the ceiling grid. They also installed the backbone by virtue of laser-optimized multi-mode fiber. By properly scheduling power shutdowns, CH Reynolds’ team was able to connect the building directly to the local electric utility’s transformer, getting the new system up and running without any delays.
“We knew we had an exceedingly tight schedule for such a complex project, but CH Reynolds took on the challenge without hesitation and delivered exactly what they promised us”. – Cisco Systems
The project encompassed a 10,000 sq. ft. expansion to an existing data center, which required extensive upgrading of the existing electrical distribution including a 1.5 MEG and 2 MEG generators, 3 ATSs, 3 UPSs with paralleling gear, 8 PDUs, miscellaneous transformers and 60 sub-panels. Extensive feeder distribution from 200A to 3000A was installed; feeders and connections to a new chiller, VFDs, and other HVAC equipment was provided; provisions for load bank testing was installed; and new lighting and related data center was set for wiring.
