Host in Ireland’s Virginia Data Center Tour

In November, Irish data center group, Host in Ireland, organized a data center industry tour for partners in Virginia, US. Chief commercial officer, Sean Magann and Commercial director, Jelle Slenters represented SLS on the week-long tour that included a day at Data Center Dynamics (DCD) Connect Virginia conference which took place in the stunning Landsdowne Resort & Spa on the 7-8 November 2022.

DCD Connect attracts top professionals from the data center design, construction, and operations supply chain. This event is designed for helping companies to identify new partners that meet their company’s business needs.

This year’s agenda included workshops, debates, expert panels, technology demos and networking. Some of the hot topics were:

  • The continued growth of the data center industry in Virginia
  • Carbon reduction focus is moving to supply chain and the measurement of Scope 3 emissions
  • There is a slight increase in redeployment of parts for manufacturing because of new constraints in the supply chain

The tour also included an evening reception at the Irish Embassy DC, in collaboration with Ireland’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) – it was an excellent way to finish the busy days at DCD Connect Virginia.

Host in Ireland made sure that education and networking were a key part of this tour and organized two data center visits, networking and drinks events with DCConnex and 7X24 Exchange. Our SLS representatives had great fun getting to know Irish and American members of our industry.

This year’s Host in Ireland tour was also about giving something back to the community. Alongside 130 volunteers, Jelle was proud to be part of DCs for Bees U.S Difference Day, a sub-initiative of Host in Ireland at JK Community Farm. Together, all the volunteers came together to build thirty-five pollinator-friendly raised planting beds, vitally important for pollinators. What a wonderful experience!

Thank you to the team of Host in Ireland for the invitation to join the tour and we are looking forward what next year’s event will bring.

Supply Chain Leader’s Forum Pennsylvania

To finalize a busy year, Sims Lifecycle Services attended the Supply Chain Leader’s Forum at the Center for Supply Chain Research in the PennState Smeal College of Business in Pennsylvania.

This event connects leading supply chain professionals with academics to discuss business challenges organizations must address to remain competitive.

Big names of the industry attended the event, such as Google, Phillips and Wal-Mart. SLS was invited to speak to attendees about supply chain visibility, flexibility, transformation and globalization.

According to Michael Espada, SLS Commercial Director in the US, the main topic discussed was “Companies are using sustainability as a guiding principal when making decisions. They are noting it not only benefits the environment, but operating efficiency, attracting diverse talent, and supply chain resiliency.” It was a great opportunity to be part of the Supply Chain Leader’s Forum and we are looking forward to the next event.