-- In early February 2026, Graepels travelled to Amsterdam for Kickstart Europe, one of the continent's main conferences on data centres and digital infrastructure. The company joined the event as part of Enterprise Ireland's delegation, alongside the contractors, engineers, developers and investors shaping how Europe builds its next generation of data centres.
Graepels went to talk about a specific part of that work, the engineered mesh and custom perforated metal that sit inside almost every modern data centre facility.
What Kickstart Europe Is
Kickstart Europe is an annual conference focused on data centres, cloud services and digital infrastructure. Held in Amsterdam on 3 and 4 February 2026, it brought together developers, construction firms, engineering consultants, cloud providers and investors. The event has become a recognised meeting point for the companies that design, build and fit out modern data centre facilities.
For a manufacturer like Graepels, it offered direct access to the people who specify and source materials for these projects.
Enterprise Ireland's Largest Delegation
Graepels attended as one of the companies in Enterprise Ireland's delegation, the largest the agency has brought to the event. Enterprise Ireland took part as a Gold Partner and brought more than 85 Irish companies to Amsterdam.
The group spanned high-tech construction, modular delivery, engineering, project management, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure support. Its size reflected Ireland's growing weight in the European data centre sector.
A Market Under Pressure
The timing made sense. Demand for data centre capacity across the UK and Ireland is at a record high, and the conversations at Kickstart reflected that.
In the UK, industry research records more than 59 billion dollars of announced investment in data centre construction since 2023, with planned IT power capacity set to more than double to about 6.2 GW by 2030. Data centres now hold Critical National Infrastructure status, and a programme of AI Growth Zones aims to speed up planning and grid connections.
Ireland carries a large share for its size. It has 82 operational data centres, with 14 more under construction and around 40 holding planning permission. The sector employs about 21,000 people directly and uses more than a fifth of national electricity, a figure forecast to approach 30 per cent by 2030.
Both markets share the same constraint. Power and grid capacity now decide how much can be built and where, which puts cooling and energy use at the centre of every design.
What Graepels Discussed
Against that backdrop, Graepels used the event to set out where its products fit. The company manufactures bespoke woven wire panels and perforated metal used inside secure data centre environments.
These materials do steady, practical work across a facility.
- Secure server cages and partitions that separate client hardware in colocation halls while keeping equipment visible.
- Mesh walling and controlled access zones that protect equipment without closing off airflow.
- Perforated and expanded metal for cladding, plant screening, ceilings and raised floors.
The common thread is that mesh and perforated metal are strong enough to secure equipment yet open enough to let air through, which is what links them to the issue dominating the event.
The Cooling and Airflow Question
Most of the power a data centre draws goes on running and cooling the equipment, so any gain in airflow lowers cost and eases the load on cooling systems. Woven wire mesh carries more air than a solid or heavily perforated panel, which is why it is widely used for server cages.
The effect is measurable. In one documented case, replacing a solid perforated cage panel with a 3 mm wire mesh panel raised airflow across the data centre by about 11 per cent. A square aperture of around 12.7 mm is generally seen as a sound balance between security and ventilation. As operators move to high-density AI racks and liquid cooling, that open structure matters more, since it keeps air and fluid paths clear.
A UK and Ireland Manufacturing Partner
Graepels Perforators Ltd weaves its wire and fabricates the framed panels in-house, rather than buying mesh and framing it elsewhere. For contractors and engineers, that means panels made to exact project drawings, with consistent quality across large repeat orders and production that suits phased and modular builds.
That role places the company within the wider supply chain that events like Kickstart exist to connect. Developers and operators get most of the attention, but the build-out also depends on the specialist manufacturers who turn drawings into finished, fitted components.
Looking Ahead
Kickstart Europe 2026 gave Graepels a chance to discuss that work directly with the people planning the next wave of UK and Irish projects. As both markets keep expanding, demand for secure, airflow-friendly mesh is likely to grow alongside them.
For data centre mesh, perforated metal or framed woven wire panels, the Graepels team is happy to discuss project requirements.
Contact Info:
Name: Katy Graepel
Email: Send Email
Organization: Graepels Perforators Ltd
Website: https://www.graepels.com/
Release ID: 89196316
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