2026.09.23 | AC | Thermal | Chiller Leader US Update

摘要

The following views are from industry experts:

1. Plant No. 2 is located in New Mexico, and Plant No. 3 is in New York State. Currently, the capacity ramp-up has

encountered no major difficulties. The core of the production line lies in the assembly line.

1. Lead times for Danfoss compressor procurement are currently running between 4 and 5 months. Danfoss may maintain

small buffer stocks for four compressor models: 350, 400, 450, and a high-temperature model.

1. Counting backward from the final delivery date, customer procurement cycles typically span 8 to 10 months.

Specifically, chiller lead times are 5 to 6 months, ocean shipping takes 1 month, and on-site installation and commissioning require 2 to 3 months.

1. Could you provide an overview of the capacity planning, construction pace, and details for each plant at the US

production base? Specifically, what facilities must be built to meet the year-end overseas capacity target, and how is progress tracking?

The US market plan calls for four plants. Once fully completed, total delivery capacity is expected to reach RMB 50 billion to RMB 60 billion. Construction of Plant No. 2 and Plant No. 3 is currently underway at full speed.

Looking at the specifics, Plant No. 1 is in Miami. It is a relatively mature production base, though its original scale was modest. Capacity expansion at Plant No. 1 began in 2025; once finished, annual capacity is projected to reach approximately RMB 15 billion.

Plants No. 2 and No. 3 use leased industrial facilities, requiring the company to invest only in production equipment—such as heat exchangers, compressors, copper tube processing machinery, and electrical control pressure vessel lines. Once fully operational, each plant's annual capacity is expected to reach RMB 12 billion to RMB 15 billion. Consequently, combined annual capacity across these three plants should exceed RMB 40 billion by the end of 2026.

In addition, the lease agreement for Plant No. 4 is still being finalized. Construction progress has been comparatively slower, and commissioning is projected for next year (2027).

1. Where are US Plant No. 2 and Plant No. 3 located?

Plant No. 2 is located in New Mexico, and Plant No. 3 is in New York State. Capacity ramp-up has progressed without significant bottlenecks so far. The core of the production line is the assembly line, but lines for heat exchangers (evaporators and condensers), copper tube processing, coating, bending, and compressors are also critical. In particular, screw compressor and centrifugal compressor lines—as core components under the Hartford brand—are essential to the overall product lineup.

1. Deliveries to US customers currently consist primarily of magnetic bearing chillers, yet you mentioned screw machines

earlier. Has the company begun deploying its in-house magnetic bearing compressors?

Magnetic bearing compressors for air-cooled magnetic bearing chillers have not yet reached in-house commercial production. The air-cooled magnetic bearing compressors featured in currently marketed products are primarily sourced from Danfoss.

1. What is the capacity status at the China plant? Are components produced there shipped to US plants for final

assembly?

The China plant campus in Yantai comprises three primary manufacturing facilities: the Hartford compressor plant, Final Assembly Plant 1, and Final Assembly Plant 2. Final Assembly Plant 1 splits its space between pressure vessel production and screw machine assembly. Final Assembly Plant 2 serves as the primary assembly hub, housing four production lines for air-cooled chillers and one line for centrifugal chillers, which represent the main delivery volume for North America and Southeast Asia. The Yantai plant is essentially operating at peak capacity on a three-shift schedule, with expanded annual capacity capable of reaching over RMB 20 billion.

Regarding the supply chain, operations adhere strictly to local manufacturing principles: whichever plant handles assembly relies on locally manufactured components. Consequently, China plant components are virtually never supplied to US facilities at present.

1. Are any US customers procuring products directly from the China plant today?

Regarding customer sourcing, US clients can take delivery directly from the China plant. Although exports from China to the United States incur tariffs, considerably higher labor costs across North America mean locally manufactured equivalents carry higher price tags.

1. Given that expanding capacity in Yantai, China is relatively straightforward, why pursue overseas expansion instead

of expanding concurrently in China?

The principal bottleneck is delivery lead time. If all capacity remained centered in China, projects with demanding turnaround requirements could not be supported. Ocean freight and transit times are protracted, and shipping schedules cannot be secured on demand, both of which compromise overall delivery cycles.

1. What are Dunham-Bush's current footprint and capacity expansion plans in the Chinese market? If a decision were made

to build a new plant, what would the construction timeline look like?

The Yantai facility has already completed an internal line expansion, doubling the number of air-cooled unit lines from two to four. Following this expansion, annual capacity in China is estimated to exceed RMB 2 billion. A decision regarding whether to construct a second plant in Yantai remains pending senior executive review. If approved, plant construction, equipment installation, and staffing would likely require upwards of one year.

1. What is the current capacity of the China plant, and approximately what is its annual output in terms of unit count?

Following the production line additions, annual capacity at the China plant stands at roughly over RMB 2 billion. The previously referenced RMB 3-plus billion capacity figure reflects the combined output of the China and Malaysia plants. In terms of physical units, monthly volume reaches several hundred machines; however, because individual unit values differ substantially, there is no standardized total unit count.

1. What are the capacity expansion plans and key milestone dates for the Malaysia plant?

The Malaysia plant has wrapped up an internal capacity expansion, adding production lines initially focused on air-cooled magnetic bearing chillers. R&D, manufacturing, and certification applications for this product line are all spearheaded by the Malaysia team. Furthermore, work on Malaysia Plant 2 in Cyberjaya is underway, with civil engineering close to completion. Electromechanical equipment installation is slated for early 2027, with the facility expected to achieve operational readiness between April and May 2027. The company is capitalizing on the four-to-five-month window between order placement and compressor arrival to install new lines and ease capacity bottlenecks.

1. What is the company's total projected global capacity by year-end 2026?

By year-end 2026, total global capacity is expected to exceed RMB 8 billion: RMB 4 billion to RMB 5 billion across the three US plants, over RMB 2 billion from the China plant, and RMB 1.5 billion to RMB 1.6 billion from Malaysia Plant 1. Notably, orders booked in 2026 will not all be built in the same year; for example, air-cooled magnetic bearing chiller orders booked after August are generally slated for 2027 production, dovetailing neatly with new facility commissioning schedules.

1. What new capacity additions are slated for 2027? How is construction progressing on North America Plant No. 4 and

Malaysia Plant No. 2?

Planned new capacity for 2027 centers on North America Plant No. 4 and Malaysia Plant No. 2. Progress on Malaysia Plant No. 2 is moving faster, with commissioning projected for April to May 2027. Processing equipment—covering surface coolers, copper tubing, pressure vessels, coating, bending, and sheet metal—is on order, with equipment arrival expected in the first half of 2027. The site for North America Plant No. 4 is not yet finalized as lease negotiations continue; its launch is likely to lag behind Malaysia Plant No. 2.

1. What is the planned capacity for Malaysia Plant No. 2?

Planned annual capacity for Malaysia Plant No. 2 is roughly RMB 2 billion.

1. How does communication and decision-making on major initiatives like capacity expansion work with the parent

company, Moon Group? To what degree does Moon Group intervene in day-to-day operations?

Major decisions, including capacity expansion, are deliberated and decided jointly with Moon Group and require approval from its board of directors. At the operational level, Moon Group does not intervene, focusing its involvement instead on government relations and broader resource support.

1. How secure is the company's component allocation with Danfoss for magnetic bearing centrifugal compressors? What are

current lead times, and how does the company handle procurement for large-volume orders?

For large-volume orders, the company supplies Danfoss with advance demand forecasts. Danfoss compressor lead times currently run between 4 and 5 months. Danfoss may maintain limited buffer stock across four specific models: the 350, 400, 450, and a high-temperature variant. Actual manufacturing schedules depend on down payments, meaning production begins only after deposits clear. While the company provides forecasts prior to finalizing client contracts, it avoids doing so too far ahead (such as six months out); Danfoss then alerts its upstream component suppliers to prepare inventory accordingly.

1. Has the company considered qualifying a secondary compressor supplier, such as domestic Chinese brands like Feilong?

There has been no collaboration with domestic Chinese brands on compressors to date; all units are sourced exclusively from Danfoss.

1. Do overseas client contracts require advance deposits, and what is the standard percentage?

Overseas customers must provide down payments, with a contractual floor set at 15% of total order value.

1. Looking ahead, what components besides compressors present potential supply chain bottlenecks?

Compressor availability has normalized, presenting no visible choke points at present. Future component vulnerabilities, if any, center on electrical controls, pressure vessels, valves, and solution pumps used in free cooling configurations. Delivery lead times for these parts can be slightly extended, though schedules remain steady today.

1. Which suppliers primarily provide the solution pumps used in free cooling systems?

Solution pumps are generally sourced from domestic Chinese suppliers. However, whenever projects mandate UL or CE certifications, procurement shifts to certified manufacturers such as Grundfos or Wilo, as domestic Chinese pump suppliers do not always carry these credentials.

1. How have new order bookings developed year-to-date in 2026?

Among new order commitments signed in 2026, leading clients include integra, GDS, and Digital Realty. Additional volume includes contracts with NTT across Australia and Malaysia, alongside orders from CRUSOE and NSKILL. Overall demand remains heavily concentrated among the top three accounts: integra, Digital Realty, and GDS.

1. Does the Integra agreement represent a framework arrangement or firm purchase orders? What is the delivery schedule?

The Integra commitment consists of confirmed, finalized purchase orders rather than a framework agreement. Given the sizable order volume, deliveries will stretch through mid-2027.

1. When is delivery of the Integra orders expected to finish?

Deliveries for the Integra orders are scheduled to commence in late 2026 and wrap up before the end of 2027.

1. What delivery schedules are set for major client orders—such as those for Digital Reality, GDS, NTT, Cross, and

Anscale?

Delivery timing varies by account. Digital Reality orders will see widespread completion within 2026. GDS orders are released in rolling tranches valued at roughly RMB 100 million to RMB 200 million each, typically delivering about four months post-booking; GDS orders are already on the shop floor, with full fulfillment slated for 2026. A small volume of NTT orders shipped in 1H 2026, while fresh orders placed in Australia this July will be delivered between late 2026 and the 2027 Lunar New Year period. Cross and Anscale commitments are largely scheduled for 2027 delivery, with production allocations split between Malaysia and the United States per group directives. Upstream preparations—including placing orders for compressors, controls, and pressure vessels—will kick off in 2026, followed three to four months later by production scheduling for pressure vessels and structural frames.

1. Which core assemblies in the company's cooling equipment are manufactured in-house?

The company manufactures its own pressure vessels and heat exchangers, specifically including V-type heat exchangers as well as refrigerant-to-water heat exchangers.

1. Factoring in current fulfillment commitments, what does capacity utilization look like for 2027?

Projections indicate 2027 deliveries will be anchored by Integra, Cross, and Anscale. Against an aggregate capacity base of roughly RMB 9.5 billion, the company retains roughly RMB 4 billion in uncommitted headroom for 2027. End-market demand remains robust, with industry peers commonly booked through 1H 2028.

1. Has the company engaged in direct discussions or order negotiations with XAI?

The company has held discussions with XAI and gained inclusion on its approved chiller vendor list. However, major end users like XAI rarely procure equipment directly, choosing instead to mandate purchasing through their data center general contractors. No specific purchase orders have been received from XAI projects to date, as major projects frequently operate under confidentiality protocols during their early phases.

1. What is the typical fulfillment lead time on customer purchase orders? What are current delivery timelines for order

backlog—such as the Integra, Cross, and NSK projects—and when should fulfillment wrap up?

Working backward from the final site delivery target, customer procurement cycles run 8 to 10 months. Specifically, chiller manufacturing requires 5 to 6 months, ocean transit takes 1 month, and on-site erection and commissioning take 2 to 3 months. Based on present shop-floor scheduling, the active backlog should be largely delivered in 1H 2027, though select phases may spill into July or August 2027. Assembly is concentrated across plants in the United States and Malaysia, with newly added US shop floor space helping underpin execution.

1. Beyond chillers, is the company pursuing other liquid cooling hardware, such as CDUs, manifolds, or cold plates?

There is no indication that the company is currently developing other liquid cooling hardware such as CDUs, manifolds, or cold plates. Chiller production lines remain at capacity, so corporate focus has not shifted toward expanding into these adjacent product categories for now.

1. How do prefabricated integrated cooling stations (modular chiller plants) fit into the company's product line, and

how are overseas sales performing?

Modular chiller plants represent a key offering. By completing the bulk of prefabrication and engineering assembly inside the factory—integrating chillers, water pumps, makeup water packages, water treatment equipment, and valving—these systems dramatically compress project schedules and eliminate costly field labor, particularly across markets like the United States and Malaysia. The product line has been established for several years and has recently entered widespread adoption within the data center market. Overseas clients, especially in the US market, have demonstrated strong adoption, and sales traction remains solid.