Manufacturing News
October 7, 2026
October 7, 2026 · National · Story 4 of 5
Wisconsin's Suppliers Are Cashing Indiana's Data Center Checks
Generac in Genesee and Modine in Racine are booking the equipment orders Indiana's data center boom creates. Generac is carrying a $1.6 billion backlog for data-center generators and has added capacity in Beaver Dam and Sussex; Modine landed a $4 billion cooling order from Google. A Wisconsin Policy Forum analysis found roughly 68% of data-center construction spending goes to processors, electrical gear and cooling, which means the margin sits with equipment makers wherever the building happens to be. Amazon has committed about $26 billion to Indiana data centers, and a Racine cooling manufacturer is earning off it.
Indiana handed out $655 million in data-center sales-tax exemptions in 2025, aimed largely at site operators rather than the suppliers taking the equipment margin. Governor Braun has already said the state "clearly doesn't have enough electricity" for both manufacturing growth and data centers, so the grid itself may cap how much of this an Indiana manufacturer can chase. Watch Modine's 12-24 month supplier-qualification window for hyperscaler agreements running to 2029: that is the door, and it does not stay open.
- Impact
- Deep research shows Amazon's cloud division alone accounts for more than half of Modine's roughly $23 billion total pipeline, and AWS has committed about $26 billion to Indiana data centers directly, meaning a Racine, Wisconsin cooling manufacturer is riding Indiana's own hyperscaler buildout while Indiana handed out $655 million in data-center sales-tax exemptions in 2025 largely to the site operators, not equipment makers like Generac and Modine. Governor Mike Braun has already warned Indiana 'clearly doesn't have enough electricity' to support both manufacturing growth and data centers, meaning the same grid constraint could cap how much of this supplier-side upside Indiana-based manufacturers can actually capture.
- Watch
- Modine's 12-24 month supplier-qualification window for hyperscaler long-term agreements running through 2029, and whether Indiana redirects any data-center incentive dollars toward equipment suppliers rather than site operators.
- For the huddle
Could we qualify as a tier-2 supplier to the same hyperscaler cooling or power-generation contracts Generac and Modine are winning, before that 12-24 month qualification window closes?
Possibly, but the window is 12 to 24 months for agreements running to 2029. Indiana's incentives went to site operators, not equipment makers, so the opening is commercial rather than subsidised.
Sources
- Data center boom's benefits many · journalgazette.net
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