GETTING THINGS MOVING

Wherever goods and loads are being moved you will often encounter automation technology and cranes from Demag Cranes. CHG-MERIDIAN was able to the lighten the load by finding a way to run their new data centers in a sustainable and energy-efficient manner.

A weighty challenge

Demag Cranes, now part of the Terex group of companies, made the strategic decision to move their SAP systems, whose operation was previously outsourced, to their own IT infrastructure. This required the construction of three new data centers, two at the headquarters in Düsseldorf and one at their Wetter site. The Management Board hoped to achieve considerable cost savings and an increase in quality and uptime. To do this, the IT environment that had developed over time was consolidated and transferred to state-of-the-art data centers capable of providing the necessary computing performance and security. Because environmental protection is enshrined in TEREX’s corporate values, it was important for more than just financial reasons to achieve a high degree of energy efficiency.

CHG-MERIDIAN developed a suitable corporate strategy to achieve better IT performance.

Sharing the load

“Our new data centers have allowed us to run our SAP systems inhouse and to make our corporate strategy in the areas of sustainability and energy efficiency more credible. Without the support of the consultants at CHG-MERIDIAN we wouldn’t have been able to deliver the project in this way and obtain certification from TÜV Rheinland,” explains Friedhelm Zahn, Head of IT Infrastructure at Demag Cranes AG.

In early 2012, CHG-MERIDIAN teamed up with product standards regulator TÜV Rheinland Consulting to launch the ‘energy-efficient data center’ certification initiative. “Our aim is to reduce the amount of energy consumed, and thereby CO2 emitted, by large data centers,” says Hans-Jörg Heming, Senior Consultant at CHG-MERIDIAN responsible for the complex project at the long-standing partner. The specialist consultants at CHG-MERIDIAN were able to bring their technological expertise from numerous projects into play, make the necessary resources available, and also highlight innovative financing models.

Every detail considered

The basic principles of data center planning formulated by the IT managers at Demag Cranes and CHG-MERIDIAN included:

Size and energy requirements, including capacity reserves of 50 percent

Agreements with the suppliers on the energy efficiency of the data centers

Cooling concepts that follow the trend toward high levels of compression

Redundancy of the data centers in Düsseldorf for the operation of critical applications

CAT II+ (Tier level 2) certification

Certification of energy efficiency from TÜV Rheinland

Size and energy requirements, including capacity reserves of 50 percent

From the drawing board to certification

Planning for the data centers began in early 2011 and the contract for the build was awarded in May. Three months passed between the granting of the building permit and the start of the ground works, so that building started in August. The prefabricated building was constructed during September and October, and the interior works began in November. The data centers were completed in December and brought online. After one year of operation, the certificates for energy efficiency and CAT II+ operational security were awarded in January 2013.

Company facts

Company: Demag Cranes AG, now Terex MHPS GmbH 

Portfolio: cranes, automation technology, integrated one-stop solutions for terminal management, warehouse and logistics systems

Headquarters: Düsseldorf, Germany

Further sites: Wetter, Germany

Management Board: Stoyan Filipov (CEO), Mark Bennett, Dr.-Ing. Mathias Dobner, Klaus Peter Hoffmann, Peter Pohlner, Susanna Schneeberger 

Part of Terex Material Handling & Port Solutions, a leading provider of industrial cranes, crane components, harbor cranes, and technology for port automation, since 2011

Website: www.demagcranes.de
CHG-MERIDIAN, which is not tied to specific suppliers, provided consulting and project management expertise. This benefited DEMAG when it was planning the data center specifications, running the project, and obtaining TÜV certification.

CHG-MERIDIAN, which is not tied to specific suppliers, provided consulting and project management expertise. This benefited DEMAG when it was planning the data center specifications, running the project, and obtaining TÜV certification.