Electronics Era: India is expected to have its data center capacity touch 1.8 GW in 2027, and possibly go beyond 4,500 MW in 2030, mainly due to AI and hyperscale requirements. How does WIKA see this growth opportunity? And what is the strategy roadmap of the company for India’s data centers?
Gaston Dorren: We expect this growth in the market in India because India is one of the fastest-growing markets in the coming years. Therefore, WIKA already has dedicated products to serve our customers. We also see that already a lot of these big players are in the market, and we have now a dedicated team in India to serve these customers. And this means not only the customers, but also these hyperscalers and all the other ones, to reach together these big quantities that are needed for the gigawatts.
Electronics Era: AI workloads drive rack density to an all-time high. What are some of the top measurement and monitoring challenges that the Indian data center managers are presenting at WIKA?
Gaston Dorren: What we see in this market in India is a little bit different from other markets when I compare, for example, with the US. The Indian market has a lot of humidity. That means we need to have maybe some different products that need to withstand other conditions. But that is also something WIKA can fulfill. That is one of the biggest challenges we see compared to other countries.
Electronics Era: As the industry moves from air-cooling systems to liquid-cooled systems for AI racks, how is the range of WIKA’s instrumentation changing to keep up with this trend?
Gaston Dorren: When we look at air-cooled systems, we already had a strong portfolio for that. We are also lucky because, at WIKA, I have been working for a longer time now in this heating and refrigeration segment, and we saw that there is something new coming up: data centers. Therefore, we already had a lot of products in our portfolio. Products we didn’t have, we developed over the last years. So, more or less, we see that we can offer around 90% of the products that are being asked for at this moment by the market. And when I speak about products, let’s say they are complete solutions, because we can deliver a complete package to them. WIKA has a lot of possibilities in power, in cooling, but also in the physical infrastructure. So, those are our three pillars where we can support the big data center builders, owners, and others.
Electronics Era: The coolant distribution units are the core components in any liquid cooling system. Could you tell us about the instrumentation used by WIKA for CDUs?
Gaston Dorren: When I look into CDUs, you see that there is a lot of pressure measurement required. Therefore, we already have our big portfolio for pressure transmitters. Also, when the customer is still asking for pressure gauges, we are able to supply them. Temperature measurement is required, so we have a lot of components that we can use there. Then we have flow measurement to measure the flow in the system, and flow switches when the customer needs the switch. Also, level measurement is an option that we can supply there. So, for the CDU units, we already have a complete package that we can deliver to the CDU manufacturers in the world and in India. And, to be honest, we are already a supplier for the biggest producers of CDU units in the world. It doesn’t matter, I’m traveling around the world. If it is in Asia, India, or in the US, more or less everywhere, the same equipment is required.
Electronics Era: The average PUE for India stands at 1.9 compared to a best-in-class figure of 1.3. How would accurate measurements and monitoring by WIKA help bridge this gap?
Gaston Dorren: When we look at PUEs, it’s important that we know where there are leakages, where energy is going out of the system. WIKA has a lot of measurement solutions where we can find that out and see what is happening, and then we can help the operators to operate the data center. We also have service equipment for that when needed. Maybe in the future, you will see that more and more data will be collected also in data centers to improve the uptime of the system.
Now it’s already 99.7%, but we need to go to 100%. And we have equipment and products that can support the operators. They give information, they can look into it, and then predictive maintenance: do we need to do something, yes or no? Then they can already do some actions.
Electronics Era: WIKA describes making possible a move from reactive to predictive maintenance. Would you please give information on how WIKA IIoT systems and smart devices, such as NETRIS2, are used in Indian data centers?
Gaston Dorren: We see that when I speak with customers, the first questions in this direction are coming up. Not only for power. In the power system and power generation, we already have a lot of equipment that we also deliver to high-voltage power systems around the world. But now, also in data centers, the question is coming up. Mostly, the focus is on the power side. I expect in maybe five or six years that these IoT systems will also maybe be used in a CDU. At this moment, also with IO-Link instruments, we don’t see them now, but maybe it’s growing into that. It’s going in that direction. But for now, I would say no, it’s not there yet. Only in the power supply.
Electronics Era: A rotary machinery monitor is one of the important products from WIKA for measuring pumps, fans, and motors. What is the importance of such a product in the context of Indian data center operators?
Gaston Dorren: When we look at, for example, pumps, it’s important that they run every time, so we need to measure the vibration. Because when the pump has too much vibration, it could be stopped. That means also no water or liquid to cool the systems. So, we have a lot of instruments in our portfolio, for example, to measure vibrations in pump systems. And that helps also to see if something is going wrong or not, or if something will be damaged soon.
It helps the operators of the data centers to take actions on time, so that nothing will happen and the data center will still run 100%. So, predictive maintenance, we have some products that can help there.
Electronics Era: Sustainability is fast becoming a concern at the boardroom level in data centers in India. How does the measuring system from WIKA help in conserving energy?
Gaston Dorren: Sustainability is very important, and that is linked to energy reduction. When you have energy reduction, you need to have good quality and a lot of knowledge of what is going on in the data center. So, you need to know exactly what the cooling system is doing, what the pumps are doing, and what the water systems are doing. And that will help to perform the data center on a higher level and give you, with these quality products, better sustainability for the environment. WIKA, with these high-quality products, can help them control the temperature and the pressure in the system. And that will help you with sustainability.
Electronics Era: WIKA provides sensors, from differential pressure sensors used in AHUs, CRAC and CRAH systems, to submersible level sensors for cooling towers and water tanks. What products have seen the most uptake in Indian data centers?
Gaston Dorren: The strongest is what you see in hyperscalers, around the cooling and the utility systems. The measurement has a direct impact on the reliability and efficiency of the data center. So, differential pressure sensors and switches, we see mainly in the air handling units, brake units, filters, and chilled water systems. Pressure transmitters and gauges, we see mainly in the chilled water systems. So, that will help there. We see flow switches and flow meters in the air and in the water systems. That will help and bring the products to a higher level and a higher feasibility for the data center.
Electronics Era: Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, what new innovations or product launches can the Indian data center ecosystem expect from WIKA, particularly in smart sensing, wireless monitoring, and AI-enabled analytics?
Gaston Dorren: As I mentioned, we have temperature, level, and flow instruments. But with these new technologies, WIKA already has a lot in the portfolio. For us, it is maybe new in the data center world, but it’s not a new product that we have. So, we can easily go for, let’s say, a standard pressure transmitter with a 4–20 mA output, and then jump into IO-Link or IoT solutions with LoRaWAN or something. We have that. We have a complete package already, but we can also put it into the data center business. In general, when I make a conclusion, I say, yes, WIKA is already a player in this market, in the market in India. The India market is growing and will be growing rapidly in the coming years. We are in India a frontrunner as WIKA to help the data center business go to the next level in India. So, we work already with the big players in the market. They know us more and more. We have now a dedicated team here in India who are focused on supporting local customers. But we know not only local is our issue. The companies that are here are not only producing for the local market, but also for abroad, maybe for the US or Saudi Arabia, etc. And there, we have the dedicated team, but the focus from them is, in the first step, to help India bring the data center market to the next level. We are there. We know where to go. This week, I saw a lot of customers in this market, so we are there. We know where the market is going. It’s moving away from air cooling. It’s moving to liquid cooling. It will be bigger, bigger, and bigger in the future. But we are there to support this.
