A family-owned factory in Michigan has been left stunned after a niche part that had been manufactured there for decades suddenly started flying off the shelves.
Armstrong International, which was founded in 1900 and has been owned by the same family for five generations, makes equipment for steam and compressed air systems. The company’s website describes it as being ‘centered on God, family, and business – in that order.’
At first it was a mystery who was purchasing these bulk orders, leading Witteck to do some sleuthing.
He got in contact with an engineer who had ordered an air vent from Armstrong International through a contractor.
‘We got tipped off. It was [going] to a data center. That’s how data centers work. They don’t want anyone to know where they’re going, what they’re doing, how they’re doing it,’ Witteck told the Journal.
Until recently, the air vent, which was designed long before the rise of personal computers, had typically sold in batches of about a dozen. Source: Facebook/ Armstrong International
