American IT giant opens 'wonderful' £12m facility in Barnsley creating 150 jobs

US company SHI International has officially opened its ‘Nexus Integration Centre’ at Capitol Park beside the M1 in Dodworth.

The company’s £12m investment in this new IT configuration and integration centre, with customer service and warehouse facilities, will enhance its capacity to deliver advanced data centre and end-user computing solutions to clients across the UK.

The Barnsley business centre will be fully operational by January next year. It complements similar SHI configuration facilities in the US, the Netherlands, France and Singapore, plus its existing SHI UK offices in Milton Keynes, London, and Glasgow.

SHI International is a world-leading tech company and the largest Minority Woman Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) in the US. Its CEO and president Thai Lee has been at the helm since 1989 and built the company into a $13bn global corporation.

A spokesperson said its new 46,000 sq ft Barnsley base creates a technology integration centre, sales and customer experience hub which will attract customers from all over the UK to view IT solutions from dozens of tech partners which are showcased here.

Senior vice president for SHI’s international division Celeste Lee flew in from SHI’s headquarters in New Jersey to officially open the new Barnsley centre.

She said: “The opening of the Nexus Integration Centre is another key milestone in SHI's continuing UK, European, and international expansion plans. The customised client and data centre hardware solutions configured and shipped from Nexus will provide our customers with greater efficiency and availability and with reduced cost and shipping times. By bringing these operations in-country, any UK-based customer looking for direct oversight of complex integrated solutions can visit the integration centre where the actual work is performed.”

SHI in Barnsley has already recruited to jobs in IT, sales, customer service, administration and warehouse roles, with further plans for workforce expansion over the coming months.

Mayor of Barnsley Coun Sarah Jane Tattersall attended the official opening and welcomed the US company to the borough.

Enterprising Barnsley has helped SHI UK move here, by assisting with planning matters, securing financial support to back their own investment and making connections with local suppliers. It has also helped with recruitment and training alongside partners, Barnsley College.

Coun Robert Frost, cabinet spokesperson for growth and sustainability, said: “It is wonderful to see SHI UK opening its new integration centre in Barnsley and we look forward to seeing the company flourish here.

“New jobs have already been created and we anticipate more opportunities over the coming months as the facility ramps up to full operational status.”

The Integration Centre will feature active configuration workstations where solutions such as data centre sever rack builds, device imaging, and asset tagging are completed before the assembled and kitted hardware is deployed to customers in the UK and beyond.

A warehouse section capable of housing more than 800 pallets of dedicated equipment will allow customers to undertake proactive supply chain planning to optimise acquisition costs and secure product availability.