Data center & battery storage logistics
Staging warehouses, OFCI equipment logistics, and lithium battery compliance for data center construction. We delivered a 100,000 sq ft battery storage program through fire marshal sign-off. We can deliver yours.
100,000 sq ft
battery storage delivered, hazard report to sign-off
Nationwide
port-adjacent staging capacity in our anchor markets
1 partner
staging, freight, customs, and permitting path
The problem
The equipment arrives years before the building is ready for it.
Data center owners now buy electrical equipment the moment financing closes. Substation transformers quote 75 to 110 weeks. Generators run 72 to 104 weeks. Switchgear runs a year or more. The gear ships when the factory finishes it, not when your site can take it.
Sites have no room for the overflow. Laydown yards fill, gates congest, and weather-sensitive equipment waits outside. Battery systems add a harder constraint: lithium-ion storage needs fire-code permits most warehouses cannot get.
The fix is a staging partner who can hold the equipment compliantly, track every serial number, and release it to the site in installation order.
Scope · 01
Data center staging & OFCI logistics
OFCI receiving & inspection
We receive owner-furnished equipment, document condition on arrival, and hold vendors accountable for damage before it reaches your site.
Near-site staging warehouse
Climate-protected space near your project takes the laydown overflow. Long-lead equipment waits indoors, not in a muddy yard.
Serialized asset tracking
Every generator, switchgear line-up, busway stick, and rack is tagged and tracked. Inventory reporting and cycle counts run on a schedule you define.
Sequenced just-in-time delivery
Equipment releases to the site in installation order, on dock schedules the GC controls. Fewer trucks at the gate, no double handling.
White-glove final mile
Coordinated rigging, room-of-choice placement, and documented chain of custody for the equipment your schedule depends on.
Commissioning support
Staged spares and sequenced deliveries through energization, aligned to your commissioning levels and commercial operation date.
Scope · 02
Battery storage & BESS logistics
Lithium-ion logistics is a compliance discipline. Every item below is something we have planned, permitted, or executed, not a brochure claim.
Compliant transport
UN 3480, UN 3481, and UN 3536 moves planned under 49 CFR 173.185, with correct marking, packaging, and documentation.
Permitted battery warehousing
Storage planned to the 2024 IFC Section 320 requirements: permits, separation, detection, and state-of-charge controls, approved by the AHJ.
Fire marshal approval path
Hazard reports, technical opinions, fire safety plans, and emergency response plans, carried through fire marshal sign-off. We have done it at 100,000 sq ft scale.
Heavy haul coordination
BESS containers run 40 to 55 tons. We plan permitted overweight moves, route surveys, and crane coordination to the pad.
Port drayage & demurrage control
Port-adjacent facilities in our anchor markets take delayed or early-arriving containers off the clock before fees stack up.
Customs & tariff strategy
Tariff exposure on imported batteries changes project math. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners, covering classification, foreign-trade zone options, and duty drawback.
Proof · Michigan
100,000 sq ft of lithium-ion battery storage, permitted and delivered.
Detroit / Ann Arbor corridor · Data center program
An enterprise client needed battery storage for a data center program outside Detroit and Ann Arbor, in one of the most active data center corridors in the country. Sams ran the full scope:
- Hazard report prepared and approved.
- City and county planning coordination and approval.
- Fire marshal review and sign-off on the storage facility.
- Staging plan for 100,000 sq ft of battery storage.
- Freight logistics from origin to the facility.
The program succeeded, and the permitting playbook it produced now travels to every market in our network.
Who we serve
Built for the four buyers on every data center project.
Owners & developers
One partner for OFCI staging across your portfolio, with the same standards in every market you build in.
General contractors & EPCs
Off-site staging relieves gate congestion and laydown limits. Deliveries land in installation order, on your dock schedule.
BESS integrators & OEMs
Compliant storage and transport between the port and the pad, with SoC management and demurrage control built in.
Electrical contractors
Switchgear, busway, and UPS staged, kitted, and released to your install sequence, with serialized tracking throughout.
Program assurances
The paperwork your procurement team will ask for.
Insurance and Certificates
We carry commercial general liability placed through a carrier rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, Financial Size Category XV. Additional insured status, waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory endorsements are issued to match your contract requirements. Certificates of insurance are provided before the first receipt of product.
Authorities and Partners
Freight brokerage is operated under Sam and Sons Corporation. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. Truck and trailer service is performed at our NAPA Truck Care Center.
Heavy Handling
Oversized and over-dimensional units are handled with a 50 ton class rough terrain crane and a certified operator, an engineered spreader rated to 30,000 pounds, and trained riggers and skate crews. This capacity is supplied through our rigging partner and is scheduled to the project.
Service Levels
We answer all inquiries within one business day. Loads that arrive before our daily cutoff receive same business day receipt confirmation. Standard operating hours are Monday through Friday. After hours and weekend handling is available by arrangement.
Inventory
We provide inventory reporting and cycle counts on a schedule the client defines.
FAQ
Data center & battery logistics, answered.
What is OFCI in data center construction?
OFCI means Owner-Furnished, Contractor-Installed. The data center owner buys long-lead equipment such as generators, switchgear, transformers, and UPS systems directly. The general contractor installs it. Someone must receive, inspect, store, and deliver that equipment in sequence. That is the role a staging 3PL fills.
What are the warehouse storage requirements for lithium-ion batteries?
The 2024 International Fire Code added Section 320, the first fire-code chapter specific to lithium battery storage. A permit is required above small exempt quantities. Most projects also need a technical opinion and report, a fire safety plan, state-of-charge controls, separation distances, and detection. The local fire code official (the AHJ) approves all of it. We have taken a 100,000 sq ft battery storage program through this exact process.
Does NFPA 855 apply to battery warehouses?
NFPA 855 is the installation standard for stationary energy storage systems. Its prescriptive path limits fire areas to 600 kWh with sprinkler and separation requirements. Larger programs typically use UL 9540A test data to justify their fire protection design to the AHJ. Warehouses that store batteries as cargo fall under the fire code, which borrows heavily from both documents.
What state of charge is required to ship lithium batteries?
Air cargo shipments of standalone lithium-ion batteries (UN 3480) must be at or below 30 percent state of charge under IATA rules, which became mandatory on January 1, 2026. Ocean and highway moves have no federal SoC limit, but many AHJs and insurers require reduced SoC in storage. We manage SoC documentation through transport and warehousing.
What is a laydown yard, and how much space does a data center project need?
A laydown yard is the staging area where construction materials and equipment wait before installation. Data center sites rarely have enough of it, and weather-sensitive electrical gear should not sit outside. A near-site staging warehouse takes that overflow, protects the equipment, and releases it to the site in installation order.
Scope your project
Tell us what has to move, and when.
Send the basics and our team responds within one business day with a staging and compliance approach for your project.