One would have to do a lot of digging in libraries to unearth the last time a serious American technical editor or journalist used the word “stupendous” in print. In today’s world of transient technical feats and three-day wonders, there seems to be little that can evoke true astonishment among the usual round of world-weary, skeptical readers.

But now, Next Generation Data has come along, unveiling in the picturesque countryside near Newport, Wales, a stupendous Tier 3 data center, a gargantuan 75,000 square meter (807,300 square foot) fortress of data, almost certainly the largest, most resilient, most secure and most technologically advanced building of its type in Europe. Known as NGD Europe, it can house 19,000 racks of servers. It can call upon 180 Million Volt-Amperes of power if needed. It offers unparalleled connectivity, flexibility, scalability, reliability and manageability, not to mention superb customer service and support.

Founded by Simon Taylor, NGD’s chairman, and Nick Razey, NGD’s chief executive, the data center services company has certainly made a name for itself in the US and European markets. Recently, I had the chance to speak with Taylor about why the company was founded and where it is headed. The conversation follows below.

How did this enormous project come about?

Taylor: The history behind this project is that in 1996 the Welsh government and LG put in a huge amount of money – a £1.7 billion investment including £131m of grants from public bodies in Wales alone – to build a huge manufacturing plant in Newport, South Wales that was completed in 1998. At the time it was acclaimed as the largest single inward investment ever seen in the UK or Europe, for that matter. As a result, a superb business park was also constructed. The principal facility is quite remarkable with triple-skinned walls and earthquake-proof constructions.

The whole extensive project was 95 percent finished when LG had to pull out of the deal at the “11th-and-a-half hour.” A £1.2 billion sister factory on the site, which was to make semiconductors, never went into production and remained empty. The Korean stock market had collapsed, and LG and some of its fellow companies were technically insolvent and they had to restructure over the next two or three years, by which time this huge factory was built but not occupied. It was politically a hot potato, because it was supposedly going to create 6000 jobs. But what happened, happened, and what could they do?

The long and the short of it is that LG survived, restructured and refinanced, but the Welsh government was in a bit of an unfortunate situation because LG had put so much money into the project that they wouldn’t allow the Welsh government to release this park for any other usage. That situation went on for a few years, but things were eventually sorted out.

Around this time I was searching throughout the UK for a suitable datacenter. I’m Welsh, so I naturally preferred that it be situated in Wales.

So I started looking at Wales and I discussed the matter with some friends of mine in the Welsh government and they arranged a trip so that I could inspect the LG facilities. At the time I knew nothing about either LG or the site’s history. I thought they were going to show me a coal mine or a steel works, because Wales is very famous for heavy industry and wherever there is heavy industry, there can be founds loads of power, and of course I needed quite a bit of power for the data center.

When I arrived they drove me to a vast building – 75,000 square meters, or about 807,300 square feet – and asked me if I wanted it. I looked at it and my first thought was my goodness, how am I going to maneuver such a huge project through a board meeting for approval? But the Welsh government suggested that if we could agree to a collaborative effort, they would allow us to draw down the rent, adjust various rates and other items, thereby making the whole undertaking very economically enticing. I agreed, took the proposal back to London, spoke to our bank, initiated a due diligence exercise, and now we’ve basically taken control of the building.

What we now have is probably the largest data center in Europe. We’ve got two signed “anchor tenants” which are BT (News - Alert) and Logica and among others we have a blue chip US technology services company in residence.

Is this data center following a “cloud-type” approach?

Taylor: It can be so. BT has occupied it because they realize that for years they used to get orders for 50 racks of equipment and they’d say, “Well, that’s too small for us to pay any attention to,” and they’d give them away to partners, or one of a number of value-added resellers in the United Kingdom. BT soon realized that by doing so they were giving away £60 to £80 million away a year in profit margin. So BT is helping to promote this new data center nationally in the UK, to sell to companies that want just five, 10 or 15 racks of equipment. Now we’ve got our pricing right with them so we can all enjoy a very good margin, and yet they’re very competitively-placed in the market.

In the case of Logica (News - Alert), they’ve taken space in the data center too, but I’m not at liberty to say who exactly their clients are, other than to say that generally they have government dealings.

We’re talking to various major companies about cloud and grid-type computing. But I must be extremely careful in discussing such matters. Many companies have confidential arrangements with their clients, and many of them naturally do not want their competitors to know what they’re up to.

The underlying story is that we’ve gone through planning permission, change-of-use, and all of those other bureaucratic hurdles that one must jump over in the case of an immense project of this sort. Many people don’t realize that, apart from the millions of pounds in investment, obtaining planning permission to change something that size into a data center is not a straightforward matter in the UK, for a number of different reasons. But the government of Wales did a great job on our behalf.

If we manage to fill our data center building to the rafters, this project has the potential to become Wales’ biggest company. As I said, I’m Welsh, and part of my raison d’être is to the raise the profile of Wales itself, just like my fellow countryman, Terry Matthews. [Note: Sir Terence Hedley Matthews, founder of Mitel (News - Alert) and Newbridge Networks, is a serial high tech entrepreneur and Wales’ first billionaire.] I believe that Wales is a good bet for the high tech industry. I also think that Wales doesn’t get enough kudos and credit for what it has done, particularly in terms of the help they’ve provided us in our long journey to put a very complex project together. We’ve had to deal with formalities concerning commercial property, regulatory matters, and all sorts of areas involving the Welsh government, and everyone there has been fantastic. I live in London, and while working on some of my previous projects I had a somewhat tougher time dealing with the central government. Wales, on the other hand, has been extremely efficient and cooperative.

Please check back at the Data Center Services Channel next week for more from Taylor about developing a presence in the American market.