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Data center trade group tells Janesville council Wisconsin suppliers could win work, create thousands of jobs
Summary
Trisha Brown, executive director of the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition, told the Janesville City Council that data center development could support an estimated 30,000–50,000 jobs statewide and that each direct job may generate about 7.4 additional jobs through supplier and service roles. Council members asked about the multiplier's basis and Brown pointed to industry modeling and a pending Microsoft-commissioned study.
Trisha Brown, executive director of the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition, told the Janesville City Council on Wednesday that data center development presents a significant opportunity for Wisconsin manufacturers, logistics firms and specialty trades to win supplier work.
"I'm the executive director of the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition," Brown said in opening remarks, and described the Coalition as a recently formed, 501(c)(6) trade organization created to organize and promote Wisconsin companies for data center projects. She said the Coalition’s early members include transportation and logistics firms, equipment movers and manufacturers such as Evans Transportation, Trane Technologies, Global Power Systems and energy providers including Alliant Energy.
Brown framed data centers as a complex build that requires many non‑IT suppliers — from chillers and switchgear to fencing and specialty trades — and said that creates downstream work for companies across the state. Using Trane’s La Crosse plant as an example, she said La Crosse supplies roughly 90% of its chillers there and that a single data center can require about 15 to 20 chillers, illustrating how one component can generate demand across multiple regions.
Brown gave two headline estimates for Wisconsin: an average multiplier of about 7.4 ("each direct job creates 7.4 additional jobs across the broader economy," she said) and a rough supply‑chain footprint of 1,500 to 2,500 companies that together support roughly 30,000 to 50,000 jobs statewide. She cautioned that measuring the industry’s impact is still developing and said the Coalition is working with Microsoft, which has retained an international economic consulting firm to produce a detailed study of impacts in Wisconsin.
The clerk asked what the 7.4 multiplier was based on. Brown said the figure reflects standard direct‑plus‑indirect modeling that counts direct jobs and the tier‑1 and tier‑2 supplier jobs those projects generate, and that the forthcoming Microsoft study—based on invoice‑level analysis—will provide more precise estimates.
Brown also cited recent reports she said show energy rates in several areas with data center investment have been stable or declined, naming recent rate reductions reported in Iowa and Texas after data center activity. She offered to share those reports and other materials with Janesville staff.
Brown emphasized the Coalition’s three priorities: engage and educate Wisconsin suppliers about how to participate in the market; promote members at national supplier conferences; and, once members have demonstrable wins, more actively inform and support policymaking related to the industry. She noted the Coalition does not operate as a lobbying organization, though it maintains a lobbyist as a resource for elected officials.
Council president Burdick thanked Brown for the presentation. After brief closing remarks the council moved to adjourn; the workshop concluded without further formal action on ordinances, contracts or funding decisions.
The Coalition representative said she would share the cited reports and the Microsoft study with Janesville staff for further review.
