From Local Roots to Hyperscale:
How Salboheds Became a Data-Centre Heavyweight
Can you tell us about Salboheds history?
Salboheds started almost 20 years ago as a small, family-run construction and civil-engineering company in Salbohed, near Sala, Sweden. From the beginning we focused on high-quality groundwork and infrastructure projects, earning a reputation forbeing relationship driven, focusing on precision, reliability, and a willingness to innovate—values that still define the company today.
Where were you – size and turnover – before starting to work for/in the DC industry?
Before entering the data-centre (DC) market we were a strong regional contractor with roughly 50 employees and steady turnover from municipal infrastructure, industrial sites, and large earthworks across central Sweden. Our operations were healthy but firmly in the traditional civil-engineering space.
Our size and turnover is currently 150 employees but providing work for over 1500 people on our projects with a turnover of over 2.5 billion SEK. When we took on our first DC project we were turning over just north of 100 million SEK.
Can you tell us a bit about how and when you came in contact with the DC industry, and the journey so far?
Around 2016 we were invited to provide groundwork for an international tech company's first Swedish facility. The general contractor that contacted us had heard about our approach to business and our focus on delivering projects safely, on time, on budget and with the focus on collaboration and relationships. That first hyperscale project opened the door to a new world of speed, scale, and technical complexity. Since then we've grown a dedicated DC business unit, forged relationships with the world's leading cloud providers, and expanded our capacity to deliver multiple hyperscale projects in parallel across the Nordic countries.
What are the challenges working with the DC industry? Are there any differences compared to other types of projects?
Data-centre projects demand unmatched speed, precision, adaptability and confidentiality – all with a strong focus on a high safety culture. Security protocols are stricter, tolerances tighter, and the supporting infrastructure for power, fiber and cooling adds layers of complexity. Timelines are often around-the-clock and require seamless coordination with international teams—very different from the rhythm of traditional industrial or municipal projects.
What do you see ahead when it comes to growth for the DC industry?
We expect strong, sustained growth as cloud adoption, AI, and digital services continue to expand. Northern Europe—and Sweden in particular—offers renewable energy and political stability, making it an ideal hub. Salboheds is investing in sustainable construction methods and advanced digital planning tools to meet this accelerating demand.
Knowing what you know now, would your success in growth, phase and profits have been possible in any other industry? If not, please elaborate why.
It would be difficult to match the pace and profitability we've achieved anywhere else. The DC sector combines global demand, long-term client relationships, and very high technical standards, all of which drive rapid growth. Few other markets offer the same mix of scale, sustainability focus, and continuous investment in infrastructure.
From Local Roots to Hyperscale: How Salboheds Became a Data-Centre Heavyweight
Salboheds, a construction and civil engineering company based in the small community of Salbohed near Sala, has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two decades. What began as a family-run business focused on groundwork and municipal infrastructure is now a key player in the Nordic data-centre industry.
Founded almost 20 years ago, Salboheds first built its reputation in central Sweden by delivering large earthworks and infrastructure projects with a strong emphasis on precision and reliability. For its first decade and a half, the firm remained a healthy but regionally focused contractor, employing around 50 staff and generating annual revenues of just over 100 million SEK.
The turning point came in 2016, when the company was invited to work on the groundwork for a major international technology firm's first data centre in Sweden. The project introduced Salboheds to an industry where speed, technical complexity and tight security requirements set it apart from traditional civil-engineering contracts.
– Timelines are around the clock, tolerances are tighter, and the infrastructure demands—from power and fibre to cooling—are on another level compared to municipal or industrial projects, Says Patrick Walsh, CIO of Salbohed.
The move proved decisive. Today Salboheds has grown to 150 employees and supports more than 1,500 workers through subcontractors, with annual turnover exceeding 2.5 billion SEK. The company has built a dedicated data-centre unit and now works with some of the world's largest cloud providers on hyperscale projects across the Nordic region.
Industry observers expect strong demand to continue, fuelled by cloud adoption, artificial intelligence and rising digital consumption. Sweden's combination of renewable energy, political stability and available land has already attracted significant investment from international tech firms.
Patrik continues; – We expect strong, sustained growth in the years ahead, said a company spokesperson. – Northern Europe, and Sweden in particular, is well positioned to be a hub for global data-centre development.
Salboheds is betting on further growth. The company is investing in sustainable construction practices and digital planning tools to handle multiple large-scale projects in parallel.
– The data-centre industry combines global demand, long-term partnerships and very high technical standards, says Patrick. – That mix is hard to find elsewhere.
What started as a local contractor near Sala has become an integral part of one of the world's fastest-growing infrastructure industries—a shift that mirrors the rise of the Nordics as a hub for global cloud services.