Canadian company expands into the US.
Textiles firm Unifi has sold a manufacturing site in North Carolina to a Canadian data center firm.In SEC filings this week, Unifi subsidiary Unifi Manufacturing, Inc. has entered into a real estate Purchase and Sale Agreement with Bit Digital-owned Enovum Data Centers for a site in Madison, Rockingham County.
Under the agreement, Enovum is set to buy an industrial/manufacturing building together with the underlying land, as well as certain machinery and equipment, for $53.2 million.
Set on just under 95 acres at 805 Island Drive, the existing building spans 946,585 sq ft (87,940 sqm). While the companies haven’t outlined full plans for the facility, the agreement references an aim to operate the site as a data center. The move would mark Enovum's first project outside of Canada.
Founded in 1971, Unifi, Inc. is a textile solutions provider, manufacturing synthetic and recycled performance fibers. The company says it has recycled more than 40 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber for new apparel, footwear, home goods, and other consumer products.
After more than 30 years in operation, Unifi announced it was closing the plant in Madison in February, laying off 91 people as part of a “footprint reduction.” The company said it will use the proceeds of the sale to pay down debts.
Launched in 2020, Enovum currently operates a 70,000 sq ft (6,500 sqm), 4MW facility in Montreal, Canada. The fully leased MTL1 site can reportedly expand up to 187,500 sq ft (17,400 sqm) and 24MW.
Bitcoin mining company Bit Digital acquired Enovum in November 2024. WhiteFiber is the company’s GPU cloud unit, operating out of Enovum facilities.
The company acquired a second site – MTL2 – in December for CA$33.5 million (US$24m). The 5MW, 160,000 sq ft (14,865 sqm) site has been designed with direct-to-chip liquid cooling and peak rack density of up to 150kW. Previously used as an encapsulation manufacturing facility, it is set to go live in mid-2025.
A third site is also in development outside Montreal in Saint-Jérôme, Québec. Set on 7.7 acres, the 202,000 sq ft (18,765 sqm) facility has a targeted go-live date of July 2025.
