Demand from US data-center boom radiates out through factory supply chains

Generac is best known for making backyard generators that rumble to life after power failures.

But artificial intelligence is its new frontier.

The Waukesha, Wisconsin-based company is spending $250 million by the end of next year to equip multiple factories to make beefed-up versions of its generators for data centers. The order backlog for those machines already stands at $1.6 billion, and the company expects to add about 1,000 workers, a 10% increase in its headcount.