Frequently asked questions about
ZPAS products & technology

ZPAS is a European manufacturer of enclosure systems for industry, telecommunications and IT. The company was founded in 1973 and today employs around 800 people at its production plants in Poland (Wrocław region). ZPAS GROUP GmbH, based in Leipzig, is the German subsidiary and direct sales company of ZPAS.

Production takes place exclusively in Europe – no outsourcing to the Far East. This enables short delivery times, a high level of in-house manufacturing and individual custom designs, even in small quantities.

Both are possible – depending on the size of the project. We handle and supply larger projects directly from the factory; smaller enquiries are passed on to selected distribution partners. Technical advice and project support are always provided directly by ZPAS: short sales channels, contact persons and technicians who know the product inside out.

Through the ZPAS group, deliveries are possible to all EU countries and to many other international markets. Contact us directly about your project — where necessary, we coordinate delivery with the ZPAS subsidiary responsible for your country.

That depends on the product:

• Catalogue products (standard electrical enclosures, common server rack sizes) – flexible, even for smaller projects, no obligation to order large quantities.
• Custom designs & individual solutions – typically start from small series. Pilot projects and samples are possible if series production is planned afterwards.
• Large series – via framework agreements with call-off logistics at particularly attractive terms.

The price depends on quantity and configuration. Talk to us about your specific project — we will advise you individually.

An electrical enclosure (control cabinet) is a metal enclosure for safely housing electrical and electronic components: controllers, fuses, contactors, terminals, frequency inverters and the associated wiring. It protects the installed equipment against dust, moisture, mechanical impact and unauthorised access.

Electrical enclosures are at the heart of industrial automation and plant engineering — wherever machines are controlled, energy is distributed or processes are monitored. They are found in factory halls, power distribution systems, infrastructure projects, data centres and outdoors.

ZPAS manufactures electrical enclosures from galvanised sheet steel, stainless steel (1.4301 / 1.4404), outdoor enclosures from aluminium — depending on the requirements for degree of protection, ambient conditions and surface finish.

The IP rating (Ingress Protection according to EN 60529) consists of two digits: the first digit describes protection against solid foreign objects and contact, the second digit protection against water. An enclosure rated IP65 is therefore completely dust-tight (6) and protected against water jets (5).

Rule of thumb for ZPAS products: IP54/55 for industrial halls and outdoor areas — IP65 for wall-mounted enclosures (SWN) and stainless steel enclosures in telecommunications and cleanrooms. ZPAS outdoor enclosures (aluminium SZD series) achieve IP54, IP55 on request.

ZPAS manufactures electrical enclosures from three main materials — depending on protection requirements, environment and budget:

• Galvanised sheet steel – the standard for industrial enclosures. Robust, cost-efficient, powder-coated in the RAL colour of your choice. Degrees of protection up to IP65 possible.
• Stainless steel (1.4301 · AISI 304) – for the food and pharmaceutical industries, cleanrooms and aggressive chemicals. Corrosion-resistant and easy to clean.
• Aluminium – lightweight, corrosion-resistant and a good thermal conductor. Preferred for outdoor applications, telecommunications and applications where weight matters.

RAL is the European standard colour system for industrial coatings — originally introduced in 1927, today with more than 210 defined colours in the RAL Classic collection. Each colour has a four-digit number that uniquely defines an exact shade worldwide.

ZPAS supplies enclosures in any RAL Classic colour — powder-coated in the finish you require (matt, satin or textured). Frequently chosen shades:

The standard for industrial electrical enclosures is RAL 7035 (light grey); data centres often choose RAL 7016 (anthracite) or RAL 9005 (black). For special solutions in line with corporate design, smart lockers and outdoor enclosures, special colours to customer specification are possible — including RAL Design System+ (more than 1,800 shades).

The coatings meet the corrosion protection requirements of EN ISO 12944 and are applied and tested at the factory.

ZPAS electrical enclosures are used in almost every branch of industry:

• Mechanical engineering & automation – control enclosures for production lines and robotics
• Energy & utilities – switchgear for substations, wind power, solar
• Oil & gas / chemicals – corrosion-resistant enclosures for process control and field equipment
• Telecommunications – outdoor cabinets for mobile base stations and FTTX installations
• Rail transport & infrastructure – enclosures for platform equipment and tunnel systems
• Food & pharmaceuticals – stainless steel enclosures for hygienic environments

Panel building refers to the complete assembly and wiring of an electrical enclosure: mounting the rails, installing the components (contactors, terminals, frequency inverters, etc.), wiring according to the circuit diagram and a final functional test.

Yes — through its custom design department, ZPAS also offers fully equipped and fully wired electrical enclosures, including creation of the circuit diagrams, prefabricated assembly and test report. More about panel building & wiring →

An outdoor enclosure (also called an outdoor cabinet or weather-resistant enclosure) is an enclosure for permanent outdoor use – without a roof or the protection of a building. It must withstand extreme temperature fluctuations (−40 to +70 °C), UV radiation, rain, ice and wind.

ZPAS manufactures outdoor enclosures from aluminium (Alum SZD series). The standard degree of protection is IP54 (IP55 on request), with mechanical impact resistance IK10. Various thermal management systems can be integrated as options: ventilation, air/air heat exchanger, compressor air conditioner or PTC heater for frost protection. View ZPAS outdoor enclosures →

A standard electrical enclosure is designed for protected use inside buildings (halls, switchgear rooms). It usually offers IP54 or IP55 — sufficient for industrial halls, but not for permanent outdoor use.

An outdoor enclosure is specifically designed for unprotected outdoor areas: made of anodised aluminium, with degree of protection IP54 (IP55 on request), impact resistance IK10, integrated thermal management options and a choice of plinth or pole mounting. ZPAS offers solutions for both — and, for many applications, hybrids that combine the two.

ZPAS outdoor enclosures are used in a wide range of outdoor applications:

• Telecommunications – enclosures for mobile base stations (4G/5G), FTTX distribution points, radio relay stations
• Energy & renewables – inverter enclosures for photovoltaic systems, wind turbine controls, substations
• Transport infrastructure – control enclosures for traffic lights, tunnel systems, railway line equipment
• Oil & gas – corrosion-resistant outdoor enclosures for refinery and plant periphery
• Smart city / urban infrastructure – enclosures for charging stations, sensors, lighting control
• Water & wastewater – pumping station enclosures, sewage treatment plant controls

Yes. ZPAS supplies outdoor enclosures with fully integrated thermal management:

• Cooling – compressor cooling units, heat exchangers (air-to-air, air-to-water), free-cooling units
• Heating – PTC heaters (thermistor) for frost protection down to −40 °C, thermostat-controlled
• Ventilation with filter – for applications with lower heat loads, with IP54-compliant filter mats

The cooling components are integrated and tested at the factory — you receive a fully ready-to-operate enclosure.

Which solution you need depends on power loss, ambient temperature and degree of protection. With our cooling & heating capacity calculator you can determine the required capacity in a few seconds — including a matching unit recommendation.

U stands for rack unit (also RU; in German HE = Höheneinheit) and is the standard measure of usable mounting height in a 19″ server rack. One rack unit equals 44.45 mm (1.75 inches).

A typical server occupies 1 U, 2 U or 4 U. A standard rack with 42 U therefore offers around 1,870 mm of mounting height. ZPAS Z-Server racks are available in 42 U, 45 U and 47 U — with overall rack heights of 2,000, 2,100 and 2,200 mm.

The ZPAS Z-Server server rack has a static load capacity of 1,600 kg on levelling feet. Without levelling feet, standing directly on the floor, up to 2,000 kg is possible — with an evenly distributed load and profile rails 50–150 mm from the front and rear. On the castor set it is 1,500 kg: there the castors are the limiting factor, not the rack. This makes it the right rack for heavy GPU servers, battery systems and dense AI infrastructure — applications for which a conventional 500 kg rack is not sufficient.

Both follow the 19-inch standard and look similar — the difference lies in their purpose and design:

• Network cabinet – usually shallower (up to 800 mm deep), for switches, patch panels and passive network components. Often with a glass door, less often with active cooling.
• Server rack – deeper (900–1,200 mm), for servers, UPS, storage and cooling units. Higher load capacity, perforated doors for maximum airflow, often with 5-point locking.

ZPAS offers both versions in various depths (600/800/1,000/1,200 mm) and widths (600/800 mm) — from the high-load Z-SERVER server rack (up to 2,000 kg without levelling feet) to the DSR IT colocation rack with separately lockable compartments. All can be combined with the Data Box cold aisle system.

The front door of the Z-Server has a perforation rate of 86 % with an 80 % open cross-section — one of the highest values on the market. The more air flows through the door, the more efficiently the server can cool itself and the less work the external cooling system has to do. This is a decisive factor, especially for GPU servers and AI racks with 30–100 kW of power loss.

In a data centre, server racks stand in rows. Their fronts face a shared aisle — the cold aisle. There, the air conditioning blows in cold air, which the servers draw in at the front, heat up and blow out at the rear into the hot aisle.

Without separation, cold and warm air mix — and the air conditioning has to work harder. Cold aisle containment closes off the cold aisle with a roof structure and glass doors. The cold air reaches only the server fronts and cannot disperse. The result: up to 40 % lower energy consumption for data centre cooling.

More about the ZPAS Data Box system →

Both concepts separate cold supply air from warm exhaust air — but in different ways:

The ZPAS Data Box system supports both concepts and can be integrated modularly — including retrofitting into existing server rooms.

Containment usually pays for itself quickly when the server room has several rows of racks and cooling accounts for a significant share of operating costs. As a rough guide:

• From 5–6 racks in a row, building cold aisle containment is economically worthwhile — the payback period is usually less than two years.
• At high rack densities (from 5 kW per rack), containment is often no longer an option but a necessity, as room cooling alone is not enough.
• For AI and GPU racks (30–100 kW per rack), in-row coolers or rear-door heat exchangers are also required — containment alone is then not sufficient.

ZPAS advises you on the right cooling strategy: from simple cold aisle containment for existing server rooms to a complete data-centre-in-a-box.

A conventional server rack has a power loss of 5–10 kW. An AI rack with GPU servers (e.g. NVIDIA H100 systems) generates 30–100 kW of power loss per rack — ten times that of a standard rack.

Conventional room cooling is not sufficient for this. What is needed:

• In-row heat exchangers directly next to the racks (ZPAS BWC-DX2: 11.2 kW per unit)
• Chilled-water precision air conditioners (12–37 kW)
• Or rear-door heat exchangers directly on the rear of the rack

ZPAS supplies high-density racks with an 86 % perforation rate and plans the right cooling concept for the rack density of your project.

A container data centre is a prefabricated, turnkey data centre in a steel container (usually a 20- or 40-foot ISO container). It contains server racks, chiller, UPS, fire protection and monitoring — delivered ready for operation and commissioned within hours.

Advantages: no construction work required, quickly scalable, relocatable and reusable. ZPAS container data centres use Z-Server racks with cold aisle containment, a 29.5 kW air conditioning system and a NOVEC 1230 gas extinguishing system.

Smart lockers and parcel lockers are individual custom designs — they therefore typically start from small series. Prototypes for pilot projects are possible if a subsequent series order is planned.

For roll-outs with high volumes, the production plants in Poland offer the corresponding capacity — including for time-critical large-scale projects. Talk to us and we will clarify feasibility and minimum quantity for your project.

Yes — completely. ZPAS smart lockers are 100 % brandable:

• Powder coating in any RAL or RAL Design colour
• Side panels with advertising space or foil wrapping
• Integrated lighting and display cut-outs to your corporate design specifications
• Embossed logos, screen printing, laser engraving on request

The design department in Przygórze works directly to your corporate design specifications — CAD design, sampling and series production from a single source.

ZPAS smart lockers support various access and locking systems:

• Mechanical – classic key lock, combination lock
• Electronic – PIN pad, RFID card, NFC
• App-controlled – Bluetooth opening via smartphone app
• Central control – IoT connection, remote opening and monitoring via software

The electronics are integrated into the enclosure at the factory — including display, camera and barcode scanner on request.

Yes. ZPAS manufactures smart lockers both for indoor use (degree of protection IP44) and for unprotected outdoor areas (IP54, IP65, on request also IP66). For outdoor installations, the following are also used:

• Double-walled construction with thermal insulation
• Weather-resistant coatings and UV-stable materials
• Frost protection heating down to −30 °C
• Foundation or pole mounting depending on the site

The quickest way is via our contact form — please briefly describe your requirements: product category, quantity, required degree of protection and planned delivery date. Alternatively, you can reach us on +49 177 2479368 or by email at info@zpasgroup.de. We will get back to you with an initial quotation within 2 working days at most.

Delivery times depend on product type and configuration:

• Standard products (catalogue enclosures, common dimensions) – 1 to 4 weeks from order confirmation
• Custom designs (individual dimensions, special finishes) – 6–12 weeks depending on complexity
• Large series – considerably shorter lead times possible on the basis of a framework agreement with call-off logistics

For urgent projects, contact us directly — we will clarify production priority and express options individually.

Yes — free technical advice is always part of the service at ZPAS. ZPAS advises you on product selection: the right degree of protection, choice of material, cooling, standards and certifications. For larger projects, we prepare layouts, 3D models and preliminary sizing before you commit.