CEL CRITICAL POWER | Repositioning a 50-Year Engineering Company for the Global Data Centre Market

Client: CEL Critical Power
Sector: Engineering, Energy, Data Centres
Services: Strategy, Brand Video, Recruitment Video, Industrial Filming, 3D Animation, Drone, FPV Drone, International Production
Timeline: 2024–2025

The approach: credibility first, content second

Before a camera ever rolled, I carried out a full credibility audit of CEL’s website, messaging, and online presence.

This audit focused on:

  • How CEL appeared to non-technical decision-makers

  • Whether their experience translated clearly to data centre buyers

  • Gaps between internal ambition and external perception

  • What content would actually support hiring, sales, and growth

From that, I prescribed a video strategy designed to support CEL’s direction over the next several years, not just a single campaign

The brand story: where CEL came from, and where it’s going

At the heart of the rebrand was a new brand story film.

This piece deliberately balanced:

  • CEL’s 50-year engineering heritage

  • Their transition into modular power for data centres

  • A clear signal to future clients that this was a company built for the next generation of infrastructure

The tone was calm, confident, and senior — designed to resonate with decision-makers in engineering, construction, and hyperscale environments.

This film became the foundation for CEL’s refreshed website and external communications.

Modular power content that actually sells

A critical part of the project focused on CEL’s modular power business.

We filmed real systems, real builds, and real processes — then supported the live-action footage with high-end 3D animation, built directly from CEL’s own Revit files. This ensured technical accuracy while making complex systems easy to understand.

These videos were designed as:

  • Sales enablement tools

  • Meeting and pitch assets

  • Content for technically unfamiliar stakeholders

The outcome mattered:
These modular power videos went on to support sales conversations that helped close deals worth millions

Recruitment at scale: 8 hero films for hiring

One immediate business problem was talent.

CEL planned to open additional factories in Ireland and needed to hire 50+ skilled staff in a competitive market. Traditional job ads weren’t enough.

We produced eight high-end recruitment and culture films, built around real people, real facilities, and real engineering work — not generic employer-brand fluff.

These films:

  • Clearly communicated CEL’s scale, stability, and ambition

  • Positioned the company as a serious long-term employer

  • Directly supported factory expansion plans

The result: hiring targets were met, and the videos became core assets across recruitment, onboarding, and internal communications.

International execution: US factory launch, Virginia

In 2025, CEL expanded operations into the United States.

They needed video coverage for the official opening of their Virginia factory, with a hard deadline — the launch event was attended by:

  • The Governor of Virginia

  • Members of the U.S. Department of Defense

I remotely directed a US-based video crew, managing shot lists, structure, and delivery from Ireland. The final film was turned around in time for the launch and used as a cornerstone asset for CEL’s North American presence.

The result

This wasn’t a single video project. It was a long-term repositioning exercise, delivered through film.

CEL now has:

  • A coherent video ecosystem aligned with their data centre strategy

  • Recruitment content that supports real workforce growth

  • Sales assets that explain complex engineering clearly and confidently

  • Brand films suitable for global audiences and Tier-1 clients

For my business, this project defines the kind of work I want to continue to do more of:
helping complex engineering and infrastructure companies be understood and trusted faster — at moments that matter.

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