How Simple Mining scaled to 20,000 miners with Giga Energy

Project snapshot
Company: Simple Mining
Project location: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Application: 50 MW air-cooled mining operation (expanding to 70+ MW hydro-cooled site)

Complicated bottlenecks of a Bitcoin mining company

As demand for hosted Bitcoin mining surged, Simple Mining found itself at a crossroads. Founded by Adam Haynes, the company had quickly grown from a small Ethereum mining setup behind a retail cell phone repair store to a vertically integrated mining host running thousands of machines across Iowa.

But in the early days, infrastructure was a bottleneck. Simple Mining sourced and built most of its electrical and housing systems internally, including containers. “We were actually building our own containers,” Haynes said. “And we had to make a decision at one point in time if we were going to be a Bitcoin mining container manufacturing company. That was a very quick no.”

Building infrastructure in-house drained time and attention away from Simple Mining’s core strengths: high-uptime hosting, in-house repairs, and easy Bitcoin mining. “It’s a very time-consuming process,” Haynes said. “Lots of little details…To have that removed really helps us focus on our core business.”

The challenge wasn’t just operational: it was strategic. As CTO Lucas Schwamman described it, the company was ready to go beyond bootstrapped builds and scale with greater speed, density, and reliability.

“Nine times out of ten, our guys would rather be working in the Giga containers. They’re just way easier as far as functionality and usability.”

How Giga containers made life better for Simple Mining

Simple Mining turned to Giga for containerized hosting solutions, transformers, and substation infrastructure at scale, with short lead times and high engineering reliability. The shift was a major inflection point for the company’s growth.

“They’ve done a lot of the hard work required to be able to offer really good products at affordable prices and good timeframes,” said Haynes. “It’s been a great partnership.”

From Schwamman’s perspective, Giga’s products stood out early. “A lot on the design side of things — how the racks are designed, how airflow is mitigated and filtered,” he said. “And having the VFD control of the exhaust fans.”

Scott Hemann, who oversees repairs and operations, put it plainly: “Nine times out of ten, our guys would rather be working in the Giga containers. They’re just way easier as far as functionality and usability.”

Giga’s value proposition extended beyond performance. The team was responsive, accessible, and focused on continuous improvement. “Giga’s never let us down,” said Hemann. “They’re always there when we need them.”

Technical challenges in Bitcoin mining

To meet growing demand, Simple Mining needed infrastructure that was modular, dense, and technically advanced. Their internal containers held just 96 ASIC miners. With Giga, that capacity jumped to more than 300 units per container, more than tripling the hardware footprint without requiring more square footage.

“Being able to take the same space that could only hold 96 miners and now host around 300-plus in a single unit is a major improvement for us,” said Schwamman.

Ease of install and remote control were also essential. “Not having to go inside of a container to change VFD settings or fan settings, being able to do that remotely with Giga’s HMI interface saves a lot of time” Schwamman said.

Other features, like rugged weather sealing and upgraded cable routing, solved daily headaches. “You're basically worry-proof on knowing that there’s never going to be leaks for snow or rain,” Schwamman said. “The ethernet cables now poke out right where they need to be. When you’re racking units, nothing’s getting kinked or pinched.”

The result: faster setups, smoother operations, fewer failure points, and more uptime across thousands of units.

Giga’s reliability and service make the difference

The transition from in-house infrastructure builds to working with Giga streamlined Simple Mining’s growth. Giga delivered fully integrated container and substation systems with shorter lead times, enabling site builds to proceed without the friction of multi-vendor sourcing.

“It used to be, okay, we need PDUs — well, they’re not going to clear customs in time,” said Hemann. “With Giga, we say we need containers, and they’re here. Our electricians hook them up and we’re ready to rack.”

Giga’s field support and warranty response also stood out. When a critical 4,000 amp breaker unexpectedly failed, powering about 800 miners, Giga moved quickly. “Not a cheap breaker by any means,” Hemann said. “Giga wasted no time ensuring that we had a replacement through warranty. No cost to us. That minimized our downtime, which is crucial in this business.”

Beyond emergency support, Simple Mining saw continuous gains from Giga’s ongoing product development cycles. “You can continue to see the increased functionality of the containers,” Hemann said. “From the first ones we got a year and a half ago to now, it’s clear Giga is constantly improving.”

“I’d 100% recommend them,” he said. “You’re not just buying a container — you’re getting support, speed, continuous improvement. It’s been an awesome partnership.”

What results did Simple Mining see?

• Scaled infrastructure from 96 to 300+ miners per container
• Achieved 98% uptime across all sites since inception
• Eliminated sourcing delays with end-to-end Giga fulfillment
• Resolved 4,000 amp breaker failure under warranty in days
• Improved technician workflow with better cabling and remote controls
• Supported rapid build-out of 50 MW site and upcoming 70 MW hydro facility

Mining containers are better with long-term relationships

As of mid-2025, Simple Mining is operating more than 20,000 miners with infrastructure delivered by Giga. The company’s next major project — a 70 MW hydro-powered site in partnership with Alps Blockchain — will push them further into high-efficiency hosting, and more deployments across Iowa are on deck.

For Haynes, Giga remains a key part of that growth. “We can focus on what we want to be the best in the world at, hosting and repairs, because Giga has the infrastructure handled.”

CTO Schwamman echoed the sentiment: “Giga’s been probably my favorite partnership in terms of infrastructure.”

And for operations lead Hemann, it’s the whole package that makes Giga stand out. “I’d 100% recommend them,” he said. “You’re not just buying a container — you’re getting support, speed, continuous improvement. It’s been an awesome partnership.”

See the Giga difference in your own mining operations

If you’re operating a facility with aging infrastructure, don’t let long lead times from traditional OEMs delay your project and leave money on the table.

Giga designs and delivers custom products fast, without cutting corners on quality, service, or support — and with inventory in stock and ready to ship from Los Angeles, CA.

Contact us today for short lead times, quality products, and expert support in the field.