The first half of 2026 has been a busy and productive one for Wescom’s Twin Ports region. Our field crews, automation team, panel shop, prefab teams, and service electricians have completed a wide range of projects across the industrial, utility, mining, oil and gas, commercial, renewable energy, and residential markets.
From critical plant shutdowns and automation upgrades to solar installations, substation equipment buildings, custom fabrication, and local service work, these projects highlight the diverse capabilities of our Twin Ports teams and the expertise they bring to every job.
Modernizing Utility Infrastructure
Wescom started 2026 working on several Electrical Equipment Enclosure (EEE) buildings at our Duluth shop for a local utility company. These buildings house the protection and control equipment used to operate electrical substations and are part of an ongoing effort to modernize substation controls throughout Minnesota and help provide reliable power for years to come.
Our scope has included building fabrication, control panel fabrication, electrical wiring, and setting the completed buildings on site. The projects also provided great winter work for our crews in a climate-controlled shop environment.
Our Twin Ports Panel Shop has played an important role in keeping the EEE building projects moving, producing line panels on a tight schedule while maintaining a strong focus on quality. Beyond the EEE projects, the panel shop continues to stay busy building custom control panels, with much of its work supporting the utility and oil and gas industries.
Supporting Renewable Energy
Renewable energy has also kept our crews busy during the first half of the year.
For a regional utility company, Wescom completed multiple 40 kW ground-mount solar installations throughout western Minnesota. These projects are helping support the utility’s ongoing clean energy goals.
Closer to home, Wescom completed a 300 kW ground-mount solar system in the Twin Ports region. The project included medium-voltage components, and the completed system is now fully operational.
Together, these projects demonstrate our ability to support renewable energy installations of varying sizes while providing the electrical expertise needed to take them from installation through successful operation.
Automation Expertise From Design Through Startup
Our automation and electrical teams have had an especially active first half of 2026.
At a taconite pellet plant, our teams completed a major automation and controls upgrade. The project included control panel design, electrical drawings, panel fabrication, programming, installation, and commissioning. Our electrical and automation teams also supported shutdown work that included upgrading controls and repairing and upgrading multiple electrical components.
It was demanding work within a limited schedule, but the project was completed successfully. The project is a great example of one of Wescom’s key strengths: our ability to take an automation project from initial design and panel fabrication all the way through programming, field installation, commissioning, and startup.
It was also another successful project for a valued customer that our electrical team has supported for years, demonstrating how multiple Wescom capabilities can come together to serve the same customer.
Taking Twin Ports Expertise Across the Country
The reach of our Twin Ports teams extends well beyond Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Our electrical team traveled to California to install the electrical components needed to support an automation upgrade at a natural gas compressor station. The work was part of a broader controls modernization effort designed to improve the reliability and performance of critical natural gas infrastructure.
Similar automation upgrade projects are underway in Michigan, where strong efficiency and workmanship have helped Wescom secure additional units of work.
Our teams are also supporting a 2026 RTU upgrade program involving multiple natural gas meter sites. The work includes upgrading controls to meet current requirements and provide more reliable gas control.
These projects demonstrate how the expertise within our Twin Ports region can support critical infrastructure and customers across the country.
Delivering During Critical Shutdowns
Planned plant shutdowns are some of the most demanding projects our crews undertake. Months of preparation and coordination can come down to a very limited outage window in which every task must be completed safely, correctly, and on schedule.
Over Memorial Day weekend, our team supported a planned plant shutdown that included breaker, transformer, motor control center (MCC), and protective relay testing, along with a switchgear replacement.
Our teams also supported additional shutdown work at a mining facility in early June, completing controls upgrades along with repairs and improvements to multiple electrical systems.
Projects like these require careful planning and close coordination between crews, customers, and multiple areas of expertise. Successfully completing the work within the available outage windows is a testament to the preparation and teamwork that happen long before our crews arrive on site.
Making an Impact Close to Home
While many of our projects involve large industrial and utility facilities, our Twin Ports teams continue to stay busy supporting organizations and homeowners throughout the local community.
At a Duluth-area elementary school, Wescom installed new LED lighting throughout the interior and exterior of the building, including parking lot lighting. The project incorporated daylight sensing and occupancy sensors to help improve energy efficiency while providing an improved lighting environment for students and staff.
Our team also had the opportunity to assist a local boat manufacturer with the electrical wiring of a custom 55-foot dive boat—an exciting and unique project that demonstrates the versatility of our electrical crews.
The Twin Ports Service Team has remained busy as well. In 2026, Wescom became a certified contractor for Wisconsin’s Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) program, helping eligible residential homeowners complete electrical and heating system upgrades. Multiple projects have already been completed, with additional work underway.
Prefab, Skids, and Custom Fabrication
Some of the Twin Ports region’s most important work happens before equipment ever reaches the field.
Our Ashland prefab team has maintained a busy schedule with skid fabrication, rebar cages, building manufacturing, custom metal components, and other customer-specific fabrication work.
Our skid shop has also been producing multiple skid packages for oil and gas producers. These packages demonstrate how our fabrication and electrical capabilities can come together to provide efficient solutions for customers before equipment arrives on site.
In addition, our teams continue to work on complete electrical equipment buildings, bringing together building fabrication, electrical installation, control panels, and other components into finished packages ready to be delivered and set in the field.
A Wide Range of Capabilities, One Twin Ports Team
Looking back at the first half of 2026, what stands out isn’t just the number of projects completed—it’s the range of work our Twin Ports teams have taken on.
In just six months, our crews have supported substations, renewable energy installations, industrial shutdowns, automation upgrades, natural gas infrastructure, mining operations, schools, residential projects, specialized marine work, control panels, skids, and complete electrical equipment buildings.
Each project requires something different, but they all depend on the same fundamentals: skilled people, careful planning, quality workmanship, safety, and strong teamwork.
From testing and shutdowns in the field to automation and controls, panel fabrication, prefab, service work, renewable energy, and complete equipment buildings, the first half of 2026 has been a great example of what the Twin Ports region can accomplish when our capabilities come together.
With a strong first half behind us and plenty of projects still underway, the Twin Ports team is looking forward to carrying that momentum through the rest of 2026.
Learn more about our Twin Ports operations and how we’re supporting clients across the United States.
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