In a landscape where niche can be crucial to success, a company can find itself under pressure to excel. Historically, a consistently excellent performance across multiple disciplines would give most companies a springboard to growth. However, it seems that the industry now demands something different. Certain sectors have developed into industries of their own, and with that comes the need to remain ahead of technological changes and innovative methods. The electrical sector is no different in some respects. Clients are looking for highly detailed and specific outcomes while projects require excellence as standard. It is refreshing, therefore, to find Mellon Inc. The company is, in some ways, an outlier. Rather than focusing on one specific service, the company delivers excellence across the board.
Described as an “all-in-one electrical solutions provider” by Stephan Watling, Director of Operations at the company, Mellon Inc. is a full-service electrical and instrumentation contractor. This does not mean, however, that there is any drop in standards. In fact, the truth is far from it. The company specializes in areas such as cathodic protection, installations and maintenance, high voltage testing and commissioning. Mellon Inc. also serves customers across a variety of sectors including industrial and commercial work, construction, engineering and project management.
Watling explains that for Mellon Inc., the goal is to meet the client’s needs, regardless of the demand. “Mellon Inc. works in multiple areas. From maintenance and construction to large projects or small commercial work. Pretty much anything with electrical and instrumentation.”
While Mellon Inc. has developed a well-earned reputation as a company that can do it all, it is not yet willing to rest on its laurels. Recently, the company introduced a testing and reliability service, with Watling noting that this side of the business is one of particular growth. Clearly, this development and success is an exciting time for those at Mellon Inc., but for Watling, its foundations go way back. Founded in 1982, the company has more than 40 years of experience and has established its reputation of high quality by executing projects on time, on budget and safely. These values, ultimately, stem from its rich history. Mellon Inc. has always been a family company, with a father and sons leadership team at the helm. For Watling, this platform has allowed the company to grow substantially over the past number of years. “When I started with the company 20 years ago, there were 12 members on the team. Now we have, on average, a direct field construction work force of around 150 to 200.”
With its background and family-run ethos, it is no surprise to learn that Mellon Inc. prides itself on being committed to delivering the best possible outcome to clients and values long-lasting client relationships above all else. Its core competencies include safety, project controls and planning, engineering and design and construction & construction management, while it boasts an in-house engineering and design team. As Watling explains, this allows the team to assist with any design changes in order to keep projects moving forward.
With its high-quality service across multiple disciplines, the company has worked on some of the largest and most technologically advanced projects in the Sarnia, Ontario area. In fact, between 2021 and 2022, Mellon Inc. completed 350 industrial projects. Recently, it worked with NOVA Chemicals AST2, focusing on Electrical & Instrumentation & Fiber Optics. The project was completed between 2018 and 2022 and resulted in a world-scale AST2 facility. Impressively, the production capacity of the site is approximately one billion pounds of polyethene per year, with Mellon Inc. acting as the EPCM for the Electrical, Instrumentation and Control project scope. For Watling, this project heralded a new era of success for Mellon Inc. “With over 600 direct field laborers and upwards of $200 million, that project was kind of a gamechanger.”
“Between 2021 and 2022, Mellon Inc. completed 350 industrial projects.”
Also completed in 2022 was the NOVA Chemicals COP2E & COP3E, which had been in motion since 2016. The project aimed to achieve a 50 per cent capacity growth in order to support AST2 NOVA Chemicals, increasing its number of heaters and infrastructure. For this project, Mellon Inc. was responsible for the initiation, planning, execution, and close-out of the electrical and controls project scope.
Currently, the company is working on an Origin Materials project, focusing on Electrical and Control. Mellon Inc. is tasked with providing solutions for the start-up company. Its facility will use biomass such as sawdust to make building-block chemicals for the manufacturing of plastic and other products. On this project, Mellon Inc. is responsible for the initiation, planning, execution, commissioning, and close-out of the electrical and controls project scope. As Watling shares, this project is estimated to cost around $20 million with 60 direct field laborers involved.
Working on projects of such magnitude, it is vital that Mellon Inc. recognizes the importance of safety. With worrying statistics about safety figures across the construction industry in general, it is a topic that is never too far from people’s minds. At Mellon Inc., however, safety is taken even further. As Watling explains, the company devotes such time and thought into its safety processes, it is much more than internal policies. “At Mellon Inc., safety is not just a requirement, it is the culture. In fact, we have a 100 per cent compliance rate with all annual audits and our safety record surpasses the industry best practice standards. Simply put, safety is the top priority at Mellon Inc.”
With a track record of proven success and growth going back to the 1980’s, Mellon Inc. has set its sights on being an industry leader. With a recently developed electrical engineering department, the company is now training and growing new members to that team. As the department begins working on a number of exciting projects, Watling believes that this addition will further strengthen the company’s position as the one-stop-show for electrical solutions. “What this does is that it adds tools to our toolbox. It will give us the all-in solution. So, when a client is looking for that, from concept to construction along with engineering, testing, commissioning, build, engineering support and whatever other needs might come up.”
As the company sets its sights on further success, the outlook for the rest of the year is bright. According to Watling, the company is in line to continue its upward trajectory. “2023 will continue to be busy and we expect that to continue into next year also.” As contracts are completed, on time and to the highest standards, as usual, the company is also working on a number of exciting projects behind the scenes.
It takes a lot to maintain a position in the construction industry for four decades. It is even more difficult to achieve this as the provider of a wide range of solutions. Mellon Inc. has, for a considerable period of time, bucked the trend for niche. Instead, this company provides excellence across the board. With a rich history and a knowledge base that grows by the day, you wouldn’t bet against it carrying on at the forefront of the industry for another forty years.
