Industrial Electrical Services in Saskatchewan’s Potash Industry

Posted on January 19, 2017 News & Updates

Industrial Electrical Services in Saskatchewan’s Potash Industry

Saskatchewan’s potash industry is in the midst of an interesting time. A mere handful of companies run Saskatchewan’s biggest potash mines, and Westwood Electric has provided industrial electrical & instrumentation services to the majority of these companies at one time or another. As market forces bring both challenges and opportunities, Westwood is eager and able to support the growth of this important Prairie industry. 

The potash industry

Together, Saskatchewan’s major potash mines churn out about half the global demand—or more than 30 million tonnes of potash, a major component in fertilizer used by farmers.

Economists forecast that as farmers are called to feed an ever-growing world, potash will be in demand.

Our potash projects

Westwood has extensive experience in both above and below-ground projects for the potash industry. Over the years, we’ve been called on to deliver our industrial electrical services on many major potash projects, some examples of which are listed here: Our Potash Projects

One project in specific that we would like to highlight is the PCS Rocanville Expansion:

PCS Rocanville Expansion

This was a six-year project, and at its peak, we had nearly 90 team members working both on surface and then underground.

On the surface we were contracted to work on the PCS Scissors Creek Mine Head Frame, supplying and installing the building services to the upper floors of the head frame building, ahead of installing the electrical hoisting equipment.

Underground we worked on the power, control and preservation systems.  During this time we developed numerous wiring methods & installation procedures, and we performed field design work in addition to testing and start-up of equipment.

We like to think our clients’ contract us time and again because of the quality of our electrical installations, our flexible, responsive and sincere approach to project management and our willingness to work as a team.

View our page to learn more about our work.

Underground expertise

For some companies, the idea of spending three years underground might seem daunting, but not for Westwood. In fact, our team members look forward to this rare and challenging atmosphere.

While we were working on the PCS Rocanville project, several of our supervisors were educated in the Mine Safety Act, and several received their line supervisor training to meet the specific safety guidelines for underground work. 

Local teams 

As a major employer of electrical industrial services, and with decades of experience working for industry across western Canada, we’re always able to marshal the resources to meet the demands of projects of all sizes.

However, our mandate is to hire as many local team members as we can first, so on potash projects, our customers appreciate the level of local hires we have, keeping true to our local roots.

We look forward to the chance to bring our best to future potash projects in Saskatchewan. Learn more about our work across industries and western Canada on our projects and industries page.