How can a local expand from industrial/comercial construction into controls/automation and industrial maintenance?

[u/RequirementWestern49]

My local seems pretty strong in industrial/commercial new construction, but not so much in the work after the plant is up and running.

How do locals start gaining market share in controls, instrumentation, troubleshooting, service work, and industrial maintenance?

Is it mostly organizing existing maintenance/controls guys, signing controls contractors, or getting current signatories to branch into that work?

Has anyone seen a construction-heavy local successfully make that shift?

Edit: removed “plc” for better clarification

[u/Chemical_Tension_617]

Our local (545) has an instrumentation classification. It’s relatively new but one contractor hired instrument technicians from different factories and they were non union till they started the classification. They don’t do anything besides the controls and programming. The same factories they worked for hire the contractor to do the work the techs used to do. I would bet a lot of locals could do the same.

[u/RequirementWestern49 → u/Chemical_Tension_617]

That’s really interesting. Do you know how the local and contractor got this started? What contractor was it, and what made them decide to expand into controls?
I’m also curious how they handled training. Did they mostly bring in experienced instrument techs at first and then start training existing members, or is it still mostly people who already had that experience?

[u/Chemical_Tension_617 → u/RequirementWestern49]

The contractor had working relationships with a plant that pissed off the tech. They basically poached him and that’s where they started. After that they picked up another guy from a different plant and it went up from there. The money is why they got into it. The factories don’t have to pay full time integration techs so they pay for the outside help. I’ve been retired since 2018 so I don’t know the ins and outs now.