Mold-Tek utility demand supports expansion beyond 120 staff

Mold-Tek Technologies said on November 4, 2026 that committed US poles, towers and power-distribution work requires more than 120 engineers, against a current team of about 70-80 people, with 40-45 employees in training. Management expects additions to begin from December and said the utility-engineering position could improve from January.

Why is Mold-Tek expanding its utility-engineering team?

Mold-Tek is expanding its utility-engineering capacity because client demand exceeds its available trained workforce. Management said the poles, towers and power-distribution team has risen from about 30-40 people last year to 70-80 people currently, while committed customer requirements extend beyond 120 people. The difference is an execution-capacity gap rather than an indication of insufficient demand.

Management linked the increase in utility work to US power-infrastructure requirements, including data-centre development over the past four to five years. It said power-distribution demand has increased by several times, requiring engineering for poles, towers, substations and power lines. Contractors and utility managers told management during its recent US visit that this requirement could continue for five to 10 years.

The company is not describing a broad hiring increase across every service line. Its stated expansion is concentrated in poles, towers and distribution engineering, where customers want additional capacity on a fixed committed basis. Management said trained engineers are not readily available and that the company must build the workforce through its own training process.

What is stopping Mold-Tek from reaching 120 engineers now?

The immediate constraint is trained-engineer availability. Mold-Tek said it has about 70-75 people actively working in the utility domain, despite demand for roughly 110-120 people, while 40-45 employees are in different tiers of training. Management said the workforce numbers should start increasing from December as trainees become ready for deployment.

Management expects conditions in the utility segment to be better from January, but it did not provide a revenue target or a final date for reaching the stated demand level. The key operating measure is therefore conversion of the 40-45 trainees into active project staff. Mold-Tek said it has worked in this area for four to five years, giving it experience in training for the domain.

The approach differs from plant engineering, where Mold-Tek said it uses a small, multi-skilled team and special-purpose machinery, or SPM. Management said it does not intend to build a dedicated plant-engineering team until work in that channel increases. Utility engineering, in contrast, has customer commitments that already exceed current staffing.

Management also said it is applying caution learned from Body in White, or BIW, where workload changes have been large. This makes the December additions, the availability of trained staff and continued committed work relevant indicators for the utility-team expansion rather than headcount alone.

How does utility engineering compare with Mold-Tek's BIW business?

Utility engineering is expanding while Mold-Tek is reducing its BIW team. Management said BIW headcount has fallen from 155-160 people to about 50, and that the remaining team has moderate work. It is considering whether a further five to 10 employees are redundant, while training 20-25 people for transfer into other domains, including poles and towers.

Management described BIW as the only service line in its 25-year history where workload has ranged from 200% to 20%. It said periods of lower BIW activity have become more frequent and that it sees limited visibility of improvement. The plan is to retain a nominal team, keep senior personnel able to handle potential work and outsource any additional work to smaller players.

The contrast reflects management's assessment of workload stability. Utility work has client demand above 120 people, whereas BIW has experienced repeated swings in activity. Management said it intends to move suitable BIW resources into poles and towers, reducing exposure to the segment where it sees less work more often.

Could weaker data-centre spending change Mold-Tek's plan?

A slowdown in artificial-intelligence-related data-centre construction could reduce the pace of Mold-Tek's utility expansion, management said. It told an analyst that growth from about 70 engineers to 125 people should still occur, but that a further rise to 200 or 300 people would be uncertain if utility demand stagnated. This is management's assessment rather than a formal forecast.

Management said a market slowdown would not materially affect the current contribution from the utility team of around 70 engineers. The potential effect would be on expansion beyond the 120-125 person range rather than the existing operating level. Its explanation was that data-centre expansion has supported demand for substations and power lines, but a sudden halt could cause utilities growth to taper.

Mold-Tek is also developing civil and land-development work through Beryl. Management said only a couple of Beryl employees have relevant knowledge, but they can act as team leaders and train an Indian delivery team. It expects Beryl to become positive from at least the next financial year and described civil and land development as a possible contributor in that period.

Conclusion

Mold-Tek's utility-engineering opportunity is defined by a measurable staffing shortfall: demand above 120 people versus a current 70-80 person team. The expansion contrasts with BIW, where headcount has declined from 155-160 to about 50 because of moderate work and recurring workload swings. Management is seeking to shift capacity toward poles, towers and distribution engineering while using training to address the skilled-worker constraint.

The next disclosed milestones are additions from December, the improvement management expects from January and deployment of the 40-45 trainees. Investors can also track whether the team approaches the 120-125 person range, whether US utility demand remains resilient if data-centre activity slows, and whether Beryl reaches the positive position management expects from the next financial year.