Newport Construction

Situation

Newport Construction Corporation is a Heavy-Highway construction firm based in Nashua, NH. They specialize in Major Roadway Construction, Bridge Construction and Asphalt Paving. Newport recently expanded their operations with a new asphalt drum mix plant located in Westford, MA. The new location is ideal because six different states can be reached within a 60 mile radius of the plant. Newport’s client base includes the Commonwealth of Massachusetts DOT, MBTA, DCR, Boston Water and Sewer, MassPort, the State of New Hampshire DOT, various US government agencies, and numerous municipalities throughout New England.

Project

Newport Construction approached their electrical contractor, Controls Unlimited, to design and scope the new asphalt plant. Rich Pare at Controls Unlimited chose Hammond Electric for the electrical installation given their solid reputation and experience. This is Hammond Electric’s third project of this type, having previously completed all the electrical work for an asphalt batch plant and a concrete batch plant.

The Newport drum mix plant was modular, so semi-wired sections of the asphalt plant were shipped to Westford. Hammond Electric designed and installed all the electrical work required for the new plant.

Beginning in the fall of 2019, the Hammond Electric team worked through the winter on this construction project which took about 8 months in total to complete. The project included underground wiring, installation of interconnect wiring, feeders and all control wiring. An asphalt drum mix plant uses a main control panel which operates all the components of the process. Such synchronization requires complex controls.

Impact

This new plant in Westford, MA is now in startup/checkout phase as Newport Construction Corporation looks ahead to producing asphalt. This state-of-the-art plant has been described as the new standard bearer in the industry, with a location that will allow them to efficiently reach their client base throughout New England.