By Jorge Mercado Friday, January 3rd, 2025

Fifteen years ago, Paso Robles-based Pearce Services was just breaking into the middle market company space, hitting key markers with about $10 million in revenue and over 50 employees.

But after 2010, the company started entering new markets, growing at a rapid pace.

So much so that in 2024, the company now employs over 3,500 people and generated roughly $550 million in revenue — with even more plans for growth ahead.

“I am privileged to be part of such an amazing team,” Michelle Edler, CEO of Pearce Services, told the Business Times.

Pearce Services is a national provider of operations, maintenance, and engineering services for mission-critical infrastructure.

Edler said that the company started in the telecommunications industry, servicing wireless cell phone towers as one example.

But over the past five years, the company has bridged into the renewable industry, serving as the largest independent renewable service maintenance and service provider in the U.S. and providing key service to things like wind turbines, solar sites, and much more.

“Our mission is to create a more connected and sustainable future and when we think about that, we want to target critical infrastructure around the United States like telecommunication sites, power generation sites, EV charging stations andmuch more,” Edler said.

One way Pearce plans on continuing to target more “critical infrastructure” around the world is through acquisitions.

In fact, Pearce Services just secured its largest acquisition in company history when it announced it had purchased Unified Power on Dec. 17.

Though the company did not disclose the closing price, Edler said Unified Power — a national provider of repair and maintenance services for uninterruptible power supply systems and backup power generators based in Texas — generated just about $100 million in revenue.

She added that this was “by far the largest acquisition Pearce has done.”

“This is truly a huge milestone for our company,” Edler said.

“Unified services uninterrupted power supplies for data centers, hospitals, and airports, which is a new service that we’re adding to our portfolio. So when you think about our mission, what they do fits  nicely into our portfolio.”

One of the key areas the Unified Power acquisition will add will be the servicing of data centers — a market that is only becoming more valuable by the day.

Data centers are facilities around the world that store, manage and distribute critical applications and data for a variety of companies and people.

According to P&S Intelligence, the global data center market size was valued at approximately $301.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $622.4 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 10.1%.

Earlier in December, Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to invest $10 billion to build its 23rd data center in the U.S.

This is also all driven by the growth of artificial intelligence, as data centers provide massive computing power needed to run complex AI algorithms.

“In the U.S. right now, the power generation demands are exponentially increasing. From EV charging stations requiring electricity, to the power needed for data centers to power a Chat GPT search, the power generation and power continuity demand is booming and we aspire to be a critical player in this space,” Edler said.

“So we are excited to bring our two companies together and take part in the sustainability of theses growing industries.”

Though it is based in Paso Robles, Pearce Services does work all around the United States with over 28 locations.

For example, the company has invested in a training center in Dallas, primarily because it is a growing market when it comes to renewable energy but also to keep its employees safe.

Edler said with the company employing so many people, ensuring their safety when servicing things such as wind turbines, which will have people hundreds of feet off the ground, become increasingly important.

“We’re one of the few service providers in the country, maybe even in the world, that actually has practice climbing rigs to make sure that we’re teaching our teams how to climb safely. We also do electrical and fire protection training,” Edler said.

“We really just want to make sure we bring our employees home safely.”

Despite investing around the world, Edler said the company will never forget its California roots.

The company has no plans to leave its Paso Robles headquarters, where it employs almost 100 people and also provides key services to local projects as well.

One of the largest being key service providers to Edwards & Sanborn solar and energy storage project located in Kern County. 

The project consists of 864 megawatts of solar and 3,287 megawatt-hours of energy storage. 

It is currently the largest single solar and battery energy storage project to reach this milestone. The company also services on-shore wind turbines.

California is also looking to add offshore wind to its renewable energy portfolio, through the hopeful creation of wind farms in Morro Bay. 

While Pearce Services does not currently provide maintenance on offshore wind, it could be in the cards for the future.

Edler joined Pearce Services in February. Asked what made her want to accept the position, she said “Every person wants to make their own small dent in the universe.

“So I really love the fact that when you think about trying to create a more connected and sustainable future, it’s a mission that makes it incredibly compelling to be part of a team that does that, and does that well.  The team we have is incredibly talented,” she said.

Pearce will be continuing to grow, and is continually looking to add more talented employees.

“I’m always telling people, if you want to make a difference in the world, if you want to do something that’s tough but meaningful, and if you’re driven, we’d love to have people like you in our company,” Edler said.

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