NECA Launches Inaugural Prefabrication Track at EMERGE 2026
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Two days. Three shop tours. One clear signal: prefabrication is no longer a future consideration, it's the present competitive dividing line.
NECA's inaugural Prefabrication Track at EMERGE 2026 drew 200+ attendees from electrical contractors across the country. Seventy-four percent arrived already doing some form of prefab. Thousands of data points gathered across shop tours, Prefab Town Halls, pre-event surveys, and live polling form the backbone of the post-event report, an honest, ground-level picture of where the industry actually stands.
The track was made possible by three host companies, Allison-Smith Company, United Electric, and Inglett & Stubbs, and presenting sponsor BuildTime, all of whom went above and beyond to deliver an experience that was genuinely immersive, not just informative.
Three Shops, One Direction
United Electric proved scale isn't a prerequisite for excellence. Thirteen years into prefab, their 10,000-sq.-ft. facility is clean, organized, and intentional, and prefab touches every job they run. New hires start in the shop before they ever set foot on a jobsite. As one attendee put it: "Prefab is a mandate, not a party trick."
Inglett & Stubbs runs closer to a manufacturer than a contractor, 173 dedicated prefab staff, 30 BIM modelers, 182,000 prefab hours logged in 2025 alone, with a goal of 25% prefabrication by 2030. Attendees were drawn to the Crippa automated conduit benders, laser cutting capabilities, and QuickBase integration.
Allison-Smith Company showed what prefab looks like when it's fully embedded in operations: 360,000 sq. ft. of fabrication space, 1,000+ electricians, eight decades of building, from underground ductbank assemblies to full modular construction.
Across all three shops, the feedback was consistent: contractors were most impressed by the organization, the culture, and the candor of the teams hosting them. The most common complaint? Not enough time.
The Data
BuildTime captured real-time engagement across eight stations at the three shops, 131 unique individuals, 82 companies, 718 total badge scans over two days. It was a live demonstration of the labor visibility BuildTime delivers daily. The message landed: if a badge scan can produce this, imagine what full labor tracking means for your shop.
BuildTime also had professional photographers on-site at every location. Tour photos are available here.
What the Report Shows
The State of Prefab, the official field report from the EMERGE 2026 Prefabrication Track, is available now. Key findings:
- 74% of attendees already do some form of prefab; 25% operate a full shop
- Top drivers: efficiency, schedule, productivity, and cost savings
- What separates leaders: technology adoption, a manufacturing mindset, standardization, and willingness to fail forward
- Single-trade prefab is becoming table stakes; multi-trade modular is the next edge
Thank You
To Allison-Smith Company, United Electric, and Inglett & Stubbs, thank you for opening your doors and sharing your operations with honesty and generosity. To BuildTime, thank you for being a trusted partner from start to finish.
This was more than a conference track. It was a signal of where our industry is headed, and how we'll get there together.