Control Panel Modification and Retrofit in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Control Panels Company provides control panel modification and retrofit in Saudi Arabia, upgrading existing switchboards, MCCs and control panels on your site or in its Dammam workshop. We replace breakers and starters, add feeders, swap obsolete relays and drives, and re-test the panel so it returns to service with current drawings. We respond to Eastern Province site visits within one working day.
What you receive: a written proposal with the scope, outage plan, standard, lead time and price within one working day of receiving your existing drawings, photographs or site details. Request a quotation
When does an old control panel need modification or retrofit?
A panel needs work when the plant it feeds has changed or the parts inside it can no longer be supported. The usual triggers are:
- a new motor, pump or line that needs an extra feeder;
- breakers or contactors that are obsolete, worn or no longer stocked;
- fault levels that have risen above the original rating after a utility or transformer upgrade;
- relays and drives that the maker has discontinued;
- nuisance trips, overheating or burnt terminations; and
- drawings that no longer match the panel, which makes every future job slower and riskier.
A modification adds or changes part of the panel. A retrofit replaces the ageing core, often the breakers, starters or control gear, while the enclosure and busbar stay in service.
Control panel modification: what we deliver
| Work | Typical scope | Standard | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaker and starter replacement | Like-for-like or upgraded ACBs, MCCBs, MCBs, contactors and overloads; retrofit kits where the maker offers them | IEC 61439-1/-2; IEC 60947 for devices | Set by the survey and the device delivery date |
| Feeder additions and MCC extension | New outgoing feeders or MCC buckets, with busbar and cable-entry work | IEC 61439-1/-2 | Set by the survey |
| Control gear upgrade | Relays, PLC hardware, drives and soft-starters replaced with current models, rewired to the existing field cabling | IEC 60204-1 | Set by the survey |
| Metering and protection upgrade | Multifunction meters, protection relays, earth-fault and surge protection added | IEC 61439-1/-2 | Set by the survey |
| Panel refurbishment | New labelling, terminations, cable glands, seals and doors | IEC 60529 for the degree of protection | Set by the survey |
| Redrawn documentation | As-found and as-modified drawings | Per your drawing standard | Issued with the handover |
| Factory or site acceptance test | In-house to IEC 61439 routine verification; customer or third-party witness welcome | IEC 61439-1/-2 | Included |
We fit ABB, Schneider Electric and Siemens components, or the makes already installed on your site.
Can you modify a panel on site, or must it come to the workshop?
Both routes exist, and the right one depends on the outage you can allow.
On site suits small changes: adding a feeder, replacing a breaker or fitting a meter. We plan the isolation with your permit-to-work team, carry out the work during the agreed window and re-test before re-energising.
In the workshop suits larger changes. We build the new section or the complete replacement unit offline while the old panel keeps running, then swap it during a short shutdown. The outage shrinks from days to hours, and the new work is tested before it reaches the plant.
We survey the panel first, photograph it, record the make and rating of every device and agree the route with you before pricing.
Does a modified panel need verification to IEC 61439?
Yes. When an assembly is changed, whoever makes the change is responsible for confirming that the result still meets the standard. We check whether the new work stays inside the original design verification. If it does not, for example when a larger breaker changes the heat load or the short-circuit rating, we verify the changed part by test, calculation or the standard's design rules and record the basis.
The modified panel then goes through routine verification before it is released. Read more about the tests in panel FAT and testing.
How does a panel retrofit run, from survey to handover?
- Enquiry. You send photographs, nameplate details and any drawings that exist.
- Survey. An engineer visits, records the as-found condition and agrees the scope with your maintenance team.
- Design. We issue modification drawings and a method statement. If the original drawings are missing, our panel design and drawings team prepares them.
- Procurement. Devices are ordered, with delivery dates confirmed before the outage is booked.
- Preparation. Any workshop-built section is assembled and tested offline.
- Outage. We isolate, remove, fit and wire in the agreed window.
- Test and energise. We verify, record and re-energise in steps.
- Documentation. You receive updated drawings and test records.
Who modifies and retrofits panels in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Control Panels Company has worked in Saudi Arabia since 2000 and is approved by Saudi Aramco, SABIC and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. We have worked on projects for all three, and we hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification. Our our Dallah Industrial workshop in Dammam builds more than 150 panels a month.
We work on LV switchboards, MCC panels and PLC and automation panels, whoever built them originally. Typical customers are plant maintenance and engineering teams in refining, petrochemicals, water, cement and food production. We deliver to every region of Saudi Arabia.
Panel retrofit questions
Who provides control panel modification in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Control Panels Company provides control panel modification and retrofit from its Dammam workshop and on site, using ABB, Schneider Electric and Siemens components or the makes already installed. Approval is held from Saudi Aramco, SABIC and the Royal Commission.
What affects the cost of a panel retrofit?
The main factors are the number and rating of devices replaced, whether the panel is modified on site or rebuilt in the workshop, the outage window, redrawing needs, test and witness requirements, and how much of the existing busbar and enclosure can be kept. A survey gives the proposal fixed quantities to price.
How long does panel modification take?
Duration depends on the scope and on the delivery date of the new devices, which is often the longest item. A feeder addition can be a short outage. A full starter replacement is planned around the plant's shutdown calendar. The proposal sets out both the supply time and the on-site time.
Can you replace breakers without a full shutdown?
Safe isolation is always the rule, so we plan the work in sections wherever the panel allows. Where one incomer must stay live, we isolate the affected section, fit barriers and work only on the dead part. Otherwise a workshop-built replacement keeps the outage short.
Can you retrofit a panel built by another maker?
Yes. We survey the existing panel, identify which parts are still supported and propose like-for-like or upgraded devices. Where the original maker offers a retrofit kit, we use it. Otherwise we engineer the adaptation and test the result.
What if the original drawings are missing?
We prepare as-found drawings from the panel itself, tracing power and control wiring and recording device ratings. You receive a drawing set that matches what is installed, and the modification is then drawn on top of it.
Looking for control panel modification in Saudi Arabia? Send us your existing drawings, photographs or site details and receive a quotation within one working day.