Wesgarde will showcase marine electrical, control, and connectivity solutions at IBEX 2026, giving boatbuilders and marine OEMs a clear view of components designed for demanding onboard environments.
From circuit protection and switching to custom assemblies and sealed connectivity, Wesgarde’s portfolio helps enhance reliability, safety, and performance across the vessel.
As a national distributor of electromechanical and electronic power components, Wesgarde focuses on power solutions for high-power loads and harsh operating conditions. At the show, the team will highlight practical ways marine engineers and designers can simplify panel design, protect critical systems, and streamline installation using proven products and engineering support.
Littelfuse / Carling Technologies: Circuit Protection and Controls Wesgarde’s IBEX presence will feature Littelfuse / Carling Technologies products that combine robust circuit protection with intuitive control for marine environments.
Key solutions include:
LT-Series Illuminated Toggle Switches — Feature a three-color lighting sequence and neoprene bushing seals for protection against dust and moisture.
AV / AVH-Series Sealed and Anti-Vandal Pushbutton Switches — Offer multiple LED illumination options and ratings up to 30 amps.
A-Series Hydraulic-Magnetic Circuit Breakers — Provide precise operation across full-load applications, including sealed metal toggle options for harsh conditions.
C-Series Hydraulic-Magnetic Circuit Breakers — Deliver high-amperage and high-voltage capability with extensive agency approvals.
These components help designers build marine panels that are easy to operate while meeting strict safety and environmental requirements.
RW Integrated Solutions (RWIS): Custom Marine Assemblies Wesgarde will also highlight RW Integrated Solutions (RWIS), formerly Wesgarde Value-Added, which provides custom electrical assemblies and light manufacturing services for marine applications.
RWIS capabilities include:
Pad printing and laser etching for custom legends and labels
Mechanical and electromechanical assembly
Wire and cable harness assembly
Custom kitting and box builds
Projects such as multi-circuit relay boards, key switch assemblies, and multi-speed windshield wiper switch assemblies demonstrate how RWIS delivers turnkey solutions tailored to specific marine needs.
For boatbuilders and OEMs, this translates to shorter build times and assemblies engineered for moisture resistance, vibration resistance, and long-term durability.
CIT Systems: Rugged Pushbuttons On the switching side, Wesgarde will spotlight CIT Systems, including the AH Series pushbutton switches designed for marine control panels.
The AH Series offers:
19 mm vandal-resistant actuators with IP67 sealing
Ring or dot illumination with multiple color options
Stainless steel SUS316L construction and sealed wire assemblies
These attributes make CIT pushbuttons well suited for helm stations and auxiliary panels, where clear indication and long service life are critical.
HMI Systems: Keypads and Displays To support advanced operator interfaces, Wesgarde will present HMI Systems’ programmable keypads, switch panels, and CAN-based display modules.
Standard keypads use high-quality silicone and can be laser-etched with custom legends, icons, or logos, enabling semi-custom marine control surfaces without the need for bespoke tooling.
Paired with multicolor LED rocker modules and touch displays, these solutions provide backlit controls and graphical interfaces for:
Propulsion
Lighting
Accessory management
These solutions maintain robust sealing while supporting reliable network integration.
Molex: Sealed Connectivity Onboard Connectivity is another key focus for Wesgarde at IBEX 2026, with Molex technologies providing sealed, high-reliability power and data connections.
Highlighted products include:
M12 Data Connectors and Cable Assemblies — Designed for Fast Ethernet connectivity in compact, IP67-rated configurations.
Squba 1.80 mm and 3.60 mm Sealed Wire-to-Wire Connector Systems — UL-approved and rated up to 14.0 A.
These solutions support onboard networks, sensors, power distribution, and signaling, helping boatbuilders design rugged, space-efficient marine electrical architectures.
Why Visit Wesgarde at IBEX 2026 For boatbuilders, marine engineers, and OEMs, Wesgarde’s IBEX 2026 exhibit brings together:
Circuit protection
Switching
Keypads and displays
Sealed connectivity
Custom assembly capabilities
Engineering support
By offering a cohesive ecosystem of components and engineering expertise, Wesgarde helps simplify design decisions and improve the reliability of marine electrical systems from helm to engine room.
Fifty years ago, in 1976, Wesley Theodore Sorenson launched Wesgarde as a small group of individual warehouses selling a handful of switch products to customers who needed dependable power components and responsive service. What began as a modest, family‑owned venture quickly became something bigger: a trusted distribution partner for engineers and OEMs in harsh environments.
By the mid‑1980s, Wesgarde had entered a new phase of expansion, adding locations and dozens of new manufacturing partners to its line card. Those years reshaped the company from a collection of warehouses into a focused, independent wholesale distributor of electromechanical and electronic power components, laying the groundwork for the 50‑year milestone being celebrated today.
Five Decades of Growth, Specialization and Service
Over the last 50 years, Wesgarde has steadily evolved its expertise around “power” components, specializing in robust DC and AC solutions, sealed components, advanced circuit protection and custom‑engineered assemblies designed for harsh environments and high‑power loads. This sustained focus has allowed the company to build a differentiated niche, even as many competitors have remained broader, general‑line distributors.
Today, the numbers behind that 50‑year journey tell a powerful story:
● 5 locations across the United States
● Over 110 employees supporting OEMs nationwide
● More than 100 franchised manufacturers represented on Wesgarde’s line card
These milestones reflect decades of investing in people, sharpening technical knowledge and building long‑term relationships with customers and suppliers.
Engineered to Deliver™, Then and Now
From the beginning, Wesgarde has been more than a source of parts; it has been a technical partner for engineers and purchasing teams facing tough design and supply‑chain challenges. Over 50 years, the company has built a reputation for helping customers specify innovative components, find alternatives when lead times are challenging and develop custom assemblies for unique projects. Throughout its history, Wesgarde’s highly technical staff works with the engineering teams of their customers to solve complex problems efficiently.
The tagline Engineered to Deliver™ captures the promise that has guided Wesgarde through its first five decades. It reflects a commitment to value‑added engineering support, rapid response and a sales team that knows electromechanical products inside and out.
Looking Ahead to the Next 50 Years
As Wesgarde celebrates its 50th anniversary, the company is also looking ahead. Its reputation for supply‑chain strength, including vendor managed inventory programs, continues to grow as OEMs seek partners who can help optimize inventory, improve lead‑time reliability and streamline logistics. At the same time, Wesgarde is accelerating its digital marketing and e‑commerce capabilities so customers can engage however and whenever they prefer.
From a few small warehouses selling switch products to a national distributor of choice for electromechanical and interconnect products and services, Wesgarde’s first 50 years have been defined by technical excellence, family leadership and unwavering dedication to customer success. With that foundation in place, the company is poised to make the next half‑century even more impactful for its customers, suppliers and employees.
Wesgarde attended the 2026 ERA Conference with a clear purpose, to align its growth strategy with the latest trends in communication, semiconductors, and AI across the rep–manufacturer–distributor channel.
Connecting Strategy and Customer Relationships
Wesgarde is actively shifting from relying primarily on outside sales to a more complementary model that combines field sales, digital marketing, and thought leadership.
A few of Wesgarde’s strategic reasons for attending included:
● Strengthening relationship-based selling with more intentional, “sticky” communication.
● Gathering ideas to support content, PR, and digital campaigns that highlight engineering value.
●Bringing back best practices to help inside and outside sales collaborate more effectively.
The effective communication keynote was especially relevant. It reinforced that communication is the lifeblood of sales and challenged attendees to become more memorable and unique in every interaction. For Wesgarde, this validated its commitment to pair technical problem-solving with human-centered communication, encouraging the team to lead with curiosity, ask better questions, and listen to understand customers before offering solutions.
Grounding Plans in Real Market Data
Another core reason for attending was to anchor planning in realistic market data. The semiconductor industry outlook session confirmed that, after a difficult 2023–2024, the market began recovering in April 2025 and has delivered ten months of volume-driven growth. Edgewater Research projected a 9% market increase for 2026 after excluding memory and heavy computing, with the strongest growth expected in Defense & Military, HVAC, and Industrial markets.
For Wesgarde’s core verticals, this translated into several important signals:
● Interconnect growth projected at 11%, reinforcing the importance of engineered connection solutions.
● Increased activity in commercial HVAC, often linked to data center projects that depend on robust power components.
● Continued opportunity in transportation and industrial applications that require rugged DC and AC solutions, sealed connectors, and advanced circuit protection.
These insights help Wesgarde fine-tune inventory priorities, supplier emphasis, and content topics so its engineering and sales teams can better support OEMs as demand evolves.
Exploring AI to Support an Engineering-Driven Sales Model
Wesgarde also attended ERA to better understand how AI can practically support its sales and marketing efforts. In the AI industry discussion, manufacturers, distributors, and reps shared how they use tools such as Claude AI, Notebook LM, and Gamma AI to research accounts, prepare for meetings, and build presentations more efficiently. An ERA member survey highlighted time savings, faster customer response development, and improved research capabilities as the top benefits of AI adoption, while also noting concerns about internal knowledge gaps, unclear ROI, privacy, and willingness to adopt.
Key AI themes that resonated with Wesgarde were:
● Using AI to enhance, rather than replace, its engineering-driven, relationship-based models.
● Applying AI for research, preparation, and content support so teams can respond faster and more precisely.
● Moving toward clearer internal guidance on AI to balance innovation with data protection and compliance.
These themes align with Wesgarde’s balanced approach to innovation and emphasizes the team’s commitment to exploring AI in ways that deepen understanding of customer applications and enable clearer communication. Wesgarde’s ERA takeaway is clear, the best never stop sharpening their edge. By leaning into fresh thinking on communication, market dynamics, and AI, Wesgarde is strengthening the engineering rigor, responsiveness, and partnership that already set it apart as a go‑to distributor for demanding OEMs.
Equipment exposed to mud, salt, frequent washdowns, and constant vibration quickly pushes traditional grounding and power distribution to their limits. The Sealed Buss Bar provides a fully sealed, maintenance-free solution that simplifies installation while enhancing long-term reliability and electrical performance. Now part of the Solico product catalog, it pairs robust sealed architecture with pre-crimped harness connections to streamline assembly and deliver more consistent system performance over time.
Key features include: • Fully sealed bus bar assembly and sealed terminations. • Corrosion-proof ground and return system for stable ground potential. • Proven performance in marine and electric vehicle applications. • Options for 150V and 300V systems.
Reliability in Tough Conditions Exposed conductive surfaces and connection points are vulnerable to moisture, mud, salt, and debris, which can accelerate corrosion and cause intermittent electrical faults. The Sealed Buss Bar protects these surfaces within a sealed assembly, significantly reducing corrosion and electrical issues over time.
Its corrosion-proof ground and return system maintains low impedance and stable ground potential, helping minimize electrical noise and improve diagnostic reliability for sensitive electronics. Built to endure thermal cycling, shock, and vibration, it delivers reliable performance in equipment exposed to weather, washdowns, and road spray.
Faster, Cleaner Installation for OEMs For OEMs, the Sealed Buss Bar simplifies production with pre-crimped wiring and harness connections that enable quick, plug-and-play installation. This approach reduces variability from manual crimps, wiring errors, and assembly time on the line.
The centralized grounding and return path also helps clean up system architecture and improve accuracy of analog readings, such as fuel level, by reducing parallel ground paths and differences in ground potential. A maintenance-free design minimizes the need for periodic cleaning, tightening, and inspection of exposed bus or chassis ground points, lowering service requirements and helping keep equipment in operation longer.
Installation and maintenance benefits: • Plug-and-play pre-crimped harness connections. • Reduced wiring variability and errors. • Centralized ground and return path. • Maintenance-free sealed design.
Configurations and Applications The Sealed Buss Bar is available in two main configurations: a single unit with one 12-pin connector and a double unit with two 12-pin connectors. It supports 150V and 300V capabilities and can be connected through either Deutsch or Amphenol mating connectors. Color customization is available to aid with wire harnessing connection points or other product synergies.
It has proven successful in marine and electric vehicle markets and is well suited for: • Marine bilge systems. • Front-end loaders and skid steers. • Tractors and agricultural equipment. • Golf carts, ATVs, and side-by-sides.
Backed by the Solico brand, the Sealed Buss Bar offers OEMs an integrated, supported path to more reliable sealed power distribution and grounding in harsh environments.
Wesgarde’s Role Serving markets such as transportation, industrial automation, marine electronics, food equipment, construction, agriculture, and alternative energy, Wesgarde is the distributor of choice for OEMs and manufacturers that demand engineered reliability and custom solutions. As a trusted leader and Solico partner, Wesgarde is the go-to source for the Sealed Buss Bar, giving OEMs a knowledgeable, responsive team that can specify, supply, and support sealed power distribution and grounding products for their harsh-environment applications.