Weir - ESCO Division

It was a thrill to support the 2026 Baja SAE Oregon competition at Washougal MX Park. From 7-10 May, we joined c.70 university students from the United States, Canada and Mexico to watch their ingenuity unfold as they tested, designed, built and race their own off-road vehicles across four jam-packed days!

We are proud to champion STEAM programs like this alongside our many Baja alumni to inspire the next generation of brilliant engineers. Thank you to the dozen employees who volunteered their time and talents to this year’s competition!

Last fall, we were honored to share our involvement in a meaningful community cause alongside Link-Belt Excavators, our valued long-time customer.

At the center of the joint effort was a bright pink Link-Belt 145 X4 excavator, named Pink-Belt, which was outfitted with a custom ESCO® excavator bucket.

Following a U.S.-wide roadshow, the Pink-Belt machine was auctioned in March at CONExpo 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The excavator sold for $220,000, with proceeds benefiting two of Link-Belt’s longstanding partners: the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Yes, Mamm! by CHI Saint Joseph Health Foundations.

It was an honor to contribute to this special build, supporting a project dedicated to raising awareness and funds in the fight against breast cancer! LBX Company, Maker of Link-Belt Excavators

https://bit.ly/4deD4rk

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𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗼.

When a former coworker mentioned that Weir’s site in Nisku, Alberta, Canada, was thinking differently about how they could hire more women in the trades, Norie Consultado was intrigued. She was ready for a new challenge after spending most of her career in the food service industry, where she worked her way up to supervisor roles.

Three years later, Norie is now a robot operator in Nisku, her first industrial job and a world apart from her previous consumer-facing, food service roles.

“At first, I was a little hesitant, not knowing if I wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” she says. But she soon realized the role was a good-paying job with good benefits and offered opportunities to learn valuable new skills and advance professionally.

For her new role, Norie learned to operate a robotic arm to perform overlay welding, the process of welding hard-facing overlay material onto products used in extreme environments, such as highly abrasive oil sands mining. Weir’s Nisku site plays a critical role in fabricating products for Canadian oil sands customers.

Norie says she finds the job peaceful and low stress, more so than dealing with the public on a daily basis. Plus, she likes that it allows her to work independently and provides greater work-life balance.

When she’s not working, Norie focuses on spending quality time with family — her household includes her husband, three children ranging from 12- to 21-years-old, her father and her in-laws. It’s a full house, but Norie says she likes to keep everything organized.

“Whenever I'm home, I’m always happy doing my household chores,” she says. In her spare time, Norie also enjoys DIY projects. And these projects are impressive. She has enlisted the help of her father, who is a carpenter, and other family members to build a new deck and garage and install fencing on their property. They also finished their home’s basement, providing additional living space for the family.

And, because she regularly works mornings at Weir, there’s more opportunity for family time. “Because we all are able to be home at the same time, we have our nights all together,” she adds, smiling.

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𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗺.

You never know where life may lead you. “Sometimes you have to make changes for you and your family,” says Shaun Lanham, manufacturing supervisor for the mold and core departments at Weir’s Portland Plant 3 foundry.

Shaun has lived those words. Three years ago, he took the bold step of leaving behind a familiar longtime job in a fast-paced, Japanese frozen food business for something different — a challenging new role in a completely unfamiliar industry. He did it to shake up his routine, achieve greater work-life balance and pursue new career opportunities.

At his previous job, Shaun was introduced to 5S and learned how to work in a multicultural environment, picking up different languages along the way. He now is putting that knowledge and experience into his role at Plant 3 and building on it. “It’s a different type of work,” acknowledges Shaun, “but it’s still about building relationships with people, earning trust and doing what you say you will.”

Currently, Shaun is participating in a rotational training program at the plant and is immersed in continuous improvement disciplines. He says it’s given him a broader, more objective perspective. “I’m looking at the whole plant now and what I can do to help it continue to grow and improve,” he explains.

Shaun likes to get involved, too. He recently volunteered to lead a group of high school students through the foundry, explaining the work being done there and the importance of safety. In addition, he has been known to join in planning and serving employee appreciation lunches to reward a job well done.

“I want to be the best leader I can be, lead by example and advance my career,” Shaun shares.

When he’s not working, Shaun is all about family and fun. He, his wife and family, including two adult children and a 4-year-old grandson, enjoy spending time together, including the occasional vacation to Hawaii. Shaun recently officiated the marriage of his son and daughter-in-law.

If you don’t run into Shaun on a beach somewhere you might find him at a ballpark or go-kart track. He likes to stay active and says he typically finds himself in a softball league during summer.