Viakable Plans $55M Electrical-Cable Expansion in Illinois

KEY POINTS  

• Viakable plans to invest $55 million to expand its electrical-cable manufacturing operation in La Salle, Illinois.

• The project includes a 22,000-square-foot addition, 17 advanced machines and a new electrical substation.

• The expansion is expected to create 50 full-time jobs and retain 65 existing positions.

Viakable plans to expand its electrical-cable manufacturing facility in La Salle, Illinois, with a $55 million investment that combines building construction, equipment installation and utility upgrades.

Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced the project Oct. 7 in a public statement.

The project also includes a new electrical substation to increase capacity for wire drawing, cabling, extrusion and packaging. Viakable, a XIGNUX company, manufactures cable used in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.

What Is Viakable Adding in La Salle?

Viakable will construct a 22,000-square-foot addition at its existing plant and install 17 advanced machines. The expansion will add production space and manufacturing equipment to the company’s La Salle operation, which has been in Illinois since 2018.

In the statement, the company noted that, "Once the expansion is complete, the La Salle operation is expected to significantly increase its manufacturing capacity for the U.S. electrical infrastructure market."

The new electric substation supports the electrical load associated with expanded cable production.

The project is expected to create at least 50 new full-time jobs and retain 65 existing positions. Illinois said the expansion is supported through the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy program.

The announcement did not identify a general contractor, a construction start date or expected completion date. Those details will determine when the project begins generating bid and procurement opportunities for contractors and suppliers. Keep in mind that announced projects are no guarantee that a project will actually move forward into construction. 

Why Does Cable Manufacturing Matter to U.S. Construction?

Viakable’s expansion connects manufacturing construction to the wider electrical infrastructure pipeline. Cable is a required input for substations, transmission systems, industrial facilities, data centers, transportation projects and other commercial buildings.

One of those industry-wide consumers of electric cable, data centers, contributed 24% of all Nonresidential Building starts in the US through August 2026.

Data Center spending starts totaled $14.4 billion across 17 projects in August, ConstructConnect Chief Economist Michael Guckes wrote in the October 2026 Data Center Report.

The August starts raised the year-to-date (YTD) data center project count to 153, and the total spent on Data Centers to $98.5 billion, ConstructConnect reported.

August 2026 Data Center spending totaled $14.4 billion across 17 projects, lifting the year-to-date (YTD) project count to 153 and the total spent on Data Centers to $98.5 billion. Image and Data: ConstructConnect DataCenter Report

What Is the Construction Timeline?

Design finalization, utility coordination, equipment procurement and construction scheduling will determine if the expansion moves into active construction. That information was not included in the public statement. 

Further, a new substation may create a separate electrical work package from the building addition and machinery installation.

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