Sheyenne grad forms Divide Electrical & Automation, LLC

Justin Ystaas, a Bremen native and 1999 graduate of Sheyenne High School, is the owner and operator of the recently established Divide Electrical & Automation.

Justin didn't always want to be an electrician. In fact he said he always wanted to farm, but his father, Donny, insisted that he should first build a career on which he could fall back on in hard times. Keen to take good advice, Justin attended college at North Dakota State College of Science, where he earned an associate's degree in electrical construction.

The degree was a solid choice, offering him an array of opportunities. Since, Justin has gained 15 years of experience in the industry, and has built a career that appears to be blooming. Now he's back home to both build his electrical business and work the land where he grew up.

Out of college, Justin went to Colorado, where his brother Chad was living, and continued his education to become a master electrician. He began his career working for Encore Electric, formerly Riviera, for 7 years. Encore is now a $185 million company in Colorado with its own in-house electrician training program called Encore University.

From subway stations to biohazard facilities, Justin has a wide range of experience in electrical construction and service in his career. While in Colorado, he designed and built electrical systems for 48-story highrises and subway stations. He even did electrical work in a Level III Biohazard facility where scientists were testing the Ebola virus.

In 2008, Justin and wife Liza returned to North Dakota and lived on a farm west of New Rockford for a year. When the oil industry began booming, Justin went west to join Eddy County natives Phillip Gisi and Orley Sinkler at SBG Energy Services, which quickly grew to 50 employees. Justin and Chad then formed their own company, YES, LLC, in Dickinson. The company, which Chad still owns and operates, specializes in multi-well pads, gas refineries, midstream gathering systems and more. In western North Dakota, the oil fields have an insatiable appetite for electricity. It was there that Justin designed full-scale automated systems. He designed a system where 490 well pads were connected and remotely controlled and monitored from Texas.

Justin has now brought his automation skills home, literally and figuratively. His company, Divide Electrical & Automation offers home automation services, where lights, devices and security systems can be monitored from anywhere via a smartphone or tablet.

In addition to his business, Justin is focusing on his family, community and his dream of farming. He and his wife have three children: Kaelyn, Casey and Jace. He is also the newest addition to the New Rockford City Commission, as he was appointed to fill the seat vacated by DeVon Allmaras upon her death. When asked why he sought the appointment to the commission, Justin said, "I want to be in the know. It puts you on the front lines of the community." And, yes, he now farms 4,000 acres alongside his dad.

Divide Electrical & Automation employs Brian Thomas of Carrington, Steven Davis of Brainerd, Minn. and local Nathan Gilliss, and offers a wide range of services, including new construction electrical, remodels, repair, electrical inspections, in floor heating, landscape lighting, appliance installation and repair, emergency repair, rewiring, standby generator installation, surge protection, water heater installation and replacement, security lighting, hot tub and sauna electrical and structured cabling services. They even install solar panels.

Ystaas and his team will travel anywhere east of Hwy. 83 in North Dakota. For electrical design, installation and service, call Divide Electrical & Automation at (701) 341-9860 or go online to http://www.divideelectric.com.