Southwire Co., Carrollton, Ga., has agreed to purchase certain assets of American Insulated Wire Corp. (AIW), a subsidiary of Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc., Melville, N.Y., that’s well known in the electrical industry as a manufacturer of portable cord, cordsets, electronic wire and cable and other cabling products. Last week’s NAED Western Conference in San Diego was buzzing with rumors of the acquisition.
Southwire will acquire the AIW brands and two manufacturing facilities in Douglas, Ga., and Coffeyville, Kan., both of which produce a variety of electrical wire and cable products for the commercial, industrial, retail and OEM markets. The purchase of AIW, which is now based in Mansfield, Mass., but for years was headquartered in Pawtucket, R.I., is expected to close by the end of February.
“Acquiring AIW will allow us to diversify our product offering while continuing to strengthen our position in our core copper building wire business,” said Stuart Thorn, Southwire CEO.
Leviton acquired AIW in 1936. Donald J. Hendler, Leviton President and CEO, said the company no longer fit into Leviton’s shift toward “more value-added systems and solutions.”
Archive for January, 2010
Southwire to Acquire AIW Assets
GE Lighting Combines LED and Fixture Businesses to Form GE Lighting Solutions
GE Lighting, a unit of GE Appliances & Lighting, continues its reorganization with the establishment of GE Lighting Solutions, a combination of its light-emitting diode (LED) systems operation, Lumination, based at GE Lighting’s world headquarters in Cleveland, and its commercial and industrial fixture group, GE Lighting Systems in Hendersonville, N.C.
“We’re building on the investment GE has made in our business and the reshaping that’s been underway for a period of years,” says Michael B. Petras, Jr., president and CEO of GE Lighting. “This change reflects our strategy to serve as an industry-leading solutions provider for the rapidly growing indoor and outdoor lighting fixture segments that use LED systems and other energy-efficient lighting technologies.”
David Elien, previously president and CEO of Lumination, now serves as president and CEO of GE Lighting Solutions, while Paul Morse, formerly president of GE Lighting Systems, leads commercial efforts as vice president of sales and Hendersonville site leader.
NAED Western in San Diego Enjoys Solid Attendance
Despite the down economy, the NAED Western Conference in San Diego this week drew an estimated 175 distributor attendees from 68 electrical supply houses and 25 independent manufacturers’ reps from 11 firms covering the Western region. The conference seemed bigger than the past few NAED Western meetings and the general mood of attendees was pretty optimistic. Two of the seminars at the meeting drew particularly good crowds – “Capitalizing on Distributor Capabilities in Energy Markets” by Fred Paris, Paris Consulting Associates, Plymouth, Mass., and “How to Position Yourself as an Energy Expert” by Jerry Yudelson, Yudelson Associates ,Tucson, Ariz.
Hansen of Leviton Named BICSI President
Brian Hansen, specification sales engineer for Leviton Network Solutions, begins his term as BICSI president next week. Hansen, who covers the North Central region for Leviton, has worked in the telecommunications industry for more than 23 years as a consultant, contractor, and network engineer. Hansen succeeds Edward J Donelan as BICSI president, and will serve through January 2012.
In the November/December 2009 issue of BICSI News, Donelan praised Hansen, describing him as “the hardest working, most persistent BICSI president to come.” BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry.
Acuity Gets $772,000 in ARRA Funds to Invest in Factory Equipment
Acuity Brands, Inc., Atlanta, has been selected as an eligible recipient of Advanced Energy Manufacturing tax credits totaling approximately $772,000 for capital investments in production equipment at its Crawfordsville, Ind., and Wallingford, Conn., facilities. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the tax credit supports investment in energy-saving technologies, such as energy-efficient lighting fixtures and lighting control systems. Details
Energy expert to lead Siemens in U.S.
Siemens has named Eric Spiegel, whom the company described as “an influential international management consultant and energy expert” to lead its U.S. operations as president and CEO of Siemens Corp.
Spiegel was previously senior vice president and senior partner at Booz & Co. and brings more than 25 years of experience in energy, manufacturing and utility industries. He is co-author of the book, “Energy Shift: Game-changing Options for Fueling the Future.”
Based in Washington, D.C., Spiegel will drive the company’s business and efforts in sustainability and green technologies while further serving as a voice on policy issues that affect Siemens and its customers, said Peter Solmssen, chairman of Siemens Corp. and member of the Siemens AG managing board.
Originally from Ohio, Spiegel holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Economics from Harvard University, as well as an MBA from the Tuck Graduate School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he was an Edward Tuck Scholar.
Allied Wire adds Brennan as sales rep
Allied Wire & Cable, Collegeville, Pa., started the new year by hiring Sean Brennan as sales representative. Brennan graduated from West Chester University in 2005 with a degree in Business Management and has been an account manager in the wire and cable industry ever since. After hiring eight sales representatives in 2009, Allied is looking to further expand in 2010, the company said.
Flynn & Reynolds to rep 3M
Flynn & Reynolds Agency, Inc., Tewksbury, Mass., has been appointed to represent the 3M Electrical Markets Division, Austin, Texas. The agency will represent 3M in the six New England states, marketing and promoting 3M to commercial and industrial end users, supported by Tim Lennon and Tim Tyrrell, who are both 3M Co. sales professionals.
Hargis to lead Western region for EGS
EGS, Rosemont, Ill., part of Emerson Industrial Automation, named John Hargis Western Region director with responsibility for the southwest United States for all EGS brands, including SolaHD, Appleton and O-Z/Gedney. Hargis joined EGS as a region manager for SolaHD in Texas in 2004, and most recently was director of sales for SolaHD.
In his new role, Hargis will lead the transition from a direct sales force to a hybrid sales team, which will include independent reps, in southern California. He will also be covering Northern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Hawaii.
Tom Pankratz, the company’s vice president of sales, will assume day-to-day sales leadership of SolaHD, with U.S. SolaHD region managers now reporting to him.
NESCO Acquires Densmore Electrical Supply
NESCO-Needham Electric Supply, Canton, Mass., has acquired certain assets of Densmore Electrical Supply, a single branch distributor in Rutland, Vt. Densmore will join forces with the Yankee Electric Supply Rutland branch, NESCO’s Vermont- and New Hampshire-based division.
Established in 1994, Densmore Electrical Supply is a family-owned and operated electrical distributor serving primarily residential contractors. Richard Densmore has been named branch manager for the merged Rutland operations.
Ranked #71 on Electrical Wholesaling’s “Top 200 Listing, NESCO has 17 branch locations throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont and retail national account offices in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Ohio.