Egret Consulting (Mundelein, Ill.): The executive search firm has appointed Larry Cabel to head up its Wire and Cable division. Cabel has had a long career within the electrical industry, including posts as Belden’s North American manager; Anixter’s director of sales and marketing; and director of business development for CSC (WESCO). He will handle recruitment services for all wire and cable manufacturers and all downstream manufacturers associated with wire/cable (connectors, terminations, lugs, cable tray, etc.). Cabel has more than six years of executive search experience and 30 years of sales and marketing experience in both the electrical and construction equipment industries.
Jim Lucy
Jim Lucy has been wandering through the electrical market for more than 26 years, most of the time as an editor for Electrical Wholesaling, Electrical Marketing newsletter and CEE News. During that time he and the editorial team for the publications have won numerous national awards for their coverage of the electrical business. Before becoming an editor for Electrical Wholesaling magazine and Electrical Marketing, he earned a BA degree in journalism and a MA in communications from Glassboro State College, Glassboro, NJ., which is formerly best known as the site of the 1967 summit meeting between President Lyndon Johnson and Russian Premier Aleksei Nikolayevich Kosygin, and now best known as the New Jersey state college that changed its name in 1992 to Rowan University because of a generous $100 million donation by N.J. zillionaire industrialist Henry Rowan. Jim is a Brooklyn-born Jersey Guy happily transplanted in the fertile soils of Kansas for the past 16 years.
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Generac to expand Wisconsin headquarters
Generac Power Systems Inc., Waukesha, Wis., plans to commit $5 million to $6 million to expanding and remodeling its headquarters and an additional $3 million to $4 million in upgrades to create a technical center. The company currently employs more than 550 people at its headquarters, and plans to add more than 200 new jobs over the next three years. The expansion and remodel, funded solely by organic growth, should be completed by the end of 2013. Looking beyond 2013, Generac has already purchased land adjacent to its Waukesha headquarters in preparation for future expansion.
The current project will convert approximately 27,500 square feet of manufacturing space into office space and will add approximately 3,300 square feet for a new main entryway that will include an area detailing the history of the company and its products. The new technical center will be a state-of-the art research, development and testing facility and will include investments in equipment for data acquisition, analysis and testing of engines, generators and other power equipment. Specifically, new test chambers containing highly specialized equipment for the testing of emissions, sound, and environmentally controlled conditions will enable Generac’s engineering team to enhance its knowledge and competencies in these areas.
Omni Cable on the move in Chicago and Houston
Omni Cable Corp., West Chester, Pa., recently relocated its Chicago operation to a larger, more modern building and broke ground on an addition to its existing facility in Houston on Jan. 26. The company’s expansion of its current Houston facility will add 40% more warehouse space.
The new Chicago area facility in Carol Stream, Ill., is 42,000 square feet and carries $5 million inventory. Dave Santoro, the company’s Midwest regional manager said in a press release announcing the opening, “Our larger and more diverse inventory positions us to serve the entire distribution network with same day will calls and shipments.”
Ramsey takes on senior V.P. role at Schneider’s U.S. Industry Business
Schneider Electric (Palatine, Ill.): Mary Ramsey is now senior V.P. of Schneider Electric’s U.S. Industry Business, one of the five core U.S. businesses of the $26 billion multi-national corporation. She replaces former U.S. Industry Business senior V.P. Andy Gravitt, who announced his retirement effective Feb. 1 after nearly 20 years with Schneider Electric.
Ramsey will report directly to Clemens Blum, Schneider’s global industry business executive V.P., and will be responsible for spearheading the overall sales and growth strategy of the business.
She previously served as the senior V.P. of sales of Schneider Electric’s Europe Industry Business. Ramsey first joined the company while serving at Pro-face America, which was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2004, as the general manager and V.P. of sales for North and South America. With more than 20 years of experience in industrial automation, Ramsey has held various positions in sales, marketing and business development at UBS Financial Services, Matrikon International, Instrinsyc, Intellution, GE Fanuc – Industrial Automation Division and Cincinnati Electrosystems, among others.
Ramsey earned her B.A. in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky, as well as her MBA from the Loyola University Graduate School of Management in Chicago.
C.C. Pierce wins Rep Award from General Cable
General Cable, Highland Heights, Ky., named C.C. Pierce Co. Inc., Duxbury, Mass., as its 2011 Electrical Distribution Channel Agent of the Year at last week’s National Electrical Manufacturers Representative Association (NEMRA) Annual Conference, which was held in San Diego.
General Cable also presented the Agent Inside Sales Associate of the Year Award and Director’s Club Agent Awards at NEMRA. Dusty Mathis of Gaynor Sales, Minneapolis, won the award for inside sales associates.
The following companies were selected as Inside Sales Director’s Club Agents, which are agents that exceeded sales plan as well as year-over-year growth in metal adjusted sales dollars: Cardel-Criste, Pittsburgh; C.C. Pierce; Davenport & Associates, Nashville, Tenn.; EMMCO & Associates, Houston; ET Cable Sales, Peterborough, N.H.; Gobeille-Robinson Inc., Mansfield, Ohio; Gorin-Hopper & McCoy, Norcross, Ga.; Lester Sales Co., Indianapolis, Ind.; Rains Electrical Sales Inc., Shawnee, Kan.; Stone Sales Agency Inc., Conway, Ark.; Syn-Tech Inc., Metairie, La.; Vertex Innovative Solutions, Syracuse, N.Y.; Vincent-Angel Inc., Greensboro, N.C.; and Young & Champagne, Detroit.
Cooper Industries buys Canadian lighting controls company
Cooper Industries, Houston, has acquired Fifth Light Technology Ltd., a privately owned lighting controls company based in Oakville, Ontario, that specializes in the design, sale and implementation of digitally addressable lighting interface (DALI) solutions and a suite of centralized building management software applications. According to a press release announcing the acquisition, over the past several years, Fifth Light has installed over 100,000 control devices throughout North America. Fifth Light will become part of the Cooper Controls business unit within Cooper Lighting. Details
Bulbrite launches new products at Dallas Lighting Show
Bulbrite, Moonachie, N.J., had a busy five days at the Dallas International Lighting Show last month. The company announced the winners of its 2011 sales rep awards and launched several new products. The rep winners are:
2011 Most Improved Agency: Larry Braunstein Sales (FL), Larry Braunstein
2011 Territory Penetration Award: Katona Sales (OH, WV, KY), Dean Katona.
2011 Best New Agency: The Lakewood Group (GA, AL), Arno Hardtke.
2011 Agency of the Year: Decor Lighting (MN, KS, MO, IA, NE), Todd Bierowski.
2011 Be Brite Customer Award: Leslie Killingsworth, Progressive Lighting, in Atlanta.
Bulbrite’s new product launches at the Dallas Lighting Show included including its comprehensive Nostalgic collection, which features lamps created specifically to enhance the authenticity of heirloom-style fixtures with unique filament styles; its f EcoHalogen lamps family, which comply with EISA, the Energy Independence and Security Act requiring general service light bulbs to operate up to 30 percent more efficiently than current standards; and its LED Dimmable Chandelier lamp, whose super high power chip provides the brightest LED light, 360 degrees of illumination and smooth dimming.
WESCO’s Heyse leaves CFO post
WESCO (Pittsburgh, Pa.): Richard Heyse is no longer V.P, CFO, for the company. Stephen Van Oss, who had previously served as WESCO’s CFO, has been appointed as interim CFO in addition to his current responsibilities as senior V.P., COO. Van Oss had served as WESCO’s CFO from 2000 to 2009 and will serve in this role on an interim basis while WESCO engages in a search to replace Heyse, who is expected to serve as a consultant to WESCO on transitional matters over the next few months. Details
Rexel buys two Brazilian distributors
Rexel International acquired Brazil’s Delamano and Etil, adding €100 million ($130.7 million) in sales. It’s not the company’s first acquisition in Brazil. In Jan. 2011, Rexel aquired Nortel Suprimentos Industriais, a large industrial distributror that does approximately €120 million ($156.9 million) sales. According to a press release announcing the acquisitions, Rexel is now the largest electrical distributor in Brazil and tops in São Paulo, Brazil’s richest and the most populous state. São Paulo accounts for one-third of Brazil’s GDP and 22% of the nation’s population.
“Brazil is one of Rexel’s key priorities in its external growth strategy, which aims notably at expanding the Group’s presence in emerging countries,” said the press release. “The size of Brazil’s domestic market, its wealth in raw materials and its growth rate, combined with the opportunities linked to hosting major international events such as the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016, offer strong growth prospects for the coming years.”
Based in Santo André, in the state of São Paulo, Delamano has distributed electrical supplies for 35 years and got into the MRO business several years ago. Through three distribution centers based in Santo André, Campinas and Vitoria and seven branches inside customers’ facilities, the company posted sales of €60 million ($78.4 million) in 2011 and employed over 220 people.
Based in São Paulo since 1986, Etil is one of the major distributors of electrical supplies in the state of São Paulo with a strong focus on the real estate sector (business offices, hotels and restaurants). With one central branch and distribution center and theeadditional branches, the company posted sales of €40 million ($52.8 million) in 2011 and employed over 200 people. Details
Last week, Rexel purchased the Canadian distributor Liteco. Details
A-D announces 2011 sales results
AD Announces Electrical Divisions’ 2011 Year-End Results
Commitment to Independent Distributors Yields Double-Digit Growth
Affiliated Distributors (AD), Wayne, Pa., released their Electrical Divisions’ year-end results with US sales having grown 19% to $11.2 billion and Canadian sales having grown 10% to $852 million, respectively. AD Affiliates also set new records for both net distributions and return on remittances.
David Oldfather, president, Electrical Divisions, said “Our commitment to exclusively supporting independent electrical distributors of all sizes is definitely yielding some impressive results. In addition to experiencing above market growth during this past year, our affiliates added over 950 new distributor employees, made 14 acquisitions, and approved the addition of 38 new Clean Energy Suppliers to the AD Preferred Supplier list.” Oldfather adds, “Our AD Clean Energy program, along with AD’s willingness to pursue new growth opportunities for both our distributors and suppliers should help stimulate additional growth in 2012 and beyond.”
According to Bill Weisberg, CEO, “In spite of tremendous market uncertainty and stiff competition, our independent distributors and suppliers battled back from the depths of the Great Recession to sales levels that now exceed their peak in 2008.”