Emerson (EMR), St. Louis, announced it has completed its acquisition of U.K.-based power protection powerhouse Chloride Group PLC, which now joins Emerson Network Power. This acquisition helps drive Emerson’s long-term global growth strategy for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and integrated data center solutions. As previously announced, the purchase price was approximately $1.5 billion.
Archive for the ‘Channel Chatter’ Category
Integrated Electrical Services to Help Build Minnesota Wind Farm
Integrated Electrical Services (IESC) has been awarded a contract from Mortenson Construction to provide electrical services at the Lakefield Wind Farm in southwestern Minnesota. IES will be responsible for the construction of the 200 MVA 345kV/34.5kV interconnect substation and transmission line for the project.
When complete, the Lakefield Wind Farm will consist of 137 GE 1.5 MW turbines producing 205.5 MW of installed capacity. The facility is expected to provide power for approximately seven percent of utility sales for Indianapolis Power & Light.
Department of Agriculture to Issue $1.2 Billion in Loans to Rural Electric Coops
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 37 rural utilities and cooperatives in 20 states have been selected to receive guaranteed loans that will benefit more than 60,000 rural electric cooperative consumers by financing the construction and repair of almost 7,000 miles of distribution and transmissions lines. The $1.2 billion in funding is being awarded through USDA Rural Development’s Electric Program.
Click here and see if any rural electric utility cooperatives in your market area are receiving any of this loan money.
A Break in the Clouds?
Reed Construction Data’s Jim Haughey sees a few glimmers of hope in some recent construction data. Details
Status Report: Social Media in the Electrical Market
In his post, “Forget Social Media and Blogs for Business – Or Should You?,” Neil Gillespie, president, Growth Wizards, discusses some interesting ideas on how distributors, reps and manufacturers can harness social media. What do you think?
NEMA Motors Index Surges in Q2
NEMA’s Motors Shipments Index (MSI) jumped 7.8 percent during the second quarter of 2010. On a year-over-year basis, the index registered a 16.1 percent rate of growth, but still remains approximately 16 percent below its peak. Of the index’s two underlying categories, inflation- and seasonally-adjusted shipments of fractional horsepower motors accounted for the entirety of the quarter’s growth while demand for integral horsepower motors remained surprisingly lackluster, particularly given the solid growth occurring in the broader manufacturing sector.
State Electric Supply to Build New Branch in Chillicothe, Ohio
A report in the Chillicothe Gazette said State Electric Supply, Huntington, W. Va., will build a new $1.6 million branch in Chillicothe, Ohio, that will take the place of the company’s two existing locations in the town, located approximately 45 miles south of Columbus, Ohio. The article said the new building in Chillicothe’s Gateway Industrial Park will be 15,790 square feet and have a 12,750-square-foot warehouse.
Electrical Fire Shuts Down Long Island Railroad
Nobody ever thinks about electrical systems until something goes wrong with them. Electrical power is very much on the minds of Long Island commuters, as an electrical short in two cables submerged in water from heavy rains apparently fried some 1930s-era electrical controls, shutting down the Long Island Rail Road yesterday for hours and sending 130,000 commuters scrambling for alternative means to get in and out of the Big Apple.
An article in The New York Times said the fire in a control tower crippled 155 track switches at a station used by multiple branch lines of the Long Island Railroad, and that because the equipment is so antiquated workers had to scramble onto the tracks to manually set the switches.
NAW’s Van Dongen Leads Efforts to Keep Tax Breaks for Small Biz
Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, Washington, D.C., has been looking out for the business interests of NAW’s members since 1980 with a calm, unassuming manner that masks the fact that he’s one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington. Most recently Van Dongen has been managing lobbyists in the 1,000-member Tax Relief Coalition to renew Bush-era tax cuts. Check out this Bloomberg report to see how he’s doing.
NEMA’s Industrial Controls Index Posts Gain in 2Q
NEMA’s Primary Industrial Controls Index increased 6.4 percent in the second quarter of 2010 versus the first quarter. Overall, the index has registered four consecutive quarter-to-quarter increases and is now 24.8 percent above its year-ago level—representing the largest year-over-year percentage gain since late 1992. Even with this improvement, however, inflation- and seasonally-adjusted shipments remain more than 18 percent below their cyclical peak from two years earlier. Details
