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Egret Consulting appoints Larry Cabel to head up W&C division

Jim Lucy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:53:05 +0000

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.

Generac to expand Wisconsin headquarters

Jim Lucy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:32:36 +0000

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

Jim Lucy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:26:43 +0000

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.”

C.C. Pierce wins Rep Award from General Cable

Jim Lucy — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:33:15 +0000

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.

A-D announces 2011 sales results

Jim Lucy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:57:47 +0000

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.”

Rep News: Myers & Associates names Ragle to sales management post

Jim Lucy — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:15:53 +0000

Clint Ragle

Myers & Associates Electrical Sales (Norman, Okla.): Clint Ragle, LEED AP, is the new director of medium voltage sales for the state of Oklahoma. He will direct all agency efforts for the industrial division of Copper Power Systems, DSG Canusa, Olsun Electrics and Pencell Plastics. Specific product responsibility includes medium-voltage transformers, switches, capacitors, terminations, and wire & cable. Ragle’s client base will include engineers, contractors, distributors and end users.

Rexel acquires Liteco in Canada’s maritime provinces

Doug Chandler — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:40:08 +0000

Rexel, Paris, France, said it has acquired Liteco, the largest independent distributor of electrical supplies in the Canadian Maritimes region. This acquisition complements Rexel’s position as the largest electrical distributor in Canada, one of the world’s largest markets. Rexel said the move is consistent with its strategic aim of strengthening its market share in key mature markets.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Fredricton, New Brunswick, Liteco has 13 branches in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island employing about 120 people to serve a large base of customers in the residential, commercial, industrial and marine sectors. Liteco posted sales of approximately €50 million (about US$66 million) in 2011 and its profitability is in line with Rexel’s operations in the country, Rexel said.

Rexel has over 200 branches across Canada that added about €1.2bn (just under US$1.6 billion) to the Rexel Group’s consolidated sales and posted double-digit organic growth (+11.4%) in 2011.

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Platt Electric Supply to open six new branches

Jim Lucy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:48:17 +0000

Platt Electric, Beaverton, Ore., has six new locations under construction in Tracy, Calif.; on the Intel campus in Hillsboro, Ore.; and in Arlington, Enumclaw, Kent and Port Angeles, Wash. When these branches open the company will have 110 locations in seven western states. In addition to these new locations, Platt Electric Supply will be adding six additional branches in the next few months.

Thomas to lead GE Industrial Solutions sales in Canada

Doug Chandler — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:39:51 +0000

GE Energy’s Industrial Solutions business (NYSE: GE) has appointed Adrian Thomas as the new regional sales leader for Canada. Thomas has overall responsibility for sales of GE Energy’s electrical distribution products and services in Canada, including switchboards and panel boards, uninterruptible power supplies, metering products, circuit breakers, motor controls and capacitors, as well as electric vehicle supply equipment. He is based in Montreal but will oversee sales operations at key facilities across the country, including Calgary and Toronto, GE said in a release.

Thomas began his career at GE Canada as a large-motors designer in Peterborough, followed by a transition to a marketing role for GE Energy in Montreal that featured a combination of sales and commercial operations. Later, Thomas held various positions with TMEIC, an industrial systems, drive and motor manufacturer, in Roanoke, Va., where he developed international sales experience covering growing markets in Taiwan, India and North America. He is a graduate of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, with a bachelor of science in engineering.

Siemens agrees to buy RuggedCom

Doug Chandler — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:41:36 +0000

The Munich, Germany, corporate offices of Siemens announced today the company has entered into an agreement to acquire RuggedCom, Concord, Ontario, Canada, in a friendly, board-supported takeover bid.

The Canadian company is a provider of communications and networking solutions such as routers for harsh industrial environments. The total transaction value is estimated at about C$382 million (about US$381 million). RuggedCom’s board unanimously supports the takeover, is recommending that RuggedCom’s shareholders accept the offer, which is a contrast to their recommendation against a takeover by Belden about a month ago.

With annual revenues of approximately US$94 million (fiscal 2011) and approximately 360 employees, RuggedCom provides robust, industrial-quality Ethernet communication products and network solutions. These products are used primarily under rough environmental conditions – for example, in power distribution, in refineries, or in traffic control systems. The move expands Siemens’ offerings for the smart grid market, among others.

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