Electrical Marketing's LiveWire

The North Central Electrical Manufacturers Club Inc. (NCEMC), Bloomington, Minn., recently hosted a successful charity golf outing and raised $5,000 for the Feed My Starving Children organization. Contributing sponsors for 54th Annual Electrical Industry Golf Classic were 3M Company; Border States Electric Supply; Collins Unlimited Electrical & Technology Solutions; EESCO/United Electric Supply; Graybar Electric Company; Viking Electric Supply; and Werner Electric Supply of Minnesota.
The Electrical Industry Golf Classic is an annual gathering of the Upper Midwest electrical industry that since 1987 has contributed $25,750 to charity. During that time, the NCEMC has contributed a total of $459,890 in scholarships; golf tournament, holiday and other charities; and Salvation Army Red Kettle Bell volunteering.

Electrical Wholesaling’s editors won another national award in the prestigious American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) annual editorial awards competition. The magazine was honored on Aug. 4 in Chicago by ASBPE with a silver award in the “How-to Article” category for the article “Changing Channels of Distribution,” which was published in EW’s Jul 2010 issue. EW’s editors also won regional ASBPE awards for a feature article on the electric vehicle market and a company profile on National Electric Supply’s solar installation and new PV business unit.

Border States Electric (BSE) (Fargo, N.D.): Todd Kadry has been named marketing solutions manager for Border States Electric (BSE). He joined BSE in July 1999 as an inventory planner and in 2001 was named marketing services supervisor. In 2005, he was named marketing manager. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management from North Dakota State University.

Colonial Electric Supply, King of Prussia, Pa., announced plans to open its 21th counter location in Lancaster, Pa. The new location is expected to open its doors within the third quarter of 2011 and will be located at 221 Pitney Road, Lancaster, Pa., near Route 30. John Rodman, formerly of Yale Electric, is joining the Colonial Electric team as V.P. of Colonial’s Western Region. Rodman comes with over 30 years experience in the electrical industry in the York and Lancaster area and will lead the expansion in Lancaster and the growth in Colonial’s Western territory. With $153 million in sales, Colonial Electric Supply was ranked No. 42 on Electrical Wholesaling’s 2011 Top 200.

EMCOR Group, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Toronto-based Canadian subsidiary, Comstock Canada Ltd. to CCL Equities, Inc., an Ontario-based corporation. In connection with the sale, EMCOR expects to receive approximately CAD $16.9 million in payment for the shares and approximately CAD $25.5 million in repayment of indebtedness owed by Comstock to EMCOR Group, Inc. CCL Equities, Inc. was recently organized by certain members of Comstock management and outside investors for the purpose of acquiring Comstock.

Comstock performs electrical and mechanical construction services primarily in the health care, nuclear, and industrial markets in Canada. In 2010, Comstock generated revenues of approximately $269.3 million and operating income of approximately $0.3 million. For the first six months of 2011, Comstock had revenues of approximately $99 million and an operating loss of approximately $0.4 million.

The transaction is expected to close in the 2011 third quarter.

Tony Guzzi, president and CEO of EMCOR, commented, “This transaction reflects our strategy of focusing on our core operations in which we have both the expertise and scale necessary to generate strong returns. While Comstock is a well-established, quality business, we believe there are greater opportunities to deploy our capital in areas that will create more value for EMCOR. Like our recent purchase of USM, this transaction should enhance our overall profitability and reduce volatility in our financial performance. Overall, we believe this is an excellent transaction for all parties involved. We wish Comstock’s management team and their partners all the best in their future endeavors.”

Cooper Industries PLC (NYSE: CBE), based in Dublin, Ireland, announced the acquisition of Martek Power, Torrance, Calif., a manufacturer of power electronic components for approximately €130 million (about $187 million by today’s exchange rates), including the assumption of some debt. Martek manufactures specialized power management devices for the military, heavy-duty transportation, aerospace, medical, telecom and hybrid/electrical vehicle markets. Martek will become part of the Cooper Bussmann division.

“The addition of Martek will take our current strength in power management for the military/aerospace and North American transportation markets and extend it into key verticals such as medical, telecom, data storage, European transportation and the high growth hybrid/electrical vehicle markets,” said Cooper Industries Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kirk Hachigian. “Additionally, Martek’s proven R&D capabilities in industrial and mission critical power management applications which combined with Bussmann’s expertise will expand our capabilities to deliver advanced power management solutions to a large universe of customers with high-reliability needs.”

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Border States Electric (BSE) ( Fargo, N.D.): Brad Kvalheim has been named branch manager for the company’s Sioux Falls, S.D., branch. He joined BSE in 1989 as an electronic service technician at the company’s Fargo branch and is a graduate of the North Dakota State College of Science.

June marked the third consecutive decline in revenue at U.S. architecture firms as measured by the Architecture Billings Index (ABI). As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to-twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA), Washington, D.C., reported the June ABI score was 46.3, almost a full point from a reading of 47.2 the previous month. This score reflects a continued decrease in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). However, the new projects inquiry index was 58.1, up sharply from a mark of 52.6 in May.
“This seems to be a case of not thinking it can get any worse –- and then it does,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker. “While a modest turn around appeared to be on the way earlier in the year, the overall concern about both domestic and global economies is seeping into design and construction industry and adding yet another element that is preventing recovery. Furthermore, the threat of the federal government failing to resolve the debt ceiling issue is leading to higher borrowing rates for real estate projects and should there actually be a default, we are likely looking at a catastrophic situation for a sector that accounts for more than ten percent of overall GDP.”

Lowe’s will introduce the GE WattStation at five stores in California in August then increase availability to 60 total stores in September, according to a GE press release. The GE WattStation will also be available to consumers nationwide on www.lowes.com in September.
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