Copper Prices Drop on Recession Fears
Oct 10, 2008,
By Doug Chandler, EW Executive Editor
Copper prices fell this week to their lowest point in at least a year and a half amid fears that long-term weakness in the global economy will bring reduced demand. ...
Product Liability Reform: Take It to the Hill
Jan 29, 2007,
By Doug Chandler
The prospects for tort reform at the federal level may be more remote with the Democratic Party in control of Congress, but it’s too early to know for sure. NAW's Jim Anderson is headed up to the hill to find out....
Sonepar Buys CESCO and Fairview
Jan 29, 2007
Sonepar USA, Philadelphia, has agreed to acquire Crawford Electric Supply Co. Ltd., one of Texas’ largest independent distributors. The company also has acquired Fairview Electrical Supply Corp., Fairview, N.J., through its Cooper Electric Supply Co. business.
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Pumping Up your Product Launches: Free EW Web Conference
Jan 17, 2007
New electrical products are the lifebood of the electrical market. Electrical distributors, manufacturers and reps who do the best job launching new product launches can get a jump on their competitors. ...
Win $100 With Your Best Sales Tip
Dec 15, 2006
Here's your chance to amaze your boss and co-workers with your savvy selling skills. Stop by Electrical Wholesaling's booth at the EC&M e-trade show to share your best sales tip and achieve everlasting fame ...
Doug Chandler Returns to Electrical Wholesaling as Executive Editor
Nov 16, 2006
Electrical Wholesaling magazine is delighted to announce that Doug Chandler will be returning to the editorial staff of Prism Business Media’s Electrical Group on Nov. 20. While working for the publications for seven years in the 1990s, Doug won a Jesse H. Neal Award for his published work, launched Electrical Wholesaling’s Web site and earned the respect of senior executives throughout the electrical industry for his insightful reporting. He has also won several American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) Awards for his feature writing....
Private Labeling in the Electrical Market: An Industry Study
Nov 2, 2006
Private labeling has become one of the hottest topics of conversation in the electrical market. Many electrical manufacturers have quietly moved to alternative sourcing for some parts of their product line. It’s also not uncommon for a manufacturer to label products for a third party. The new trend in private labeling is the interest some electrical distributors have in marketing their own private-labeled products....
DISC launches two new products
Nov 1, 2006
DISC Corp., Orange, Conn., has developed two new online databases to help industry executives forecast sales of their products by local trading areas. MetroPro offers forecasts for the size and growth of specific product sales through the electrical distribution channel. The MetroPro database currently consists of approximately a dozen major product categories for 150 metropolitan areas, provides two years of history and a five-year outlook. ...
WESCO Acquires Large VDV Distributor
Oct 3, 2006
WESCO International, Inc. Inc. Pittsburgh, will acquire Communications Supply Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Communications Supply Corporation (CSC), Carol Stream, Ill., from Harvest Partners LLC, a New York based private-equity firm. The transaction is expected to close by early November 2006.
WESCO is the largest electrical distributor in the United States, with $4.4 billion in 2005 annual sales, 6,000 employees and 370 locations, according to...
Grainger Opens Branch in China
Sep 27, 2006
W.W. Grainger Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., opened its first facility in China on Sept. 25. Located in the Shanghai suburb of Minhang, the branch will initially stock approximately 20,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs). The new branch is loaded with inventory in the following product categories: electrical, lighting, tools, test instruments, pneumatics, plumbing, material handling, safety, security, metal working and HVAC....
ESCO acquires O.K. Electric Supply
Sep 22, 2006
Facility Solutions Group (FSG), Austin, Texas, a national energy-service company (ESCO), plans to acquire O.K. Electric Supply Co., Perth Amboy, N.J., a full-line electrical distributor with an innovative package of services for the energy retrofit market on the East Coast....
Worthy's US Electrical Services Buys Duplex Electrical Supply
Sep 18, 2006
US Electrical Services, LLC (USESI), Exton, Pa., has acquired Duplex Electrical Supply Corp., Port Washington, N.Y.
Founded earlier this year by Richard Worthy, former Sonepar CEO, US Electrical Services has also acquired Electrical Wholesalers Inc., Hartford, Conn.; Monarch Electric Co., West Caldwell, N.J.; and Wiedenbach-Brown Co., New Rochelle, N.Y., These three well-known East Coast distributors are all listed on Electrical Wholesaling’s 2006 Top 200 listing. Worthy’s 2006 acquisitions total more $400 million in sales, 40 locations and 600 employees.
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Graybar Posts Double-Digit Growth
Sep 6, 2006
Graybar Electric Co., St. Louis, posted 19.7-percent growth in the first half of 2006 with $2.45 billion in sales, compared to the same period last year. The company also reported an operating income increase of 68 percent over the first half of 2005.
“Our revenues are up nearly 20 percent, and we only increased head count five percent, mostly in customer-facing roles,” said Robert Reynolds, Jr., Graybar’s chairman, president and CEO....
Klein Tools Names Cate New Director of Marketing
Sep 6, 2006
Klein Tools recently appointed John Cate director of marketing. With 30 years of experience, Cate will oversee all aspects of marketing, directing the marketing department, and developing and implementing strategic marketing plans that include product promotions, merchandising, trade shows and events, catalogs and collateral...
Encore Announces Marketing Alliance with Electri-Flex
Sep 1, 2006
Encore Wire Corp., McKinney, Texas, is partnering with Electri-Flex, Roselle, Ill., to distribute its line of reduced wall aluminum and steel Greenfield along with UL and non-UL liquidtight conduit to complement Encore’s new MC (armored cable) line....
Schraga Names Equity Partners at Bell Electrical Supply
Sep 1, 2006
Burt Schraga, president/and CEO, Bell Electrical Supply, Santa Clara, Calif., recently named two new equity partners, Tye Atwood and David Wallen. Atwood serves as the company’s vice president and general manager, while Wallen serves as the vice president of sales and marketing. Both executives have held...
Home Depot to Cut 300 Jobs at Headquarters
Aug 30, 2006,
Associated Press
The Home Depot Inc., the nation's largest home improvement store chain, is cutting about 300 jobs at its Atlanta headquarters, according to an Aug. 30 Associated Press report. Chief Executive Bob Nardelli reportedly made the announcement in a memo to all 355,000 Home Depot employees in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The company has 5,400 people working at its Atlanta headquarters, so the cuts represent about 5.5 percent of the workforce there. ...
NEMA Says Business Conditions Deteriorated in August
Aug 29, 2006
NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions declined for the fourth month in a row in August and, at 46.2, is now below the 50-point threshold indicating conditions favorable to growth. For the past 39 months, the EBCI index had topped the 50 point mark. The EBCI is a monthly survey of electrical manufacturers conducted by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va. ...
Florida Hurricane-Readiness Law May Generate Sales
Aug 28, 2006
Towering over the sandy strands of much of Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts, high-rise condominiums are often a posh getaway for snowbirds from the Northeast or Midwest or the well-deserved retirement nests for retired gray eagles. According to a recent report in Engineering-News Record ...
Green Office Buildings Soaring to New Heights
Aug 24, 2006
More office developers are going green, according to a report in the Philadelphia Business Journal. According to that article, green office space in the United States now totals 500,000,000 square feet. The U.S. Green Building Council (USBC), a Washington-based coalition of industry professionals, says the green building market is now valued at approximately $7 billion. ...
