Energy & Green = Distributors
BSE PARTNERS WITH ENERGY STAR—Border States
Electric (Fargo, N.D.) has become an Energy Star Service and Product
Provider partner. Under the deal, BSE will help customers improve their
facilities’ energy efficiency. From Tammy Miller, CEO: “Our goal is to
improve the energy efficiency of their buildings by 10% or more, in
support of the Energy Star challenge.” There are 9,000 partners in the
Energy Star program.
FROMM’S GREEN EVENT—Fromm Electric Supply (Reading,
Pa.) spent May 14 hosting the Greater Reading “Go-Green” Event, which
drew more than 100 attendees from local businesses and municipalities.
The event took place at Fromm’s design center in Sinking Spring, Pa. In
addition to seminars (one topic: solar energy applications), 17
manufacturers and service providers displayed and talked about
technology, products, and services.
Lou Fromm, vice president of marketing for the company, noted that
the company plans additional “Go-Green” seminars throughout 2009 with
“a residential event” scheduled for late fall. See photo below.
IMARK’S ENERGY WORK—an article in the May 2009
issue of IMARK Group’s magazine noted that the org had “established the
Energy Services Partners program, in which selected ESCOs have agreed
to work in partnership with IMARK distributors to develop and install
energy-efficiency lighting projects.” (ESCO = energy service company.)
Partners identified in the article:
- Facility Solutions Group (Austin, Texas)
- Global Energy Services (Timonium, Md.)
- Lighting Resources (DeLand, Fla.)
- SAERIS (division of Acuity Brands, Conyers, Ga.)
- Stones River Electric (Madison, Tenn.)
Webcast Reset
Last week’s Distributor News noted a June 25 webcast to
feature Butler Supply (Fenton, Mo.) talking about software selection.
That event has been postponed.
However, Industrial Distribution and ByteManagers are co-sponsoring a live (free) one-hour webcast at 2 p.m. (Eastern)—on June 25. Title: Building a Profitable Online Strategy in Distribution. More.
Stimulus News
35 best links for government contracting—from ProposalPro, a free resource.
New standard contract makes stimulus work easier—a release from AGC on “a new contract agreement written to specifically address the complexities of federal subcontracting,” from ConsensusDOCS.
Podcast on ConsensusDOCS—the ConsensusDOCS effort is a joint enterprise of 22 construction industry associations. Listen to a podcast of less than five minutes to get the details.
Electrical/Datacom
CLS SPREADS SIGNAGE—Capital Lighting & Supply
(an Alexandria, Virginia-headquartered unit of Sonepar), has extended a
digital signage network (from StrandVision) from an initial limited
deployment to all of its 21 locations. According to a release, CLS also
has “moved up to StrandVision’s Platinum subscription level, which adds
the ability to run unlimited playback of up to 60 minutes of streaming
video within its mix of digital signage pages.”
DSG’S S.D. MOVE—Dakota Supply Group (Fargo, N.D.)
now occupies a new building in Mitchell, S.D. At 20,000 square feet,
the building reportedly offers more than three times the space DSG
formerly occupied in the area.
GRAYBAR HONORED—the Utilities Service Alliance
named Graybar “2008 Material Supplier of the Year,” honoring the
company among nearly 100 suppliers in the Alliance.
Elsewhere in Distribution
AVAD CLOSES 10 BRANCHES—CE Pro magazine
reported on May 6 that AVAD, the specialty distributor serving home
technology integrators, had closed 10 of its 36 U.S. branches (there
are two in Canada). From Wally Whinna, co-founder of AVAD and now a
vice president: “We’re changing our sales strategy. We have fewer field
people, but a larger contingent of inside people.” The company had 28
branches in 2005, the magazine noted, when it was acquired by “giant IT
distributor Ingram Micro;” it then expanded rapidly.
Note: The article above followed, by less than one month, a revealing CE Pro piece headlined, “How AVAD’s Business Continues to Evolve.”
“AVOID LEFT TURNS”—Editor Jim Olsztynzki of Supply House Times blogs on his magazine’s site. In a recent post,
he advised readers—seriously—to instruct their truck drivers to avoid
all left turns. Why? “The world’s largest delivery fleet operator, UPS,
saves about 3 million gallons of gas a year doing this.”
EARLY BIRD EXPANDS—Early Bird Supply (Clarkston,
Idaho) carries lumber, roofing, insulation, paint, plumbing, and
electrical supply, according to the Lewiston Morning Tribune.
Now, it’s opened a new location in Graingerville that “caters to
contractors and do-it-yourselfers.” It’s going to get bigger: Crews are
now “working on an addition that will add about 6,000 square feet to a
3,600-square-foot showroom,” to be finished in summer.
MORE DISTRIBUTION NOTES—Jack Keough, editor of Industrial Distribution, posted another “Around Distribution”
entry (this one 1,800-plus words)—a smattering of notes, highlights,
news, and more, under the lead “here’s what’s been happening in
distribution this past week.”
PEOPLE: Backpacks to Briefcases—posted as a web exclusive on the Progressive Distributor site, this article discusses how to turn younger hires into productive employees. Diane Thielfoldt’s words include:
“We raised them, so why is it so hard to manage them? Today’s
20-somethings want to write their own rules. Millennials have a strong
desire for work/life balance, an incredible comfort with technology,
and an appetite for responsibility.
“The potential issue is their appetite for responsibility without
the necessary skills and experiences. To manage those expectations, you
must coach your Millennials.”
“PREPARING FOR THE RECOVERY”—that’s the optimistic title of a June 17 blog entry on the Modern Distribution Management site.
“THESE ARE THE BEST TIMES”—so says Frank Hurtte in a column on the site of Progressive Distributor. The best times for what? “These tough times are the absolute best time for building market share for your products.
“Use the natural flow of business patterns to fine tune the way you
direct your products to market, and your customers will view you as a
strategic resource—a business partner. Understand this value and you
won’t find your margins slipping.”
“THE WORST IS OVER”—so proclaims Adam Fein, Ph.D., of Pembroke Consulting, in the June 15 weekly post to his “Distribution Trends” blog. Fein’s predictions include:
“While my 2009 outlook for many wholesale distribution sectors has
worsened, we are still on track for recovery in 2010. The latest
economic data show that many sectors are either stabilizing (or merely
getting worse at a slower rate). However, consistent year-over-year
growth will not return until 2010.
“The question is no longer ‘When will the recovery begin?’ but
rather ‘What will the recovery look like?’ The recovery will probably
be slow compared to historical norms. The most likely scenario appears
to be a slow ‘u-shaped’ recovery, assuming no major policy errors.”
© 2010 The Electrical Distributor. All rights reserved.