Obama Appears At Cree
Lots of interesting perspective
emerged from President Obama’s mid-June visit to a Cree Inc. factory (which
makes LEDs).
Some selected items:
From The Los Angeles Times:
Obama said he would even use the “bully pulpit” to spread the word that
nerdy is cool and that students should work toward degrees in the hard sciences.
“I want the pocket protector to be the new sex appeal,” said Obama, who held
the meeting at a company, Cree, that builds high-efficiency LED lights.
From TechnicianOnline.com:
…during his stop at LED technology company Cree, Obama said STEM—science,
technology, engineering, and math—are the jobs of the future.
“These are the jobs that China and India are cranking out,”
Obama said. “Those students are hungry because they understand if they get those
skills they can find a good job, they can create companies, they can create
businesses, create wealth.”
It appears that Obama toured the
plant with Jeff Immelt of GE. See the photo on the MSNBC site .
From the Alliance to Save Energy:
“By choosing Alliance to Save
Energy Associate Cree—a prominent manufacturer of energy-efficient lighting—as
the venue for his jobs speech today, President Obama once again emphasized the
importance of energy efficiency in fueling our nation’s economic recovery and
training U.S. workers for high-skilled jobs,” commented Alliance President Kateri
Callahan.
See also the WhiteHouse.gov transcript of Obama’s remarks. Here’s a paragraph
in which he talked about Cree:
…today the small business that a group of N.C. State engineering students
founded almost 25 years ago is a global company. It’s got 5,000 employees.
Next month, your new production line will begin running 24/7. And soon
you’ll add another 400,000 square feet of space on a new site next door.
So you’re helping to lead a clean energy revolution. You’re helping lead
the comeback of American manufacturing. (Applause.) This is a company
where the future will be won.
Electrically Abroad: Deals
Laird rejects Cooper—On
June 1 Cooper Industries said it would like to acquire Laird plc (of the U.K.),
which has stock in public hands. Cooper’s all-cash proposed price was, according
to reports, a 35% premium to the then-going price of Laird stock. But Laird’s
board rejected the offer.
Cooper’s idea, according
to a release, was to combine Laird’s “strong product portfolio backed by a highly
talented engineering and R&D team” with Bussmann’s “leading electronics
and industrial products.”
Last week brought no
news on the matter.
Legrand in Malaysia—United
U-Li, a Malaysian company that makes cable support systems “and other industrial
metal products,” according to the Business Times, will sell three of
its units to Legrand for roughly $66 million. One of the companies to be acquired
is said to be Cable-Tray Industries (M) Sdn Bhd.
Eaton in India—the
company has launched its PowerAdvantage Partner program “for accelerating channel
sales in India,” according to a release. “The program is aimed to collaborate
with IT channel partners, system integrators, IT VARs, and electrical contractors.”
Eaton in Saudi Arabia—according
to Gulf Construction, Abunayyan Electric will use Cutler-Hammer products
from Eaton in a new skyscraper (“an upcoming landmark”) to be built in the heart
of Riyadh. Note that the article described Abunayyan as “a leading distributor
of industrial, electrical, and automation products.”
Power-One in Germany—Power-One
has entered into a nonexclusive, worldwide, “field-of-use” agreement covering
its digital power technology patents with Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG.
Schneider Electric in China—Leader
& Harvest Technologies Holdings will be acquired for $650 million, according
to Reuters, apparently outbidding ABB for one of China’s “leading players in
the fast-growing medium-voltage drives market.” The acquired company’s annual
sales reportedly have been growing at about 20% of late.
Schneider’s buy of Telvent—analysis on Pike Research’s blog
claimed this acquisition is “all about the software”—and includes this:
The Schneider-Telvent deal follows other smart grid-related
software acquisitions by ABB (Ventyx, Obvient, Mincom), Alstom (UISOL), and
GE (Opal Software). Schneider’s acquisition of Telvent is certainly the largest
of these combinations and propels Schneider from being perceived as a nuts-and-bolts
hardware vendor into a strong solutions supplier in a number of key smart grid
areas, including advanced distribution management systems and meter management.
Lighting News From Offshore
ECHELON—said in April that it was seeing success—particularly
in France—in winning adoption of its “energy control technology for smart, networked
street lighting systems.”
GERARD LIGHTING—this
Australian manufacturer “said more acquisitions are in the cards” according
to a May 31 report in The Advertiser. The most recent buy was of eneSolve,
a company owned in part by Simon Gerard, managing director of Gerard Lighting.
Key note: “Mr.
Gerard—a founding shareholder and director of eneSolve—would forego any consideration
or other pecuniary benefit for his interest.” Enesolve is described as “a national
integrated consulting and contracting business that creates and delivers energy-efficient
solutions.” Gerard Lighting bought it for A$980,000.
From Gerard: “We are
also looking at other acquisitions to expand and extend our offerings” in the
energy-efficiency arena.
JK YAMING—JK Yaming International Holdings, which
was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange as of mid-June, saw more than 90%
of its stock acquired by Citigroup Venture Capital International (according
to a June 13 report from Asia Private Equity). Yaming apparently is a
Chinese maker of commercial lighting; the transaction values the entire operation
at about $90 million.
PANASONIC GROUP—a
release timed for the Ghangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2011, earlier
this month, carried this headline: “Panasonic Group Strengthening Lighting Business
in China to Contribute to Energy Conservation.” According to the release, “Panasonic
Electric Works…set up a joint venture to manufacturer lighting fixtures in Beijing
in 1993.” The company’s plans, as detailed in the release, include expanding
its “network of specialized retailers” in China to 5,000 by March 31, 2016.
USHIO LIGHTING—this
Ushio subsidiary “is preparing to enter the U.S. market” with LED light bulbs,
“shaped to closely resemble and substitute for regular incandescent light bulbs
in existing light fixtures,” according to Asia Pulse (May 27). A release
set for June 2011 was to include 12 models for use in commercial facilities.
XODTEC LED—said early this year that the company “has obtained patents
in China and Taiwan for the installation of an LED T8 tube in existing luminaires
without removing the starter.”
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