tedmagazine201608-14709213920009cd1e0cfa9-pp

the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR
tED
www.tEDmag.com Aug.16
best of
thebest2016 AWARD WINNERS
S P E C I A L
R E P O R T
KEEP YOUR
BUSINESS
ALIVE WHEN
DISASTER
STRIKES
Sheila Hernandez
Summit Electric Supply
Overall Distributor
Rhonda Gauthreaux
Southwire
Overall Supplier
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2 the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR • Aug.16 www.tEDmag.com
Aug.16
contents
92Plan for
the worst
Features
COVER STORY
58 Marketing’s Best
A look at the marketing tactics of the 2016 Best of the Best
Overall winners: Summit Electric Supply and Southwire.
by Carol Katarsky
photography by Mike DeFilippo
68 Best of the Best Category Winners
The 45 entries that were chosen as winners in this year’s
Best of the Best Marketing Awards Competition.
SPECIAL REPORT
92 Best-Laid Plans
Disaster planning and preparation are key to business
survival in the worst of times.
by Gary Thomas
58Summit reaches the pinnacle
of marketing prowess
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4 the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR • Aug.16 www.tEDmag.com
Aug.16
contents
Departments
24China’s futures
market
52Information
drives action
18Unlock better
relationships
38Site
inspection
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 6 President’s Note | 8 Chair’s Column | 10 What’s on tEDmag.com | 14, 34, 48 Industry News | 24 Commodities
25 Lighting News | 28 Project Spotlight | 30 Happenings | 37 On the Bookshelf | 42 HR Perspective | 44 In the Warehouse | 50 Selling Smart
110 People | 111 Ad Index | 112 Publisher’s Note
56Brain
food
CURRENT
13 World View
Despite real differences in cultures and markets, some
challenges affect distributors everywhere equally.
18 Channel Issues
Are we ready and able to be better partners?
22 Government Watch
Meeting up on Capitol Hill: NAED Fly-In draws both new and
experienced attendees to Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS
33 Business Focus
Manufacturers are looking to electrical distributors to help
them increase operational efficiencies, enhance sustainability,
and ensure environmental and personnel safety.
38 Tech Watch
Design a website that will serve visitors today—and tomorrow.
40 IDEA Update
Manufacturers work to maintain high-quality data and look
to the entire industry for support.
SELLING
47 Sales Spotlight
The “after” sale: Continue to sell when the project is done.
52 Marketing 101
Use content marketing to create qualiﬁed leads, drive
website trafﬁc, and generate sales.
56 Management
Food for thought: Five bite-sized sales morsels that can help
turn salespeople from so-so to stellar.
PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
98 By the Numbers: Products for the industrial market
100 Electrical: Cleaners and lubricants
101 Product Watch: Electrical metallic tubing
102 Lighting: Light and health
106 What’s New

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6 the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR • Aug. 16 www.tEDmag.com
I
n the past few years, there’s been a lot of
discussion about disruptive technology. It
has become apparent that our main chal-
lenge is to determine how distributors
will continue to remain the channel of
choice during this transitional period. To
do that, distributors will need to start looking
differently at what they do and how they do it.
I just finished reading Originals by Adam
Grant, and I think parts of the book can be ap-
plied to the electrical industry. What do originals
look like? Grant describes originals as those
who not only have new ideas, but also take the
steps necessary to turn their ideas into reality.
Throughout the book, he examines how people
can champion new ideas, how to recognize a good idea, and how leaders can
fight groupthink as well as build a culture that welcomes dissent.
Here are three key takeaways from the book that I believe can help electrical
distribution remain the preferred channel:
1. Quantity of ideas. There seems to be a negative correlation between
quantity and quality—but Grant says that’s not true. “The people we admire
more did not have better ideas than their peers,” he writes. “They just had
more of them.” The best ideas often come after some not-so-great ideas have
been generated. Don’t be afraid to fail—originals fail, and they fail often. The
difference is that they keep trying.
2. Recognizing good ideas. In general, people think their ideas are great—
but the truth is that not all of them are. So how do we identify which ideas are
actually good? Grant suggests seeking opinions from peers because they can
understand the situation in question but still have enough distance to be neu-
tral and enough curiosity to be open to new ideas.
3. Rethinking groupthink. Groupthink is when people seek agreement
and conformity instead of discussing dissenting views—and it can shut down
the most creative people in the group. In the book, Grant uses the Bay of Pigs
invasion, the downfall of Polaroid, and the Challenger explosion as examples of
how groupthink is a fantastic way to make terrible decisions.
Change is rarely easy, but it is an essential part of moving forward. Original
thinking is the most efficient way to change. Don’t be afraid to take a step in a
new direction. I
Naber is president and CEO of NAED. He can be reached at tnaber@naed.org.
Originality is the
future of the channel
by Tom Naber
president’s note
Copyright © 2016 by National Association of
Electrical Distributors, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written
permission is strictly prohibited.
tED
Vol. 53, No. 8
2015
3
2015
3
the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR
2009
Award Winner
PUBLISHER Scott Costa
scosta@naed.org
EDITOR Misty Byers
mbyers@naed.org
ART DIRECTOR Randi Vincent
rvincent@naed.org
PRODUCTION EDITOR Karen Linehan
klinehan@naed.org
WEB CONTENT MANAGER Nicky Herron
nherron@naed.org
EDITORIAL & WEB ASSISTANT Marie Jakle
mjakle@naed.org
CIRCULATION ADMINISTRATOR Stephanie Wobbe
subscriptions@naed.org
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Susan Bloom, John Chapin, Craig DiLouie,
Dick Friedman, Carolyn Heinze, Carol Katarsky,
Michael Larsen, Paul Molitor, Jan Niehaus,
Dan Nitowsky, Joe Nowlan, Katrina Olson,
Jim Romeo, Ken Stier, Joseph Sullivan,
Gary Thomas, Ken Wax
ADVERTISING
East-Central Region: Rich Ryan
P.O. Box 102, Port Clinton OH 43452
(419) 734-5545, Fax: (810) 958-0475
email: rgrsvc@gmail.com
Western Region: Steve Wafalosky
512 East Washington Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
(440) 247-1060, Fax: (440) 247-1068
email: stevew@larichadv.com
Southern Region: Gary Lindenberger, Lori Gernand
7007 Winding Walk Drive, Suite 100
Houston, TX 77095
(281) 855-0470, Fax: (281) 855-4219
email: gl@lindenassoc.com; lg@lindenassoc.com
Southeast Region: Doug Fix
590 Hickory Flat Road, Alpharetta, GA 30004
(770) 740-2078, Fax: (678) 405-3327
email: dﬁx@bellsouth.net
AWARDS
READ TOM NABER’S “VOICES OF THE INDUSTRY” BLOG AT NAED.ORG.
√√√006.qxp_UpFront redesign.qxt 7/15/16 3:07 PM Page 6

O
ver the past 10 to 15 years, the electrical
distribution industry has experienced a fun-
damental shift in the way our businesses
operate and how we interact with our cus-
tomers. The Internet and mobile technol-
ogy are challenging traditional business
models and changing how we work. Case in point: At Stan-
dard Electric Supply Co., we receive more than 70% of our
orders electronically, when just five years ago, a majority of
our orders were received by fax and phone. Clearly, a funda-
mental shift in how our customers want to communicate with
us has occurred.
The investment in people and resources to research, imple-
ment, and manage technologies should be a strategic objective
of every business today. Just like sales and marketing, we all
need to invest in new technologies to compete. This invest-
ment should not be viewed as a cost of doing business, but
rather as an opportunity to develop more business and grow
our companies.
NAED offers many resources that can help members get
this competitive advantage. In keeping with my theme, “Mak-
ing the Most of Your Membership,” here are a few related to
technology:
First, NAED has formed the Technology Committee. This
group of industry technology experts has created a complete
set of resources that are available on NAED’s technology web-
site, naed.org/StrategicTechnology, free of charge. The offer-
ings include:
• Executive guides that explore a range of topics from
web strategy to mobile device security to IT disaster recovery.
Currently, there are 16 topic-specific guides available through
the website and more on the way.
• Ask an expert. Do you have a technology question?
Email the Technology Committee at technology@naed.org.
• Benchmarking reports. NAED’s technology bench-
marks help members stay up to date on the ways in which
companies in our industry are incorporating the latest tech-
nology trends into their daily routines. The 2015 Distributor
Technology Benchmarking infographic is available for down-
load, and distributors are encouraged to take the 2016 Tech-
nology Benchmarking Survey (open through Sept. 9). Addi-
tionally, the IT Expenses Benchmarking Survey overview re-
port will be available for purchase in September.
Another technology challenge is the channel’s struggle
with SPAs. NAED has a wealth of information to help with
the SPA setup process, claim filing, discrepancy resolution,
and more that can be found in best-practices guides and a
white paper recently completed by Indian River Consulting
Group. NAED also has a partnership with Jigsaw Systems,
which offers a contract management system that encompasses
and simplifies the whole SPA management process. This in-
formation can be found at naed.org/spa.
Lastly, all distributors need to look at how IDEA can help
their businesses obtain a competitive advantage. Business
systems, and e-commerce in particular, run on data. For these
systems to run efficiently, data needs to be accurate. Perhaps
more importantly though, a successful e-commerce strategy
requires complete and accurate enriched data. Distributors’
businesses utilize data received from manufacturers. IDEA,
a B2B technology service provider jointly owned by NEMA
and NAED, was created to obtain and manage complete and
accurate data from manufacturers.
IDEA launched the Data Certification Program last year to
increase the depth, breadth, and quality of data in the IDW.
The initial expectation was for manufacturers to complete 43
data fields necessary for distributors to conduct business.
More than 100 manufacturers have achieved at least 95%
compliance, and the IDW currently contains more than 1.4
million fully attributed SKUs. Efforts are now expanding to
achieve the program’s second metric—excellence or quality of
data—with the expectation of a similar response from manu-
facturers by the end of this year.
Technology will continue to advance at a rapid pace. It is
crucial that we keep up with the pace to maintain our compet-
itive advantage within the marketplace. NAED can be your
competitive advantage. Make the most of your membership
by using the resources available. I
Stern is president of Standard Electric Supply Co. in Milwaukee.
He can be reached at lstern@standardelectricsupply.com.
A trove of
tech resources
by Larry Stern
chair’s column
GET INVOLVED IN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITIES BY FOLLOWING US ON TWITTER: @NAED_ORG AND @TEDMAGAZINE.

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NUMBER Snap2It® connectors OUTSIDE DIA (OD)
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5010AST Snap in, 1/2" KO w insulated throat .580 to .780
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4110ST Snap in, 1/2" KO .525 to .705
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FEATURES
Contractor Q&A
This month’s Special Report (page 92) examines how, when disaster strikes, an
investment in time, training, and rehearsal can improve the odds of a business’s
survival. To further explore the issue, electrical contractors from Wichita, Kan., and
Galveston, Texas, discuss how electrical distributors have helped them help cus-
tomers in the aftermath of natural disasters. Find it in the “Bonus Content” section
of tEDmag.com.
Your Business and the Cloud
More and more electrical distributors are considering using cloud-based
ERP and/or e-commerce systems instead of traditional systems. And
while there are some advantages to a cloud arrangement, there are also
some negatives. Find descriptions of both in the “Bonus Content” section
of tEDmag.com.

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PREPARING TODAY’S NEWS FOR YOU.
Make sure you know what’s happening in the industry
by visiting www.tEDmag.com every morning.
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www.tEDmag.com Aug. 16 • the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR 13
current W o r l d V i e w
A small world
Despite real differences in cultures and markets, some
challenges affect distributors everywhere equally.
by Joseph Sullivan
√√√13,14,16.qxp_UpFront redesign.qxt 7/18/16 1:51 PM Page 13

current
INDUSTRY NEWS
For up-to-date industry news and
information, go to tEDmag.com.
Distribution, especially electrical distribution, has certain com-
mon factors all over the world. Despite real differences in cultures
and markets, all distributors sell and deliver parts that they have ag-
gregated from manufacturers. They pull, pack, and deliver—and try
to order efficiently and at good prices so that the other aspects of the
business have a fair chance of earning a profit. And many distribu-
tors in many nations are also bankers to their customers. Because
the essence of distribution is the same everywhere, there are certain
global conditions and challenges that all distributors face no matter
how they do business or what primary language they speak.
These global conditions break into two
categories. First are the macro trends
that affect distribution but are out of the
control of any one distributor or group
of distributors. The second are business
issues and trends on which distributors
can act. Some of the most significant of
these are:
• Macro factors
✓ Governments and governmental
policies including trade zones and
treaties
✓ Political upheaval
✓ Transportation issues (for example,
lower ocean freight for importers and,
here in the United States, motor freight
bottlenecks and driver shortages)
• Business factors
✓ The “Knowledge Business”
✓ Growth of RFID and similar
technology
✓ A greater need for accuracy in
product information
✓ The evolution of e-commerce
Of the macro factors, the most im-
portant by far is governmental policy.
On the whole, policy in most countries
is not kind to distributors.
The recent so-called “Brexit” is the
best possible example. Regardless of
how the split eventually works out
for Britain and the European Union,
European distributors and manufactur-
ers all over the world that sell into
Britain or Europe are going to have to
feel their way carefully through a tricky
maze of uncertain requirements, tariffs,
and restrictions until at some point,
years from now, all of the new govern-
ing treaties have been completed and
signed.
While nothing as dramatic as that is
likely in the United States, we don’t yet
know whether or not we will have a
trans-Pacific partnership, and if we do,
what the real impact will be. It is a seri-
ous matter for a trade where the vast
number of parts are manufactured in
nations that—if it comes to pass—
would be part of the trade zone. Of
course, we also have at least one presi-
dential candidate who opposes free
trade. Favor it or not, there is no deny-
ing that free trade has an impact on
businesses that import or export or, as
with every American distributor, those
that resell imported products.
Closer to home, it is just a fact of life
that governments are getting involved
in just about everything, and govern-
mental policies usually have the weight
of law. Every distributor on the planet
has concerns about its respective tax
code. However, the list of other things
required by various governments is very
long. Just to name a few, we have local
content rules, hiring quotas, wage and
hour regulations, and regulated treat-
ment of specific classes of employees
and customers. Regardless of whether
any individual policy is generally bad
or generally good, the point is that
as rules proliferate, business life for dis-
tributors becomes more expensive and
complicated.
Yet another policy matter is that of
subsidies. Governments have tended to
push for so-called “clean energy.” They
have tended to offer subsidies as incen-
tives. But what the government giveth,
it also taketh away in its own time. So,
for example, Europe had a boom in solar
energy. But when the subsidies were re-
duced or removed, that market col-
lapsed even in world-leading Germany.
If a German, Italian, or French distribu-
▶Buckles-Smith adds, moves
With the addition of a state-of-the-art en-
closure modification center, Buckles-
Smith Electric is now a designated
Hoffman Certified Modification Center.
In addition, the company’s headquar-
ters and main distribution center is relo-
cating just north of its current San Jose,
Calif., location to Santa Clara, Calif.
▶DSG opens new city desk
Fargo, North Dakota-headquartered
Dakota Supply Group recently opened a
new city desk location in Hopkins, Minn.
▶Epicor sold to KKR
Epicor Software is to be acquired by the
global private equity firm KKR from funds
advised by Apax Partners.
▶Graybar buys Cape
St. Louis-based Graybar has acquired
Cape Electrical Supply of Cape Girar-
deau, Mo. Cape Electric, which has 17
locations, continues to operate under
the Cape Electrical name with the same
employees, leadership, and suppliers.
▶Sonepar buys in Europe
EMG van de Meerakker—a specialized
electrotechnical equipment wholesaler
for industry and the machine and panel
construction sectors—has joined Sone-
par in the Netherlands. The company
employs 35 in four branches in Weert,
Veghel, Barendrecht, and Veenendaal.
▶VP Supply buys Dansville
VP Supply recently acquired Dansville
Electrical Supply, a wholesaler and re-
tailer of industrial electrical distribution
equipment, electrical components, and
related tools.

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current
tor shaped part of its business around
those subsidized goods, it saw it disap-
pear at the stroke of a pen. Readjusting
to the unsubsidized world is the busi-
ness’s problem, not the government’s.
Political upheaval is a macro factor
generally negative to business, at least in
the short term. While nimble merchants
can sometimes take advantage of crises,
like Armand Hammer did with the Rus-
sian Revolution, most are damaged.
Fears and uncertainties hurt sales. Riots
and revolutions destroy whole commu-
nities. Regime changes, even short of
warfare as in Egypt, can bring most com-
merce to a standstill—but they do not
bring distributors’ bills and loan pay-
ments to a standstill.
The macro factor of transportation
issues—freight costs and logistics—goes
beyond cost and directly to the business
model. Is it more profitable to ware-
house higher volumes or to rely on the
transportation network for rapid, cost-
effective delivery? This is not a simple
calculation. Overall, costs are strongly
down, but port congestion, motor
freight bottlenecks, and political up-
heaval complicate things in many parts
of the world.
Global freight costs overall are down.
The most obvious cause is the crash in
energy prices. However, ocean freight,
on which the global trade in everything
including electrical parts depends, is
down by 30% to 50%. At this point, a
container can be shipped from China to
a European or North American port for
somewhere in the neighborhood of
$400. This is because of an oversupply of
big, efficient vessels.
A few years ago the shipping com-
panies began consolidating and form-
ing alliances that provided significant
freight efficiency. At the same time, they
began ordering very large, technologi-
cally advanced ships. Much like the old
American-Soviet nuclear arms race, the
result was more than anyone needed.
And yet, they are new, expensive, and
afloat—and more are coming. As a
result, ocean shipping rates to and from
almost everywhere are likely to be ab-
normally low for several years.
The benefits of lower freight are to
some degree offset in some places by
congestion and trucking bottlenecks,
to say nothing of labor unrest. Despite
huge, ongoing investments, Chinese
ports are clogged. It can take nearly
as long to get a product from the Chi-
nese interior to the dockside as it does
to then float it across the globe. On a
spotty basis, the United States also has
port congestion, which is compounded
with labor unrest in places. West Coast
conditions are bad enough that much
freight is being rerouted to East Coast
ports, not all of which are up for the vol-
ume. But then we have Savannah, Ga.,
thought by many to be the best-run port
in the country. To show the difference
that a well-run port makes, round-trip
move-in/move-out time for a truck in
Savannah is about an hour. In Norfolk,
Va., it is three to four hours.
Following the lead of Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, the Middle Eastern na-
tions are investing heavily in port infra-
structure and may eventually be the
cross-docking headquarters of much of
the world. In Saudi Arabia, the govern-
ment is funding major warehousing and
transportation projects, including the
$8 billion Prince Abdul Azis bin Mou-
saed Economic City. The Dubai Logis-
tics City and the Jebel Ali Free Zone
remain the region’s major hub, though,
and are among the world’s most innov-
ative projects. Other Emirates are work-
ing to get a bit for themselves.
BUSINESS FACTORS
Global business factors start with the
shift from merely selling parts to selling
knowledge. The big changes in, say,
lighting—along with smart and green—
products have meant that nothing is
simple anymore. It is not just technical;
subsidies and regulations play into this.
End-users and contractors just don’t
understand and lack the time to do the
research. This is a good thing for distrib-
ution, as customers come to rely on
advice and service instead of merely
price and parts.
Pressure for efficient operations is
also bringing a global focus to distribu-
tors’ own need for faster, better ware-
house management—every element
from receiving and shelving to ship-
ping. Bar codes were the last wave (not
that everything on that front has been
perfected yet). The next wave is RFID or
some development from it whereby
remote scanning of pallets, stock, and
even whole truckloads greatly increases
speed and accuracy. Early on, Walmart
asked suppliers to tag all pallets so the
contents could be quickly read at deliv-
ery time. The technology keeps improv-
ing. Imagine taking in inventory in a
large warehouse in a few hours.
Coupled directly with this is the cry-
ing need for more and better product
information. There are two kinds of
needs: one for product details and
images for sales purposes and another
for product weight and dimensional
data for shipping and warehousing effi-
ciency. Here is how remote scanning
and better information pair up: Imagine
a warehouse or even a truck being filled
with cargo. The use of remote reading
coupled with weight, shape, and volume
data allows operators to know at all
times where they stand with weight and
space and how to optimize it.
Finally, e-commerce is an unavoid-
able global business factor. It is excep-
tionally dependent on knowledge, ef-
ficiency, and product information—
because when customers select and
order electronically, they have the illu-
sion that what they are reading is true
and complete, and that the products are
there, in place, and waiting for them.
E-commerce extends markets, but it
can also flatten prices as everyone can
shop for a delivered price with the touch
of a key. For this reason, some distribu-
tors are assigning their own product
part numbers so as to baffle keyboard
price hounds. It is not clear how well
this will work with anything beyond
commodity products, however. The
challenge to distributors is to stay ahead
of the constantly shifting e-market—
and then adapt. I
Sullivan is president of JSA; he can be
reached at joe@joseph-sullivan.com.

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1.800.435.0786 / www.greenlee.com
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visit: www.youtube.com/GreenleeDEMO
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current
Last month, we examined the risk from weakening partnerships as
identified in the NAED report Rethinking Distributor-Manufacturer
Relationships in the Age of Rapid Innovation (find the full report under
the “Research” tab at naed.org). In part three of this series, we look at
nine key questions from the report about how ready the industry is to
address this issue. While there is still room to debate how serious the
issue of weakening partnerships is, consensus opinion is that those
partnerships are vital and any time and energy spent improving them
is a benefit to individual companies and the channel as a whole.
The report posed what it called the
“Nine Big Questions” for companies to
examine how prepared they are to look
for solutions. Broadly speaking, the
questions tackle areas of relationship
building, strategy and planning, and
future investments.
These areas are important for indi-
vidual companies, but it will take an
industry-wide effort to truly see the
benefit of a strengthened channel.
SET THE STAGE FOR
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
1. Are we prepared to trust each other?
2. Are we prepared to put the customer at
the center of the partnership?
3. Are we prepared to make partnering a
core competency?
Few would argue that people within the
industry are not willing to work on rela-
tionships. The biggest obstacle is find-
ing the time and space to do so, as the
current business landscape is built for
efficiency over personal interaction.
“Yes, we are positioned to partner
with each other,” said Tom Fredericks,
vice president/general manager, electric
division, of American Polywater and
chair-elect of the NAED Manufacturers
Council. “This year, one of our charges
on the council is to let distributors know
that we are all in this together. The
manufacturer, the distributor, the man-
ufacturer rep—we all should have one
goal in mind: how we are going to work
together to sell to the end-user.”
One concern that came up over and
over is the multiplicity of partnerships.
When companies have so many—and
often competing—partnerships, it is not
always feasible to invest in them the
way a company might want to.
“Years ago, partnerships meant a lot,
but then things got commoditized a bit
and we got away from relationships and
thought buying from a lot of people was
the way to go,” said Don Spurgin, vice
president of sales development for En-
core Wire. “Now, things are transition-
ing back to buying from one or two
suppliers. But overall, I don’t think most
companies have the planning in place
Arewereadyandable
to be better partners?
Nine key questions expose reasons for hope—
and areas that need work. by Carol Katarsky
C h a n n e l I s s u e s
©MARKWRAGG/ISTOCK

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for longtime success. Things sometimes
get shortsighted just due to everyone
being busy handling the day-to-day
work.”
“There are some built-in obstacles,”
said John Cain, president of Wiseway
Supply in Florence, Ky. “We have to
realize the extent of the ability to invest
in each other. There is so little selective
distribution these days; so much of what
I sell can be purchased from my com-
petitors or the DIYs. Some manufactur-
ers may be calling on my customers too.
“If a manufacturer puts a new prod-
uct out, it’s hard for the distributor to
justify doing much missionary work for
it. A distributor could spend the time
and money to pioneer a line, but it may
not get the rewards,” he continued.
“There are too many other places the
customer may end up buying from.”
Distributors and manufacturers we
spoke with saw a more customer-centric
approach as beneficial for everyone, but
noted that it too requires making some
changes from the way many businesses
have traditionally approached the sale.
“Putting the customer at the center is
the key,” said Spurgin. “What I sell is
made the same way by my competitor.
The way I can differentiate myself is I
have to show value. It used to be that I
tried to show value to the distributor.
Now, it has to go down to the contractor
level to help our distributors provide
that value and service. We should be
supplementing the distributor value.
Together, we can provide a package that
is most attractive to that market.”
“We can put the customer at the cen-
ter, but it requires more special effort
than it used to,” explained Cain. “When
a manufacturer and distributor focus
on the customer, they’re successful.
For the most part, that special effort is
concentrated—instead of just hoping it
happens as we go about our business.
We need to focus on that effort. Tech
and the speed of business have gotten
in our way a lot; we’re inundated with
emails, etc. To build a relationship with
someone takes time.”
The extra effort is more than worth it
though, according to Fredericks. “There
should be no other goal than putting the
customer at the center, especially with
new products,” he said. “Online order-
ing, consolidations, more imports…
whatever the concern, the real concern
is increasing sales. If we don’t sell more
new products, we aren’t going to suc-
ceed in the end. We should all be work-
ing together to sell to the end-user.
“There is an incredible amount of
partnering and planning that has to
happen,” Fredericks continued. “But no
matter the size of the company, it goes
back to the people. For manufacturers, it
has to be what they can offer to distribu-
tors. All kinds of paperwork and extra
collateral are not necessary to do busi-
ness. It happens when two people look
each other in the eye, agree on a plan,
and then execute it.”
FIND TIME FOR STRATEGY
4. Are we prepared to fully understand each
other’s business model?
5. Are we prepared to look beyond efficiency
for “blue ocean” opportunities?
6. Are we prepared to leverage the awesome
power of data and analytics?
7. Are we prepared to extend the partnering
horizon?
A part of building stronger relationships
is ensuring two companies are aligned
to grow together—and that requires an
extra level of planning to accommodate
the needs, goals, and available resources
of those partners. It also requires a level
of information sharing that does not
always come easily due to time con-
straints and sometimes a hesitancy to
provide that data.
Until that reluctance is overcome, it
is debatable whether companies can
achieve a true partnership.
“There is more work to be done on
data use,” explained Cain. “We have
data, but I don’t know that we have
good analysis as often as we could. That
might be the real advantage Amazon
has over us all.
“We really don’t understand each
other’s models, and that includes manu-
facturer reps,” he continued. “We need
education on distribution economics, so
to speak. Distributors don’t fully under-
stand the percentages that manufactur-
ers need—it’s the kind of thing that
doesn’t come up that often. So while we
have a concept about how the other side
works, we really don’t know. It’s just not
something we are taught.”
Cain noted that he sees the primary
obstacle to better information sharing
as being time, not openness. “There is
interest, but it’s tempered with real-
world constraints, mainly time. In a per-
fect world, we would be doing more, but
the dynamics of the business just don’t
allow for it.”
Spurgin also cited time as an obstacle
to better co-planning and data sharing.
“A lot of people are talking about strat-
egy and planning, but people need to sit
down and roll up their sleeves and do
the work,” he said. “Everyone is focused
on their day. Theoretically, everyone
wants to do it, but it’s hard to make the
time. People make time based on what
they value as important. The distributors
that are successful today are doing that.
It’s a work in progress for us. To get the
right people together at the same time
to do the planning is a challenge. It has
to start at the top when a company has
evaluated its goals. It can’t start in the
field.”
Spurgin also urged companies to
make sure they make the extra effort to
do serious strategic planning beyond the
next year. “Yes, things change the fur-
ther out it goes, but that’s why we do
regular reviews,” he said. “It helps us
see whether we’re on track and then
determine what action plans we need to
move toward those goals.”
Fredericks cited technological change
as a double-edged sword—both a hin-
drance to partnerships and a way to
help rebuild them. “I’ve made calls to
companies and ended up in voicemail
hell where I was bounced around and
had no idea who I needed to talk to or
wound up having to send an email to an
anonymous inbox,” he said. “Often a
distributor will call us and there is a cus-
tomer waiting on the other line with a
problem and we need to be available to
help now, not within 24 hours.
current

“Technology is good in
some cases,” he continued.
“But for customer service, a
more human touch is needed.
We must fast-track the ways
that customers get through
to a live person to get help.
Distributors have spoken, so
manufacturers have to re-
spond: Give direct lines out;
make it easier to get service.
Manufacturer reps have the
same frustrations as distribu-
tors; this is a way that they
can provide more value by
helping navigate the maze.”
Despite some of the has-
sles tech has brought, Fred-
ericks said that long term, he
is optimistic that the industry
is making progress in finding
more effective ways to use
technology.
“The NAED Manufactur-
ers Council has supported us-
ing the IDW platform, which
makes it easier for manufac-
turers to load information
that distributors most often
request and need for their on-
line content, fliers, and quo-
tations,” he noted. “The use
of smartphones for email, ap-
plication videos, texting, and
web searches and using Rep-
Files or other apps to elimi-
nate time-consuming follow-
up and respond more quickly
to customers are ways to turn
technology into a positive.”
FORGE A FUTURE
TOGETHER
8. Are we prepared and capable
of investing in the future?
9. Are we prepared to build a
market coverage strategy to
maximize partnering?
It is clear that to create more-
successful partnerships, com-
panies have to invest more
time and energy in each
other. Doing so, in at least
some cases, will require com-
panies to have fewer, but
stronger, partnerships.
Cain said that he believes
industry-wide willingness to
strategically partner is still
strong, but it’s simply getting
more difficult to do. “The ob-
stacles are getting bigger, and
the demands on our time and
the non-value-added activity
are greater,” he said. “I see it
with our customers; it’s harder
to get them to work with us
on anything beyond the
transaction. If the economy
was better and the industry
was making more money, we
might have more leeway to
make those investments.”
Lack of resources for part-
nering could lead more com-
panies to prune less fruitful
partnerships to strengthen
those that remain.
“I’m seeing companies be
more selective,” said Spurgin.
“Relationships have always
meant something to people.
Even if they got away from it
for a bit, it’s the core of ev-
erything. When distributors
do their vendor evaluation,
they’re scoring manufactur-
ers on the things they think
are important. And that helps
us, because it gives us an idea
of what they value and need
from us.
“Not everyone is created
equal,” he continued. “There
needs to be mutual interest;
we have to get with the right
partners. Distributors need
to look at a manufacturer:
what the market thinks of
the product, what it offers in
terms of e-commerce, loca-
tion, and other services. Who
provides the biggest overall
bang for the buck? It can’t be
focused solely on the trans-
action. And then the two
sides have to have a planning
strategy that covers two to
three years.”
The bottom line is that
distributors and manufactur-
ers still, and always will, need
each other. And they will
have to work together for the
other’s benefit.
“Our goal is ultimately
to get the end-user to buy
from the distributor,” said
Fredericks. “As much as the
manufacturer wants to get a
stock order from a distribu-
tor, what it really wants is to
get the distributor to sell its
products to end-users on a
regular basis. As long as we
keep that common goal in
mind, we will succeed.”
Fredericks added that
building up those partner-
ships can take a form as sim-
ple as more joint calls. “It
shows the distributor that the
manufacturer is there to help
build a customer base for
those new products. It goes
a long way to building trust
and, frankly, writing orders,”
he concluded. I
Katarsky is a freelance busi-
ness writer based in Phila-
delphia. She can be reached at
ckatarsky@gmail.com.
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current
At NAED’s annual Congressional Fly-In, held in Washington,
D.C., in June, NAED members met with the offices of their respective
senators and congresspeople on Capitol Hill. Republican Congressman
Todd Young from Indiana spoke to the attendees. Young, chief spon-
sor of the REINS Act, is running for the Senate seat being vacated by
Republican Dan Coates. “He [Young] addressed our group at break-
fast to thank us for our support on the REINS Act and talk about how
important he thinks it is that we push back against overzealous regu-
lators,” said Ed Orlet, NAED vice president of government affairs.
Two of the attendees, because their
companies have branches in four differ-
ent states, met with a larger number of
Senate and congressional offices than is
common.
This was the first Fly-In for Sam
Sparks, director of purchasing at Wise-
way Supply in Florence, Ky.—and he
left impressed.
“The Congressional Fly-In really
gives us perspective on how legislation
affects day-to-day business,” Sparks
said. “It was very interesting to me. It
gave me a good look into Washington.”
Sparks met with staffers from the
offices of Republican Senators Mitch
McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky
and Republican Senator Rob Portman
and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown
of Ohio. He also met with Representa-
tive Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep-
resentative Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio).
The Estate Tax and the Marketplace
Fairness Act were among the issues that
Sparks discussed. Sparks, 26, was one
IMAGECOURTESYOFNAED
Meeting up on Capitol Hill
NAED Fly-In draws new and experienced attendees to D.C. by Joe Nowlan
From left: Palmer Schoening
of the Family Business
Coalition and Mick Leibold
of Broken Arrow Electric
Supply, Oklahoma City, with
Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
and an unknown staffer

G o v e r n m e n t W a t c h
of the youngest people at the Fly-In,
which was something he actually found
helpful, he explained.
“I walked into the offices and real-
ized that these offices are run by young
twentysomethings,” he joked. “That
made me much more comfortable going
in. I realized that I wasn’t going to be
talking to some chief of staff who could
talk circles around me politically. It was
a group of people in every office who
were just willing to listen to me. They
asked me questions and were engaged
in the conversation.”
While he attends a lot of meetings in
his everyday job, Sparks saw similarities
in Wiseway Supply meetings and his
Washington talks—especially in terms
of fostering personal relationships.
“It is funny because in this [electrical]
business, we always talk about the value
of personal relationships, and it is no
different in this situation with the con-
gressmen,” Sparks explained. “They get
the opportunity to meet us and under-
stand our difficulties and are much more
likely to be sympathetic to and under-
stand our cause.”
Walt Morrison, vice president of
Interstate Electrical Supply, headquar-
tered in Columbus, Ga., also attended.
Morrison has attended several previous
NAED Fly-Ins.
“The Fly-In provides a better feeling
for what is going on at the government
level than watching the evening news,”
Morrison said. “It helps to alleviate a lit-
tle bit of the frustration. We actually get
to talk to the people who are making the
decisions.”
Morrison met with Senator David
Perdue (R-Ga.) and with staffers from
the offices of Republican Senators Jeff
Sessions and Richard Shelby of Ala-
bama. Congressional representatives
(or their staff) he met with included
Representative Martha Roby (R-Ala.)
and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.).
Like Sparks, Morrison discussed the
Estate Tax—a key issue for a company
like Interstate Electrical, he explained.
“We are a privately held company
with a small number of owners,” Mor-
rison said. “In that type of situation, a
lot of the company’s assets are tied up in
inventory, buildings, vehicles, etc. If an
owner passes, then the estate tax can
affect the business heavily. Without
careful planning, it can shut down the
company.”
Morrison also discussed possible tax
reform when he visited Senator Isak-
son’s tax expert. “We met with her last
time and she remembered us and is a
great person to
meet with. She
is well versed
on taxes and
the tax laws and
can answer our
questions,”
he explained.
“Corporate tax
reform…hopefully
will happen at
some point. It will
have to if we are
going to bring
business back to
America.”
In his meetings, Morrison also cited
the overreach of some government reg-
ulations among his concerns. In particu-
lar, he pointed to the recently issued
regulations on overtime from the De-
partment of Labor.
“I really felt that [our representatives]
need to do more from the congressional
standpoint to help defuse some of the
executive overreach that has occurred
in this administration,” he said. “The
recent Department of Labor ruling [on
overtime] is very detrimental to a lot
of small businesses. It is also going to
prevent companies from hiring as many
new employees. While there probably
needed to be some normalization of the
overtime statute, it needed to be done
gradually.”
Orlet explained to Fly-In attendees
that it can take time to get legislation
filed—let alone passed into law—
especially these days in Washington. But
progress of a sort can still be made.
“With Congress and the president in
very different places on the ideological
spectrum these days,” Orlet said, “it’s
tough to affirmatively pass legislation
into law. But playing defense is just as
important.”
As an example of legislative “de-
fense,” he cited LIFO legislation over
the past few years. Orlet explained that
LIFO faces annual threats in Congress,
but through steady lobbying and NAED
members staying in touch with their
representatives, LIFO is relatively safer
these days.
“Almost everything we do is really
a part of larger coalitions of business
groups; the LIFO coalition has been
very effective at really ‘scaring’ Congress
away from LIFO,” Orlet said. “I think
there was a time when a lot of folks
in Congress thought that they could
just go after LIFO and it would be an
easy thing to repeal. But I think that
the LIFO coalition and our members
doing their part has really helped pre-
serve [it].”
In addition, while LIFO was once a
somewhat obscure issue, many in Con-
gress now have a basic familiarity with
it. “We used to have to do a lot of edu-
cation about LIFO when we went into
a meeting on the Hill; we don’t have
to do that education as much anymore,”
he explained. “It has a higher profile. All
of our coalition partners have success-
fully raised the profile of that issue to
the point where more people [in Con-
gress] know more about it. That has
been a huge feather in our cap.” I
Nowlan is a Boston-based freelance
writer/editor and author. Reach him at
jcnowlan@msn.com.
I walked into the offices and
realized that these offices are
run by young twentysome-
things…. I realized that I wasn’t
going to be talking to some
chief of staff who could talk
circles around me politically.
—Sam Sparks, Wiseway Supply
“
”

current
The state of China’s
futures market
China’s futures model, praised as innovative,
still has its shortcomings. by Ken Stier
more than 70% of brokers. Abuses
persisted, inviting another crackdown
in 1998.
The real mentoring—with regular
exchanges between Chicago and Beijing
that still continue—got underway in the
early 2000s, giving shape to the industry
as it exists today: three commodities
exchanges and a financial futures ex-
change that Melamed deems one of the
world’s most successful. Some agricul-
tural contracts—in soybean and corn
—now exceed volumes at the Chicago
Board of Trade, one of the oldest ex-
changes founded in 1848. Will Acworth
at the Futures Industry Association
praises China for being “very innova-
tive” in taking the futures model and
applying it to an array of nontraditional
commodities, such as plastics.
But while generally saluting China
for its remarkably rapid accomplish-
ments, Melamed expressed disappoint-
ment as well—which he said he shares
with his friend and fellow Sinophile,
Hank Paulson, the former U.S. Treasury
secretary.
The key shortcomings are that
China’s markets are still dominated by
individuals, mostly day traders engaged
in speculative trading (in some ex-
changes, they account for 80% to 90%
of volume) and that they are largely
closed off to foreign participation.
The two are related. While foreign
participation would significantly im-
prove China’s markets—indeed, Mel-
amed noted that foreign expertise is
critical in building a market—its retail
traders would be easy marks for better-
informed professionals. To date, China
has been oddly unsuccessful drawing in
more of its local institutional players for
lack of legal and commercial incentives.
“It’s a huge mistake and they now rec-
ognize it,” said Melamed.
One consequence of this model is
erratic markets. Instead of muting vol-
atility, they can stoke it, undermining
hedging options as well. This was starkly
displayed on the once-obscure Dalian
Commodity Exchange in northeastern
China where a huge spring surge in
iron-ore futures trading sent prices up
The ﬁrst Chinese head of state to visit the United States—
Li Xiannian, in 1985—met with President Reagan first, then bee-
lined it to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, today the CME Group.
That was “to tell the world that China was preparing to turn toward
a new economic order” based on free market principles, recalled Leo
Melamed, who has played a more central role nurturing China’s fu-
tures markets than any other Westerner. Melamed first fell in love
with futures in the 1950s when he walked onto the Merc’s open out-
cry trading floor “like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass into
a bizarre world of not just one Mad Hatter, but hundreds.” More re-
cently, Melamed has become a key missionary for the industry.
Since then, China’s phenomenal growth
has crowned the country the world’s
second-largest economy. But its futures
markets? Well, not so much. In the
1990s, dozens of futures markets blos-
somed, although they were little more
than gambling dens—“bucket shops,”
said Melamed—with predictable abuses.
In Chinese Communist fashion, this
led to a rectification campaign in 1994
in which national authorities, taking
over from local officials, eliminated
©TODDBINGHAM/ISTOCK

nearly 50% since the beginning of the
year—despite an industry glut. The ap-
proximately $330 billion futures traded
in April was four times the value of an-
nual physical trade worldwide.
“The volumes that are being traded
are so high that they swamp the physi-
cal market and are going to be a mas-
sive influence on it from now on,” said
Nev Power, CEO of Australia’s For-
tescue Metals Group, to The Wall Street
Journal. “All this growth poses multiple
dangers to global commodity prices sta-
bility given how less regulated—and
therefore less protective—the Chinese
regimes are for investors, who are
perhaps the most speculative in the
world,” added Citigroup. The ripple
effects went far beyond commodity mar-
kets, juicing steel indices worldwide and
even buffeting share prices of major ore
producers.
Chinese regulators managed to lance
the speculative frenzy, but they did so in
their usual sledgehammer manner, im-
moderately jacking up fees and margin
requirements and imposing absurdly re-
strictive trading limits—from 600 con-
tracts on a single index futures allowed
in a position to just 10.
In a country famous for its gambling
penchant, these are animal spirits—
running amok, not guided into orderly
trading that promises futures markets’
biggest benefit: a huge insurance market
in which risk is reallocated from “those
seeking protection to those that can af-
ford to carry additional risk,” as Mela-
med described it.
Another forfeited benefit: giving
China a role in global price discovery, a
key goal for a country that increasingly
chafes in its role as a price taker, even in
commodities in which it is the dominant
world buyer.
There are also huge societal impacts
to having effective futures markets that
set clear standards of quality—for in-
stance, limiting the allowable mold
content in corn delivery, argued Jodie
Gunzberg, global head of commodities
at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Among the many Chinese officials
who understand the benefit of interna-
C o m m o d i t i e s
L i g h t i n g N e w s
2012 IECC likely to see further adoption
I
n September 2014, the DOE required that all states adopt
a commercial building energy code at least as stringent
as the ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013 energy standard, or justify
why they cannot comply. The deadline for compliance is
September 2016. About one-half of the states complied with
the last DOE ruling, which was based on the 2010 version of
the standard.
While a number of states will adopt ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013
in whole or part, many will adopt the alternative, the 2012
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Like 90.1, the
IECC is not a code but instead provides code-ready language
for jurisdictions to implement a commercial building energy
code. The IECC goes even further by providing language for a
residential energy code. Meanwhile, other states, like Califor-
nia, implement codes they design themselves.
Published by the International Code Council, the IECC
has been updated every year since 2000. It references 90.1 as
an alternative compliance standard. The commercial section
of the 2012 IECC contains changes from the previous 2009
version related to both maximum allowable lighting power
density (LPD) and lighting controls.
The interior LPD values in the 2012 and 2009 versions of
the IECC are largely similar although reduced in three build-
ing types: office (1 to .9W/sq.ft.), retail (1.5 to 1.4W/sq.ft.), and
warehouse (.8 to .6W/sq.ft.). Fire station, with an LPD of .8W/
sq.ft., was added to the list. Meanwhile, the retail additional
lighting power allowance of 1,000W was reduced to 500W.
Notably with the 2012 IECC, for the first time, the model
code recognizes the Space by Space Method in addition to
the Building Area Method and Total Building Performance
Method as a compliance path, providing design flexibility. The
IECC Space by Space Method is based on the 90.1 method but
with some differences in space types and with different LPD
allowances in many spaces.
For lighting controls, occupancy sensors are now required
in a series of spaces, including conference/meeting rooms,
classrooms, employee lunch and break rooms, private offices,
restrooms, custodial closets, and other enclosed spaces 300
square feet and smaller. The sensor must provide manual-on
or auto-on to <50% operation. The maximum size of daylight
harvesting control zones is limited to 2,500 square feet, with
manual or automatic control options, and with the automatic
options having certain requirements related to control points
to ensure sufficient flexibility and energy savings. Display and
accent, supplemental task, and several other lighting types
must be controlled separately from general lighting.
Additionally, IECC 2012 includes Section C406, Additional
Efficiency Package Options, which requires the building to
optimize HVAC efficiency or lighting efficiency beyond code
or produce renewable energy on-site. If lighting is selected,
the designer must comply with reduced LPD allowances.
While ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013 is set to become the nation’s
new reference energy standard in September, many jurisdic-
tions will adopt the 2012 IECC. For more information, consult
the 2012 IECC or the state and/or other jurisdictional energy
offices to determine local energy code requirements. I
Craig DiLouie, LC, principal of Zing Communications (zinginc.
com), is a lighting industry journalist, analyst, marketing consul-
tant, and author. Reach him at cdilouie@zinginc.com.

tionalizing is Fang Xinghai, one of four
vice chairmen of the China Securities
Regulatory Commission, who said at a
conference in late May: “We’re facing a
chance of a lifetime to become a global
pricing center for commodities.”
The comment may have been partly
directed at more senior Communist
Party cadre, many of whom have been
scarred by China’s tumultuous living-
memory past—the Great Leap Forward
and Mao’s Cultural Revolution—making
them allergic to major changes. China’s
intense nationalism also blends deep
skepticism of foreigners who may be out
to thwart the overdue resurgence of the
Middle Kingdom with a reluctance to
rely too much on unbridled markets
without the steadying hand of the so-
cialist state.
But change is coming. Just as China
is sending scores of brokers to operate
in foreign markets, there are small open-
ings into Chinese markets. One sign of
new confidence is the launch expected
soon of a first crude oil futures contract
through an exchange domiciled in
Shanghai’s free trade zone. The con-
tract is expected to offer seven crude
grades (six from the Middle East, one
local) in minimum 100-barrel lots (vs.
1,000 barrels for WTI or Brent contracts)
and will be denominated in the Chinese
currency, another step in the yuan’s
gradual internationalization. China
recently surpassed the United States
as the world’s largest crude importer,
which can only assist this new contract
to become a regional benchmark, if not
a key international reference. I
Stier is a New York-based reporter, editor,
and communications professional with
more than 25 years of experience. He can
be reached at kenstier@earthlink.net.
current
What’s the Volkswagen emissions scandal got to do with platinum
miners in South Africa? A lot, it turns out, in our hyperconnected
globalized world. The main industrial use for platinum is in catalytic
converters, which reduce pollutants. Roughly half of the world’s
demand for platinum goes into diesel engines, which dominate
the commercial sector but are also significant in the passenger
vehicle market, at least in Europe.
But diesel is falling out of favor, and the souring sentiment
may push its market share for passenger vehicles below 50%
this year or next, according to commodities research firm CPM
Group.
Diesel’s share will likely continue to slide to 25% to 30% in the
next several years as European policymakers promote adoption
of its newest green darling: electric cars. The transition could hap-
pen sooner if diesel’s tax subsidies were removed, but politicians
will be loath to inflict too much quick pain on its considerable in-
vested infrastructure.
The continent’s love affair with diesel started in the early 2000s
because these types of engines emit fewer greenhouse gases
than conventional combustion units. But these benefits are now
regarded as eclipsed by higher releases of nitrogen oxide and
particulates. The rising popularity of cheaper selective reduction
catalysts, which do not use platinum, is another factor pointing to
miner layoffs.
This declining demand for platinum, regarded as a noble metal
because of its corrosion resistance even at high temperatures,
is also colliding with rebounded production. This suggests that
prices will continue to soften as they did in 2015, dropping about
25% on an average annual basis: $1,053 per ounce in 2015 vs.
$1,385 in 2014. This was the fourth consecutive year of slippage
since a record average annual price of $1,722 was reached in
2011. Mine production in South Africa—which has the lion’s share
of global known reserves (about 75%)—recovered more than 20%
in 2015 after enduring a strike-plagued slump in 2014.
That endowment has also long tantalized South Africa with an-
other “green dream” because of platinum’s vital role in fuel cells—
a breakthrough technology that has yet to be widely commercial-
ized. Since at least the mid-1960s, South Africa has touted fuel
cells as “the future of motive power”—besides its many stationary
applications. “There have been projections of imminent growth in
large volumes of platinum used in fuel cells since that time. There
still are,” noted the CPM Group yearbook on platinum released on
June 21.
It’s an understandable and compelling vision: Fuel cells have
vastly improved operating efficiencies—60% vs. 25% for conven-
tional combustion engines (up to 90% in combined heat and
power) and lower emissions (just water for hydrogen fuel cells)—
and they operate quietly with fewer moving parts.
South Africa has soldiered on promoting fuel cells, including a
100kW demonstration electrification of the historic Chamber of
Mines building in downtown Johannesburg. “Hydrogen fuel cells
using platinum catalyst have the potential to drive development of
a new industrial sector in South Africa and provide the country with
the opportunity to become a major player in the global green econ-
omy,” noted a senior executive of Ballard, the clean energy imple-
menting firm.
One consequence of the country’s R&D efforts is that the
amount of platinum needed per unit of energy output has been
reduced 95% since the 1960s, and that’s slated for further signifi-
cant diminution in the next couple of years. That slashes platinum
demand, but it might be enough to entice car makers to proceed
with an initial plan of 35,000 fuel cell cars over the next five years
if platinum loadings can be slashed by 50% from current levels,
the yearbook noted. —K.S.
PLATINUM’S GREEN HALO DREAM FOR SOUTH AFRICA

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current
With its massive 330,000-square-foot “tech hotel” composed
of three buildings that occupy three full city blocks in downtown
Cleveland, ByteGrid’s data center represents a venture of enormous
scale. A provider of compliant data hosting solutions, ByteGrid iden-
tifies and procures already-existing but underutilized data center
facilities. After acquiring the Cleveland property in May 2013, the
company converted it to multitenant data center space, which it cur-
rently leases to a dozen tenants that represent a mix of technology and
industrial businesses. When the opportunity arose to differentiate its
data center and support and attract new tenants by investing in and
installing several high-performing uninterruptible power systems
(UPSs), ByteGrid called on the team of Leff Electric and Eaton.
on the first floor of buildings two and
three, which we felt could be success-
fully converted to ‘white space’ to at-
tract a new tenant base,” Clemson
explained. Along with offering tenant
companies in this space a high degree
of reliability backed up by UPS, cooling,
and backup generator systems, “we
offered more customized and personal-
ized solutions such as conference room
and office facilities to provide a more
complete package to meet our customer
demands,” Clemson added.
After assessing a number of manu-
facturer solutions and conducting an
analysis of the total cost of ownership,
ByteGrid management opted to install
four 900kW EatonPowerXpert 9395
UPSs in the space. “Over their lifetime,
900kW units chew up a lot of kilowatt
hours, so the more efficiently the units
IMAGECOURTESYOFEATON/BYTEGRID
An unoccupied 40,000-
square-foot area was
converted to “white space”
to attract a new tenant base—
a project that included the
installation of four 900kW
EatonPowerXpert 9395 UPSs.
“One of the key components of a data
center is 100% uptime; power and cool-
ing can never go out and it can never
lose productivity,” said Mike Clemson,
vice president of critical infrastructure.
“This is why tenants come to a data
center in the first place: high reliability
for mission-critical business operations.
Each minute lost can cost tens of thou-
sands of dollars.”
While the original telecom tenants in
the Cleveland facility had installed their
own UPS infrastructure to bolster their
reliability and service, “the first phase of
our new data center build-out involved
an unoccupied 40,000-square-foot area
Upgrading for 100% uptime
Leff Electric helps provide staying power to Cleveland data center. by Susan Bloom

P r o j e c t S p o t l i g h t
can be run, the more they
deliver real dollars to the
bottom line,” Clemson said.
“These units run at between
97% and 99% efficiency and
are 3% to 7% more efficient
than competitive solutions.
The project also required ad-
ditional Eaton components,
including medium-voltage
load interrupter switchgear,
switchboards, panelboards,
meters, and computer power
distribution units.”
AN ON-SITE
STOCKROOM
With design of the space
completed in 2014, the proj-
ect’s Cleveland-based elec-
trical contractor, Harrington
Electric, called on Leff Elec-
tric to ensure that all ancil-
lary materials—including
transfer switches, discon-
nects, pipe, wire, fittings,
lighting, and other necessary
electrical gear—were in the
right place at the right time
to streamline the construc-
tion process and enable its
completion on a tight 90-day
timeline.
“With the ByteGrid proj-
ect, we actually launched
our new VMI initiative and
started an extensive service
that we now provide to the
marketplace,” said Vaughn
Johnson, an outside sales
representative at Leff Electric.
“Through this service, we go
on-site to the customer’s job
and set up complete fixture
carts and material boxes, cre-
ating a virtual customer
warehouse containing all of
the electrical components
needed on the job.”
According to Johnson,
execution of this customer-
convenient strategy “saves
time and labor by eliminating
emergency pickups, ordering,
and purchasing and enables
contractors to focus solely on
installation of the material,
which helps keep the job on
schedule.”
In addition to providing
an on-site stockroom, “we
also provided countless runs
of wire that needed to be
cut to a variety of specified
lengths, which we did in a
timely fashion so that there
was no wait time,” Johnson
said. “And after the job was
completed, all of the unused
items were taken off the proj-
ect and we opened an ac-
count for ByteGrid so that we
can service them directly for
any and all maintenance
issues that arise.”
ULTIMATE PEACE
OF MIND
Since the project’s comple-
tion in 2015, ByteGrid has
been delighted with the
results.
“The most important
thing in a data center is what
you don’t hear from your
customers,” Clemson con-
firmed. “Power has been
100% reliable since these
units were commissioned,
even through various utility
bumps, and we’re excited
about the high degree of
security, privacy, and reliabil-
ity we can now deliver to our
clients and their customers.”
He added that while the ini-
tial project involved the in-
stallation of four UPSs in
parallel, ByteGrid looks for-
ward to expanding its service
to clients by adding four
more in the future.
From an installation per-
spective, “speed to market
was critical to the success
of this project and, thanks
to Leff Electric, the team
at Harrington was able to
deliver all of the infrastruc-
ture on time and on budget,”
Clemson said. “Though con-
struction issues and unex-
pected situations often pop
up in older buildings, we had
great teams on the project
and never heard a word
about any supply problems.
“In the data center indus-
try, 100% uptime is a compa-
ny’s reputation,” he contin-
ued. “To know that our new
systems will carry us through
and support our customers
100% gives us enormous
peace of mind.”
“This was a wonderful
project to work on,” agreed
Johnson. “In addition to
being able to successfully
support ByteGrid’s needs,
the project offered us the
opportunity to launch our
new VMI service and better
understand our customers’
needs on these and other
projects; we’ve since mas-
tered this process as a
premier distributor in the
marketplace.
“Most of all, we all un-
derstood the urgency of
getting this project done
on time and we did it as a
team; we worked together
to achieve ByteGrid’s objec-
tives and I’m so proud of
the whole team,” Johnson
concluded. I
Bloom is a 25-year veteran
of the lighting and electrical
products industry. She can be
reached at susan.bloom.chester
@gmail.com.
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EVENT
Irby celebrates 90th anniversary with vendor expo/counter day
current
Irby, a Jackson, Mississippi-based unit of Sonepar USA,
recently kicked off its 90th anniversary celebration
with a vendor expo/counter day. Thirty-three of the
company’s top sponsoring vendors were represented,
with each displaying its newest products while visit-
ing with customers as they arrived for a catered lunch
and door prizes that included Yeti coolers, gift cards,
and tools.
Irby also celebrated by providing every Irby employee
with commemorative gifts and a T-shirt displaying the
special 90th anniversary logo.
The evening concluded at a local hot spot, where at-
tendees were greeted with large screens that displayed
the company’s pictorial history.
Newly appointed Irby President Mike Leech said,
“This day was a way to celebrate and thank the many
individuals who have made our success possible. I look
forward to what the coming years have in store.”
All of Irby’s Jackson, Miss.,
employees received
commemorative 90th
anniversary T-shirts.
RECOGNITION
Nora Lighting founders
receive humanitarian award
Nora Lighting Founders Fred and Jilla
Farzan were recently honored by the
Lighting One Cooperative with the
organization’s Humanitarian Award.
The award was presented at the
Lighting One convention in Dallas
during Lightovation.
Fred Farzan is CEO and president of
Nora Lighting and Jilla Farzan is execu-
tive vice president. They founded the
company in Los Angeles in 1989.
The annual award is presented to a
Lighting One supplier that has exempli-
fied the mission of promoting human
welfare and social reform.
“Nora Lighting was selected as this
From left: Angie Prost, product and supplier manager, Lighting One; Fred Farzan,
CEO and president, Nora Lighting; Jilla Farzan, executive vice president, Nora Lighting;
and Madie Young, marketing associate, Lighting One
√√√30,31.qxp_UpFront redesign.qxt 7/21/16 11:12 AM Page 30

year’s recipient because of its depth of
charitable projects and contributions.
Nora Lighting has supported a wide
scope of philanthropic organizations,
including local charities, national pro-
grams, and international causes,” said
Angie Prost, Lighting One product and
supplier manager. “We chose to recog-
nize Nora for its clear commitment to
making its community and the world a
better place.”
Lighting One is a group of indepen-
dent lighting showrooms throughout
the United States and Canada with
more than 150 members and 290 loca-
tions. The group promotes national
business partnerships between local
entrepreneurs and the lighting indus-
try’s leading suppliers.
GIVING BACK
Orbit donates to veteran
project, holds training event
Orbit Industries recently donated a large
variety of products to complete the latest
A Soldier’s Journey Home project.
A Soldier’s Journey Home is a group
of volunteers dedicated to constructing
homes for severely injured military vet-
erans. These homes are specifically de-
signed to meet their individual needs
and are built in just seven days through
the efforts of more than 85 volunteers.
Orbit’s products were used in a new
home in Speedwall, Tenn., for U.S. Ma-
rine Corps Lance Corporal Cody Evans.
Evans was on a tour in Afghanistan
when he was struck by an IED explosion
and lost both legs. He has since returned
home and is now attending Lincoln Me-
morial University with plans of becom-
ing a history teacher.
“The entire Orbit Industries family is
incredibly grateful to be a part of such
a worthy organization,” said President
and CEO David Nikayin. “Our military
veterans have sacrificed a lot to protect
our country and freedoms. It is only fit-
ting to give back to them in any way
possible. We are honored to have con-
tributed to this project and hope to con-
tinue to do so in the future.”
The company also recently hosted
more than 15 sales reps from six differ-
ent agencies at its company headquar-
ters in Los Angeles for the first National
Representative Training Event of the
year.
This three-day event included train-
ing sessions and meetings held by Nika-
yin, Vice President of Sales and Market-
ing Aaron Jacobs, and several Orbit
marketing and sales personnel.
Training sessions included an over-
view of Orbit’s latest line of products
and a review of new product prototypes
that have not yet been introduced to
the market. Reps were also taken on a
tour of the company’s headquarters and
had a hands-on training session. I
H a p p e n i n g s
Your success starts with us.
Contact your NAED team to learn more.
888-791-2512 | www.naed.org
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS
“NAED has helped me to
be successful by providing
quality educational content
specifically for the electrical
distributor. Success IS learned
and is available to use from
the NAED Learning Center.”
Dan Dungan, Executive Chairman
SpringfieldElectricSupplyCompany
Got an event or news item to share in
“tED”? Send your news to Editor Misty
Byers at mbyers@naed.org.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Your success starts with us.
Contact your NAED team
to learn more.
888-791-2512 | www.naed.org
“NAED has helped me to be
successful by providing
publications that keep my
team focused on improving
our customers’experience.”
Tyson Berg, Regional Sales Manager,
Renewable Energy
WESCODistribution

business F o c u s
Producing results
Manufacturers are looking to electrical distributors to help
them achieve their key goals of increasing operational efficiencies,
sustainability, and environmental and personnel safety.
by Jan Niehaus
√√√33,34,36,37.qxp_UpFront redesign.qxt 7/18/16 1:57 PM Page 33

business
▶Acuity acquires DGLogik
Acuity Brands has acquired 100% of the
equity interests of DGLogik, a San Fran-
cisco Bay Area-based provider of innova-
tive software solutions that enable and
visualize the Internet of Things.
▶Cree to sell Wolfspeed
Cree has announced the execution of
a definitive agreement to sell its Wolf-
speed Power and RF division to Infineon
Technologies.
▶GE completes sale
GE has completed the sale of GE Asset
Management, the firm's investment man-
agement arm, to State Street.
▶Graybar is a top workplace
Graybar, St. Louis, was recently named
a top workplace by the Minneapolis Star
Tribune, Bay Area News Group, and St.
Louis Post-Dispatch.
▶Hubbell to open in GA
Hubbell has announced that it will open a
new facility—which will create 100 new
jobs—in Jackson County, Ga.
▶Light Efﬁcient Design grows
Light Efficient Design has joined the
Crain’s Chicago Business “Fast Fifty” list.
The company earned the recognition
due to its significant and impressive rev-
enue increases over the past year.
▶Werner is a “Top 150”
Cottage Grove, Minnesota-based Wer-
ner Electric has been named one of the
“Top 150 Workplaces in Minnesota” by
the Star Tribune seven years in a row.
This year, Werner Electric was ranked
No. 26 on the midsize company list.
INDUSTRY NEWS
For up-to-date industry news and
information, go to tEDmag.com.
Studying the U.S. Department of Labor’s July jobs report, Con-
sultant Henry Bergson of Henry Bergson Associates (hbergson.com)
speculated on the reasons for the manufacturing sector’s recent roller-
coaster performance, which rose 2% from 2014 to 2015, and then
dropped 3% so far in 2016, with forecasts of increases in 2017 of 7.5%
to 10%: “How much of the variability is politically driven? How much
is driven by interest rates? At the end the day, growth is driven by how
consumers feel,” Bergson said. A jump of 2.5% is good news for elec-
trical distribution, as Bergson explained: “Manufacturing is a major
driver of electrical distribution sales and has been for many years.
First, there are the electrical components that go into other products.
Second, automation and controls are increasingly important in manu-
facturing environments. Finally, industrial processes tend to chew up
electrical products that need to be replaced on regular cycles.”
Myriad factors are driving the current
and future health of manufacturing in
the United States: China’s economic de-
celeration, low oil prices, climate change
and Wall Street’s growing interest in
companies’ environmental risk, univer-
sal demand for greater energy efficiency,
the strong dollar, weakening demand
for U.S. products overseas, available
financing for facilities and equipment
upgrades (including automation and
robotics), the persistent shortage of
skilled workers, manufacturing return-
ing from overseas, and foreign-based
companies moving production to the
United States.
“The effects are uneven across the
country,” said Bergson. “The Midwest
and Texas are hotbeds for data center
construction and the manufacture of the
products that go into data centers, such
as specialized controls. The ethanol
craze has slowed down a bit, and pro-
duction in the corn states that was vi-
brant a few years ago has tapered off.
The oil industry, which was a big hotbed
of construction, has closed down a bit.
Most companies moving or returning to
the United States are locating in right-
to-work states. Major metro areas are
doing well with construction, which in-
creases demand for building materials
and other durable goods.”
BEYOND CONVENTIONAL
ELECTRICAL MRO
Turtle & Hughes, headquartered in Lin-
den, N.J., is capitalizing on the domi-
nant trends in manufacturing through
its integrated supply division, automa-
tion and industrial control department,
commercial/industrial lighting services,
and Energy Management & Renewable
Generation group.
According to Michael DeVoney,
president and general manager of Turtle
& Hughes Integrated Supply (THIS),
the integrated supply division has more
than 120 customer locations in three
countries and is growing 25% to 30%
per year across industries, mostly with
manufacturers that have never before
participated in integrated supply pro-
grams. Most large manufacturers with
facilities in multiple states and countries
decentralize purchasing, with procure-
ment professionals at each facility sourc-
ing, negotiating contracts, and procur-
ing the materials needed for their own
location alone. Integrated suppliers ag-
gregate the demand across all of a cli-
ent’s facilities.
“We meet manufacturers’ MRO
needs across all product disciplines:
electrical, industrial, janitorial, safety,
power transmission, fluid power, etc.—
everything that a company indirectly
consumes in the process of manufactur-
ing its products,” DeVoney explained.
The first invaluable service that THIS
provides to clients is the collection and
aggregation of a company’s total indi-
rect spend. “One of our differentiators is
the way we clean up our clients’ data
and present it to them in ways they’ve
never seen before. We show them what
they consume, when, where, and how.
We show them how they can consoli-
√√√33,34,36,37.qxp_UpFront redesign.qxt 7/21/16 11:14 AM Page 34

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business
date purchasing, get better-quality com-
ponents and materials, reduce their on-
hand inventory, and save money,” De-
Voney said, noting that THIS employees
work on-site in more than 70 customer
locations. In the process, Turtle &
Hughes often reveals other inefficien-
cies, such as one plant consuming
grinding tools at a much higher rate
than other plants.
A second major differentiator is the
company’s strategic sourcing expertise.
“There are integrators that are not dis-
tributors at all,” DeVoney explained.
“They’re almost like consultants. These
firms take over a client’s manpower,
and they may have a crib management
software package, but they rely entirely
on local distribution for everything they
need to procure. We bring the advan-
tages of being both a significant distrib-
utor and a data-driven sourcing plat-
form together in one place. That’s what
we believe an integrated supplier is sup-
posed to be.”
Bergson described yet another out-
sourcing model for inventory manage-
ment: “The electrical distributor puts
products on consignment in a mini-
store inside a manufacturing plant. The
customer doesn’t pay for product until it
leaves the store. This arrangement is all
about just-in-time manufacturing. The
real trick for the distributor is inventory
management because this model ties up
inventory by stocking the store, and the
distributor doesn’t want to have a big
investment in dead inventory.”
Addressing manufacturing’s main
drivers—increasing operational effi-
ciencies (and thus, profitability), sus-
tainability, environmental safety, and
personnel safety—Turtle & Hughes’s
commercial/industrial lighting services
department, automation and controls
group, and Energy Management & Re-
newable Generation group are all going
strong, according to Randy Roessle, ex-
ecutive vice president of the company’s
distribution business.
“Our automation and industrial con-
trol business has been up slightly over
the past number of years; most of the
growth is market share gain,” Roessle
explained. The company’s commercial/
industrial lighting business includes
specialized lighting, computerized lay-
outs, and energy conservation analysis.
The Energy Management & Renewable
Generation Group is also growing, sup-
plying balance-of-system products to
solar contractors but focusing on energy
consumption reduction. Through all of
the Turtle & Hughes departments, divi-
While there's not exactly a blossoming of factory and/or industrial facility construction,
it does appear to be trending upward—which is good news for electrical distributors
poised to meet demand. Here, Paul Amelio, chair and cofounder of N2 Global Solu-
tions, offers his insight.
Q: What is your perspective in regard to manufacturing facilities when it
comes to expansion and growth?
A: Due to stringent regulations and mandatory codes, new state-of-the-art hardware
will keep contract manufacturing capacity growing, creating new devices that will re-
sult in tens of millions of components per year. In our case, N2 anticipates geometric
growth and has also developed a number of relationships with larger U.S.-based con-
tract manufacturers that are located in the United States and Mexico. With more states
adapting more stringent energy regulations and comfort requirements, there are
bound to be increases in retrofit and new construction for such facilities.
Q: Where is there opportunity for electrical distributors with regard to
servicing these facilities?
A: It is important to create alliance partners. We have done so with some of the
largest national mechanical engineering companies and electrical contractors and
have had initial conversations with electrical distributors.
Initial distribution needs to go through authorized electrical contractors that will
warehouse components for customer installations. We anticipate that the electrical dis-
tributors will be key distribution channels soon thereafter.
Q: What things might an electrical distributor focus on in dealing with ﬁrms
associated with industrial facility construction and maintenance?
A: Many large contractors, vendors, suppliers, etc., come to a company by way of its
best customers. It’s important to create strategic channel agreements with the key
electrical supply chain houses that have the largest supply chain into the industrial
facility construction and maintenance industries.
In addition, compliance of state and regulatory standards continues to foster best
practices in the green and WELL building movement, which seeks solutions to the most
daunting global issues of our time.
These aggressive laws are being adapted in greater frequencies. We anticipate
numerous key electrical distribution channels and understand that it is imperative for
electrical distributors to create key partnerships to hasten job creation and improve
the environment. I
Romeo, a freelance writer based in Chesapeake, Va., writes on business and technol-
ogy topics. Reach him at JimRomeo.net. Find Amelio at contact@n2-gs.com.
Q+A A conversation with Paul Amelio of
N2 Global Solutions. by Jim Romeo
M E E T I N G F A C T O R Y A N D I N D U S T R I A L
C O N S T R U C T I O N D E M A N D
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B u s i n e s s F o c u s
sions, and groups that serve industrial
customers, energy efficiency is a unify-
ing theme.
KEY DRIVER:
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
U.S. manufacturers spend almost $230
billion on in-plant energy every year—
almost 25% of the nation’s total energy
use, according to the DOE. Understand-
ably, manufacturers’ response to the
DOE’s Better Plants Program has been
enthusiastic. As of October 2015, 157
companies with 2,400 manufacturing
facilities in all 50 states and represent-
ing nearly every manufacturing sector
have saved $2.4 billion, avoided using
457 trillion BTUs, and avoided releas-
ing 26.6 million metric tons of harmful
emissions.
These 157 partnering companies—
from behemoths such as GE and GM to
companies spending less than $1 million
annually for energy—represent approxi-
mately 11.4% of America’s manufactur-
ing energy footprint. If these 157 manu-
facturers maintain average improvement
rates of 2.5% per year, they will save an
estimated $11 billion by 2020.
With an anticipated growth rate in
the manufacturing sector as high as
10% in 2017, electrical distributors will
attract manufacturers with proven prod-
ucts and technologies to reduce power
consumption. I
Niehaus, president and founder of Com-
munication by Design (Communication
ByDesign.net), serves electrical industry
leaders by creating compelling marketing
communications and designing custom
training programs, often applying her
extensive knowledge of sustainability. She
can be reached at 314-644-4135 or Jan
@CommunicationByDesign.net.
O n t h e B o o k s h e l f
The Art of People
Book reveals “11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want.”
P
eople skills, the underlying theme behind The Art of
People, are arguably among the most important compe-
tencies a person can possess. According
to author Dave Kerpen, “Whether dealing
with colleagues, customers, and suppliers in
business or with immediate family, in a world
where we are constantly connected and social
media has become the primary way we com-
municate, the key to getting ahead is being the
person others like, respect, and trust.” The Art
of People explores the premise that in today's
world, those with superior people skills are
best equipped to achieve success and, in fact,
succeed more often than others.
The Art of People provides an abundance of
examples on how to enhance people skills.
Divided into 11 sections and 53 easy-to-read
chapters, the book contains Kerpen’s personal
anecdotes that illustrate the rationale behind
his advice. The book presents a wealth of actionable tips that
can deliver immediate results. At the end of each chapter,
Kerpen includes FAST (first action steps to take) exercises that
help the reader apply what he explained.
The book includes topics that include understanding your-
self and others, how to meet the right people, how to lead,
and how to inspire. The book covers situations that we all
encounter, both in our personal lives and in the corporate
environment. The Art of People avoids lengthy discussions on
theory, instead explaining in layman’s terms the basic psycho-
logical reasons for various phenomena, and then delivers the
practical advice that optimizes each situation. For example,
readers learn the single-most important question to ask to win
attention in a meeting, the key to networking that nobody
talks about, why it usually pays to be the one
to give the bad news, and how to ignore the
right people.
According to Kerpen, “Self-awareness is
the fundamental building block of the art of
people. You can’t understand and influence
others until you fully understand yourself at a
deep level.” No matter who you are or what
profession you’re in, success is contingent less
on what you can do for yourself, and more on
what other people are willing to do for you.
The Art of People is just that; it’s an art and
not always a science. While not all of the ad-
vice in the book will apply to all people or in
all situations and applying it is not normally
as simple as following a formula, arming your-
self with competent people skills is a wise idea.
What does it take to succeed and gain the ability to influence?
As Kerpen states, “Some people think that in today’s hyper-
competitive world, it’s the tough, take-no-prisoners type who
comes out on top. But in reality, it’s those who build the right
relationships and truly understand and connect with their col-
leagues, customers, and partners who win the day.” I
Dan Nitowsky, president of Cleveland-based Leff Electric, has
more than 20 years of industry experience, working in both the
distribution and the manufacturing sides of the channel, and has
served on the Board of Directors for both NAED and the Electrical
League of Ohio. He can be reached at dnitowsky@leffelectric.com.
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