Anixter said its relatively flat gross margins across the past three quarters might be an indicator “of a bottoming in the cycle.” Also in Distributor News: A Rexel SA executive noted that “the very idea of a branch office is now being challenged.” Plus, from the WESCO Q4 earnings conference call: A “portfolio shift” to “higher value-added” products is detected in 2009.
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LEDs, lighting pole companies, and Zhaga (check it out) are among the headline items in the Manufacturer News roundup on lighting. One company issued a press release and got a slap on the wrist from the Department of Energy. Another, which wasn’t (in its opinion) selling enough of its stuff, bought a company that works with ESCOs. And: For the 11th straight year, homebuilders tell their No. 1 magazine that they really, really like Halo.
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EMCOR Group’s 2009 revenues fell 18%, but the company made yet another big acquisition anyway. Also in Channel News: IES, Quanta, and other financial results.
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Tom Cloud, a former NAED chair (and who served the association in many other ways), is retiring as CEO of United Electric Supply, where he remains board chair. Other People News includes 100 Smart Grid “movers and shakers” and news from Fromm Electric Supply.
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BLOG:
Companies that make things can impose costs on the rest of us. Is that about global warming, or common sense? A blog based on a renewable energy conference speaker's presentation offers food for thought -- about coal, nuclear power, wind, and even . . . packaging!
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