February 3, 2023
5 Things to Know: Week Ending February 4
This news out of Southern California needs no power pack. Plus CED makes an acquisition.
Here's a roundup of some of the week's happenings curated to help lighting people stay informed.
1. Domino #1: Wattstopper makes a change in SoCal
We’d be willing to bet an In-N-Out DOUBLE-DOUBLE® that no U.S. state utilizes more lighting controls than California does. And the C&I lighting controls market there is about to undergo a seismic shift as Wattstopper has issued termination notices to two Southern California agents: PLP SoCal – which serves the Los Angeles and Ventura markets – and OCS Lighting & Control, which serves San Diego. The agents were reportedly given notice on Tuesday and will cease representing Wattstopper as of March 2, 2023.
Whispers around the market are declaring who the replacement agent will be, but we were unable to verify the official assignment as Wattstopper’s parent, Legrand, chose not to comment on the matter and so did the agent we believe will take over as the new SoCal representative in March. We don’t publish rumors and hearsay.
This is more than just an important line changing hands in a big market. There could be other dynamics relating to multiple-territories (Los Angeles, Ventura & San Diego) and major manufacturers who tolerate – or don’t tolerate – sharing line cards with certain brands.
We will stay connected to the SoCal market rumblings and report the facts as they are verified.
2. Wesco-Anixter Rebranding
It’s been nearly three years since Wesco acquired Anixter and the company continues to demonstrate that there is value in the Anixter name as it has launched a new international Wesco-Anixter brand
On Tuesday, Wesco International unveiled the details of the organization’s international go-to-market brand at ISE Show 2023 that took place in Barcelona this week. The new international Wesco Anixter brand represents the combined organization across its CALA, EMEA, and APAC regions, and underscores the company’s commitment to combine global scale and local expertise to deliver innovative supply chain solutions to customers around the world.
3. Big Cities, Green Buildings
How green building policy could evolve in 2023:
Smart Cities Dive explores how U.S. cities have been passing performance standards that put a cap on building emissions or energy use. Across the U.S., local and state action around embodied carbon, electrification of buildings and other decarbonization efforts is likely to grow in 2023, experts say.
4. CED – Sad News, Happy News
SAD NEWS: On Wednesday January 25, a CED profit center located in Saranac Lake, NY suffered a catastrophic fire. Five businesses were destroyed including the CED Twin State Electric location. According to CED’s Yankee Division, no one was injured.
HAPPY NEWS: CED announced the acquisition of Aroostook County Electric Supply. ACES was a family-owned business, and they opened in 1972 in Caribou, ME. The distributor will be rebranded as Gilman Electrical Supply, an already-existing brand of CED with multiple profit centers that already operate as part of CED’s Yankee Division.
5. The 3 jobs manufacturers are struggling to fill in 2023
As recently reported in Manufacturing Dive, nearly 780,000 jobs were unfilled in the industry as of November 2022. But amidst those thousands of open roles, some are proving particularly hard to fill.
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Production workers
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Engineers
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Middle skill workers
