Around the Industry

Graybar Electric, GE to supply Missouri's lighting

Graybar, St. Louis, won a one-year contract to supply lighting to the State of Missouri's facilities. Under the contract, Graybar will provide GE lighting products for all the state's agencies, departments and divisions, including the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Corrections. The contract is effective July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, and has three one-year renewal options.

“We are pleased to serve the State of Missouri with innovative and energy-efficient lighting solutions from GE,” said Dave Moeller, Graybar's director of electrical sales for its Missouri operations. “Graybar's experience with government organizations, combined with convenient, local service and national capabilities, provides real value our customers can count on.”

Cree LEDs light Habitat for Humanity home

Cree, Inc., Durham, N.C. (CREE) and Habitat for Humanity of Durham kicked off construction on the first Habitat for Humanity house to be lit entirely with LED (light-emitting diode) lighting fixtures last weekend. Cree is sponsoring the construction of this home and Cree employees have been assisting as volunteers on the project. The home will include Cree's newest LED downlight, the CR6, as well as other LED products featuring Cree LEDs. The LED lighting in this house is projected to save approximately $250 worth of electricity costs per year over traditional lighting.

The project is part of Cree's previously announced three-year, $1.5 million pledge to provide its high-efficiency LED downlights for all new Habitat homes built in the U.S. The house is expected to be completed by October 2010.

Philips Lumileds ships billionth power LED

Philips Lumileds announced that it shipped its billionth Luxeon power LED in the 2nd quarter of 2010. The company said its capacity and infrastructure investments over the last several years have enabled it to deliver high volumes of products. The company has delivered over 750 million Luxeon power LEDs in the past two years to automotive, illumination and consumer electronics customers.

“This isn't just a milestone for the company but for the entire industry,” said Michael Holt, CEO. “When we started, the idea that Lumileds could change the nature of lighting with power LEDs was greeted by many industry insiders with skepticism. Today, they and others have followed us as competitors into an industry that is driving energy-efficient lighting applications and new ways of lighting the places where we live, work and play.”

Wind energy association sounds the alarm on government support

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) issued its mid-year report of wind-energy installations and the news is not good. Installations of wind power systems totaled 700 MW in the second quarter of the year, bringing the total for 2010 to 1,239 MW, a drop of 71 percent from 2009 levels, and demand is not sufficient to keep wind-turbine production plants churning. Manufacturing investment also continues to lag below 2008 and 2009 levels, according to the AWEA Mid-Year 2010 Market Report.

Denise Bode, CEO of AWEA, attributed the drop-off to uncertainty over government support for renewable energy. “Strong federal policy supporting the U.S. wind energy industry has never been more important,” she said. “We have an historic opportunity to build a major new manufacturing industry. Without strong, supportive policy like an RES (renewable energy standard) to spur demand, investment and jobs, manufacturing facilities will go idle and lay off workers if Congress doesn't act now — before time runs out this session.”

Eyeing expansion in India, Legrand bids for Indo Asian Switchgear

Following its purchase of Inform, Turkey's number-one contender in UPS, on July 9, Legrand announced that it had made an offer to buy the Indo Asian Switchgear division of Indo Asian Fusegear Limited, New Delhi, India. The offer, which requires corporate approval, has already received the unanimous support of Indo Asian Fusegear's board of directors. Indo Asian Switchgear makes miniature and residual current circuit breakers, distribution boards and relays aimed primarily at the retail market. They round out existing Legrand operations in India, where the group holds strong positions in high-end protection systems used in project business and in premium wiring devices.

Arrow Electronics to buy Shared Technologies

Arrow Electronics, Inc., Melville, NY, has agreed to acquire Shared Technologies Inc., Coppell, Texas, a company that primarily does installation and maintenance on voice and data systems. The company's primary markets include corporate, government and health care. Shared will report through the North American unit of Arrow's Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) business. Shared Technologies has approximately 1,000 employees and its total sales in 2009 were approximately $250 million.