People: January 13, 2011

Border States Electric (BSE) (Fargo, N.D.): Aaron Jahner has been named branch manager for BSE’s Bismarck, N.D., location. Jahner began working for BSE in 1999 in the Bismarck branch warehouse. He moved to the Sioux Falls, S.D., branch in 2002 as the warehouse supervisor, and returned to the Bismarck branch in 2004 as warehouse supervisor, quotations specialist and as an industrial control product manager. In 2008, Jahner accepted the position of branch manager in Gillette, Wyo.

In other news at BSE, Kelly Rudolf is now IT infrastructure manager. He joined BSE in 2003 and has held positions as an IT tech, senior network engineer and network supervisor.

Fulham Co. Inc. (Los Angeles): Larry Smith has joined the company as V.P. of sales – Renovation Market. He brings more than 25 years of experience in sales and sales management in the lighting industry. Smith most recently held the position of director of sales at Digital Lumensa, a developer of LED lighting systems. He previously held management positions with Cooper Lighting, Acuity Brands Lighting and Amtech Lighting Services, and was instrumental in establishing two startups in the energy and lighting renovation market.

Generac Power Systems, Inc., (Waukesha, Wis.): Saul Urrutia has joined the company as vice president of sales - Latin America, to drive its continued investment in that region. Based in Miami, Fla., Urrutia has extensive sales experience working in Latin America in the backup power generation industry. Prior to joining Generac, he was director of sales for Latin America at SDMO, and had served as territory manager for Latin America at FG Wilson. Urrutia earned a M.A. degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

Encelium Technologies (Teaneck, N.J.): Rick Schuett has been appointed V.P. of sales. Schuett, who has more than 20 years of sales experience, will manage the company’s global sales channels. His appointment comes on the heels of an $11 million financing round led by Siemens Venture Capital (SVC), the corporate venture capital organization of Siemens. In his new role, Schuett will identify and pursue new opportunities for Encelium’s Energy Control System (ECS). Utilizing the power of addressable networking technology, in conjunction with advanced control hardware and software, ECS has been proven to secure lighting energy savings of 50 to 75 percent in a wide range of commercial applications.

Graybar Electric Co. (St. Louis): Richard Offenbacher, director and senior vice president, plans to retire effective April 1. Offenbacher announced his retirement last week, according to a Jan. 10 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CalConduit/Calpipe Industries (Downey, Calif.): Michael Lang has been hired as sales manager. He comes to CalConduit from JM Eagle and has more than 10 years of experience in the electrical industry. In his new role Lang will interact with CalConduit’s rep organization to serve the needs of the company’s distributor customers. CalConduit supports electrical distributors’ material needs by providing EMT, rigid and PVC-coated nipples, couplings, elbows, sweeps and specialty bends.

Lighting Science Group Corp., (Satellite Beach, Fla.): Tom Benton has joined the company as V.P. of professional sales. Benton will manage existing commercial and industrial customer accounts and the pursuit of new accounts. He will report to Ted Russ, Lighting Science Group’s chief business development officer. Prior to joining Lighting Science Group, Benton worked for 14 years at Cooper Industries and most recently was the vice president of marketing for the wiring devices division. Prior to his most recent position at Cooper Industries, he was director of business development for the $1 billion indoor and outdoor lighting division and director of marketing for the company’s industrial, complex environment, outdoor, and modular wiring brands. Benton has an MBA from Emory University and a B.S. in science and marketing from Indiana University.