Recently I interviewed three large contractors to find how their business had changed to better understand how distributors, manufacturers and reps might possibly better serve them. Two of the contractors were members of NECA, with the third being nonunion. My
As you’d expect, the electrical market continues to change. Forget about the macro-economic dynamics and the geopolitical implications that trickle down and impact the business, let’s just think about some things occurring in the business. The data center market. Yes,
So, you thought the lighting market was flat? It may be, however, the residential custom integration market seems to be alive and well. In 2023, CEDIA conducted a study and estimated that this is a $30 billion smart home market.
Back almost 30 years ago when the original 20 distributors and 20 manufacturers came together to form IDEA, the goal was to reduce operating costs, which was defined as reducing errors in data when it was communicated between the two
Last summer Yusen and ABB initiated change in the New England market that sent ripples across the market. The two parted ways. This then created line-up changes for a number of agencies as Yusen picked up lines to replace ABB,
The first 40 years of my electrical background was based on a premise that everyone in our industry made more profit through stock. I worked initially for a wire manufacturer who drove our philosophy to support those distributors who supported
The Q3 Pulse of Lighting results are in, and while I hope you exceeded performance, the reality is everyone was about flat or there were many that succeeded and others that were challenged. 2026 Q3 Pulse of Lighting …”Challenged” but
With Labor Day passing we get ready to look towards the end of the year (only 71 working days left), taking a breath (101 days to Christmas), closing the year strong and planning for 2027! But, before we leave Q3,
For years we’ve heard about the need for grid modernization and once of the concerns regarding the growth of data centers is power generation. Industrial factories also play into this. Power generation construction, and subsequent maintenance, is, and will, represent
Recently I saw two news stories that got me wondering. The first was New York State’s moratorium on data center construction. The second was a county here in North Carolina that also implemented a moratorium, and the newscast went on
The lighting industry continued to undergo much change in Q2. Aside from a number of small manufacturer acquisitions / mergers, lighting agents merging, and the final “implosion” of Cree Lighting, we also had LEDucation, Signify’s Capital Markets Day, Acuity’s earnings
As our 2026 Q3 Pulse of Lighting revealed, and Acuity’s Q4 earnings report confirmed, the lighting market exhibited some growth, albeit low single digits over the summer. In reviewing Acuity’s performance, the focus is on their Acuity Brands Lighting group
It has been a busy year for Halco. At the end of last year, they acquired the permanent lighting business from Topaz, which was owned by Southwire. Since then, they have had to make decisions in a number of territories
nVent announced their results for 2Q 2026 on July 31. They reported record quarterly sales of $1.5 billion, up 53%, and 47% organically, and adjusted operating income was $323 million, up 61%, riding a historic data‑center boom while simultaneously navigating
Eaton announced its 2Q 2026 earnings on July 31. Their results confirm the structural shift in the U.S. electrical market that previous earnings results have benefitted from – AI‑scale data centers, utility grid upgrades, and industrial electrification have turned Electrical
Schneider Electric announced its Q2 2026 results on July 30 delivering one of the strongest quarters in its history, underscoring the company’s rising influence across electrification, automation, and digital energy management. With demand surging in data centers, grid modernization, and
