NECA Austin Notes

Last week NECA held the electrical distribution industry’s largest conference of the year, the result of the convergence of contractors and manufacturers in Austin, TX.

There were over 300 manufacturer, distributor, and software company booths in the Exhibit Hall. This was complemented by countless speaker sessions and workshops presented by manufacturers and outside speakers that were attended by contractors.

Some observations

• Every national distributor, except CED, had a booth as did Border States and Crescent Electric. Given that the show was in Texas, it was a little surprising that no Texas distributors exhibited.
  • Given that NECA represents union contractors who typically do larger projects, and especially government projects, seeing Border States, City Electric, Crescent Electric, Graybar, Rexel, Sonepar and WESCO in attendance … and with many at their booths, highlights that these companies are pursing the larger contractors and larger projects.
  • Crescent took over a night club one night to host contractors and others presumably entertained also.
  • Could this be another step in the consolidation of the industry? Revenue consolidation?
• Many of the distributors also promoted a Renewables group, highlighting the growth opportunity in this emerging area.
• You would think that many, if not all, of the manufacturers that exhibited would be at least recognizable. Not the case. There were many … more than half … that were unfamiliar as in “never have seen their name on a rep linecard nor on a distributor’s list of suppliers. The conclusion – they sell direct or via different types of reps (datacom / low voltage reps?)
• Some reps attended the show.
• Technology is in vogue. Probably close to two dozen software companies to help contractors be more efficient. Some relate to eCommerce / procurement, others can support contractors who need BIM services. BIM is becoming “a thing”, especially for larger projects and hence larger distributors.
• Lots of tool manufacturers … and guess which booths were the busiest!
• Many manufacturers highlighted new products.
• EV charging companies were out in force.
• One product category that was conspicuously missing was lighting. Essentially no lighting companies were on the show floor and those that did exhibit were not name companies. Given the role of contractors in the selection process for retrofits and lighting companies having “contractor-oriented” brands to promote productivity benefits and cost savings, it was surprising to see no visibility (for many this would be money better spent than attending LightFair.) And for all of the talk about wireless controls, no, or few, exhibitors in this category although Lutron presented “Simplifying Your Projects with Wireless Lighting Control in a trade show education booth, albeit it was lightly attended.
• Pre-fab related products were displayed and discussed by many companies, highlighting that productivity issues are front and center. Some talked about contractors who are doing pre-fab for other contractors … essentially being contract-labor (fabricators) for another contractor. When more companies get involve in a supply chain, and therefore costs increase but it is still “of value”, you know there is a labor shortage.
• As much as companies talk about the resources on their websites, and their investment into their website, few promoted their websites at their booths. Some used QR codes to direct people for collateral.
• ABB’s booth was very impressive, and even more so was the race car!
• Next year’s NECA Show is in Philadelphia. In 2018, Philadelphia attracted over 10,000 people plus NECA welcomed over 3,000 apprentices. Promises to be another great event.

NECA Sessions

• IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson commented during a session that talked about upcoming new projects due to the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the CHIPs and Science Act, as well as the Inflation Reduction Act, “We’re looking at a decade of work opportunities.”
• NECA hosted roundtable discussions on safety, Women in NECA / Future Leaders, business development, supply chain, construction management, EV infrastructure, and more.
• Kathy Jo Van and Stacey Felzer presented a session on “Real Strategies for Recruiting, Retaining and Developing Talent.”

Some Sights From the Show