Atkore International Acquires Calpipe Industries
Atkore International Group Inc. in Harvey, Illinois has acquired Calpipe Industries LLC, a market leader for electrical conduit systems for corrosive environments and security bollards for high security, access control and architectural environments.
“We’re excited to have Calpipe join the Atkore family and provide enhancements to our product portfolio with stainless steel and PVC-coated conduit systems that provide superior corrosion protection,” said Bill Waltz, group president-electrical raceway at Atkore. “This transaction will add approximately $70 million in annual revenue at margins accretive to Atkore. More importantly, it exemplifies our commitment to continue offering premier electrical products that meet varying customers’ needs in an ever-changing marketplace.”
Dan Markus, founder and CEO of Calpipe Industries, said, “For the past 20 years, Calpipe employees have been focused on building strong brands with differentiated products, providing exceptional customer service and ensuring timely delivery. I’m proud our accomplishments were recognized by Atkore and will be valued contributions to helping achieve their mission.”
For more information, visit atkore.com.
Pentair to Form New Electrical Company
Pentair plc in London has named its future electrical company nVent Electric plc (nVent) and announced key executive appointments. The company’s separation into two independent, publicly-traded companies remains on track to be completed in the second quarter of 2018. As previously announced, the future water company will retain the Pentair name.
Beth A. Wozniak will become CEO of nVent upon completion of the separation. Joining Wozniak on the nVent leadership team will be Stacy McMahan as chief financial officer (CFO). McMahan previously served as CFO at The Spectranetics Corp., a medical device developer and manufacturer, and as CFO and treasurer of MSA Safety Inc. She brings with her more than 25 years of finance leadership and deep expertise in operations and business development at large, publicly-held companies to nVent. Randall J. Hogan will serve as chairman of nVent and retire as Pentair’s chairman and CEO upon the separation.
nVent will employ approximately 9,000 people globally, with its main U.S. offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota. nVent will have industry-leading positions in industrial, commercial, residential, energy and infrastructure. Brand names for nVent’s offering include CADDY, ERICO, Hoffman, Raychem, Schroff and Tracer. nVent’s revenues for the year ending Dec. 31, 2016 were $2.1 billion.
For more information, visit pentair.com.
Siemens Opens Digital R&D Hub in Chicago
Siemens recently announced it is going to invest more than $20 million each year to establish a dedicated research and development (R&D) hub in Chicago with a focus on developing cloud-related and Internet of Thingsrelated applications to support its building management and automation platforms. The Siemens Building Technologies CPS Software House will operate as a global software development competence center for the company, and new applications for its Control Products and Systems (CPS) technology will further expand efforts to transform the building technologies industry.
Siemens opened an independent facility to leverage the talents accessible in the large tech and start-up community in Chicago, considered one of the top 10 tech hubs in the world. The facility will house more than 100 employees.
The CPS Software House will lead global R&D efforts for the Siemens’ Desigo CC platform, and will collaborate with the business’ headquarters in Zug, Switzerland for broader cloud and System One platform applications. The new Chicago site will employ specialists in software development, software architecture, product testing, project leadership, application engineering, configuration management, team leadership and technical writing.
R&D into new CPS applications plays a key role in moving technology to the next level with its ability to add smart features to physical systems and environments.
The CPS Software House is a strategic part of the overall Siemens Building Technologies delivery model, utilizing a holistic approach to allow additional creativity and foster new and better ways to create value for Siemens’ customers, and supporting them in achieving their business and energy-efficiency goals.
Siemens has approximately 3,300 employees in Chicagoland, which is home to Siemens’ Downtown Chicago headquarters, Building Technologies’ North American headquarters and Siemens Healthineers’ Molecular Imaging Global headquarters.
For more information, visit siemens.com.
Legrand Raises $98,750 for Red Cross Natural Disaster Relief Efforts
Legrand North and Central America in West Hartford, Connecticut held a disaster relief fundraiser for the American Red Cross this year and collected $98,750. All money raised will provide assistance to the people and regions affected by recent natural disasters throughout the country. For the second consecutive year, Legrand President and CEO John Selldorff and Data Quality Manager and Better Communities Committee Leader Alyssa Adnani encouraged the entire Legrand North and Central America employee population to donate, incentivized by a company match up to $50,000.
“We are extremely proud to be able to support this important cause,” said Selldorff. “In addition to monetary donations, our employees have shown their generosity through the organization of supply drives and organized blood drives.”
Since Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, the United States and its territories have withstood a barrage of natural disasters and is in the midst of yet another as many struggle to overcome the disastrous wildfires in California.
The Red Cross responds to nearly 66,000 disasters per year—ranging from single-family disasters to city- and region-wide crises. One recent relief operation underway in Louisiana is anticipated to cost at least $30 million. As a nonprofit public charity, the American Red Cross relies on the support of generous Americans to fulfill its mission.
“At Legrand, we feel a strong sense of responsibility to assist in the recovery efforts of the many unfortunate natural disasters that have occurred in our country,” said Adnani. “We are deeply committed to helping improve the lives of those in the communities where we live and work and this includes coming to the aid of those in need in difficult times.”
For more information, visit legrand.us.
Hubbell Interns Spend the Day with Habitat for Humanity
The Hubbell Lighting Components Summer 2017 Intern Class and its managers participated in a day of service to the community, helping Habitat for Humanity in Elgin, Illinois build a new home. The interns were joined by Components Vice President and General Manager John DiNardi.
Hubbell regularly supports Habitat for Humanity through the Hubbell Foundation. The Lighting Components business also donated $3,000 to help finish the home.
For more information, visit hubbelllighting.com.
ElectricSmarts Names New Director of Sales, Marketing
ElectricSmarts has hired Paul Werthman as director of sales and marketing. Werthman is a seasoned industry veteran who began his career with Graybar and subsequently became a national marketing executive with Burndy before becoming vice president of national accounts for NSI. He has served on several manufacturer councils for the National Association of Electrical Distributors and has built close relationships with IMARK, AD, Rexel, CED, Sonepar and Graybar among other industry leaders.
Werthman has a unique perspective, as in two of his former positions he was an ElectricSmarts customer. He understands the partnership benefits from the customer’s viewpoint. As ElectricSmarts continues to rollout more Advantage Platform products to help both manufacturers and distributors influence contractor purchases, Werthman’s experience and insight will prove invaluable.
For more information, visit electricsmarts.com.
Hammond Power Solutions Appoints Two Managers
Hammond Power Solutions (HPS) in Guelph, Ontario has appointed Jay Tucker as business development manager and Rick Fassbinder as west regional sales manager. Tucker has a degree in electrical engineering and he will transition from his current role with HPS as the western regional sales manager. Tucker has several years of experience working for electrical manufacturers and a deep knowledge of building demand for HPS products. His previous skills will be an asset to the HPS marketing team.
Fassbinder resides in Salt Lake City, Utah and has been in the electrical industry for a number of years, most recently as the west regional manager for Meltric. In his career, Fassbinder has worked for electrical equipment manufacturers, an electrical rep and an electrical distributor. Fassbinder is also a licensed electrical contractor.
For more information, visit hammondpowersolutions.com.
NICOR Announces Two New Hires
NICOR Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico hired John Daly as vice president of sales and Patrick Ronan as western regional sales manager.
Daly was recently principal of R&D Lighting & Controls, an Illinois-based lighting agency specializing in commercial and industrial lighting and control solutions. Previously, he served as vice president of international sales for Cree Lighting where he oversaw all global sales offices and developed sales strategies and channels around the world.
With more than 26 years of lighting industry experience, Daly has a track record of success improving growth and cultivating strong business relationships. He has held numerous executive leadership roles for companies including Lightech (GE), Color Kinetics (Philips), Rig-A-Lite and GE Lighting.
Daly will report to NICOR’s President and CEO Rocklan Lawrence and be based out of Atlanta, Georgia. He will manage NICOR’s regional and inside sales teams and execute strategies for greater market penetration throughout NICOR’s supply chain. He’ll also work to strengthen NICOR’s direct and national accounts programs while implementing sales initiatives that propel company growth.
Daly’s background also includes new product planning and implementation, OEM management and the establishment of new sales and marketing channels. Daly has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and is a Six Sigma Green Belt.
Ronan has held a variety of positions in sales management and was recently the national account manager for Schneider Electric. He has 20 years of experience strengthening business relationships and developing effective lighting, electrical, automation and process solutions for general contractors and wholesale electrical distributors serving commercial, residential, industrial and specialty markets. His diverse background includes senior sales positions with Thomas & Betts, ETi Solid State Lighting, Eco-Engineering and General Electric where he began as an account manager and progressed into various sales leadership roles.
Ronan will be based out of Phoenix, Arizona and report to Daly. He will manage agent and electrical distributor relationships to ensure strong positioning for the company across the western region. He’ll also supervise the California district manager and work to identify and solve trade gaps to support and build key business partnerships.
Ronan has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in education from Northern Arizona University. He’s also a Six Sigma Green Belt and was an officer in the U.S. Army.
For more information, visit nicorlighting.com.
NSi Industries Hires Rep Agency, Regional Sales Manager for Canada
NSi Industries LLC in Huntersville, North Carolina recently announced that Pearson-Becker will represent all NSi electrical products in Illinois and the northwest counties of Indiana. The company also hired Jorge Roman as regional sales manager for Ontario, Canada. Roman will report to Tom Wallace, executive vice president of sales.
Pearson-Becker’s office and warehouse is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois and employs 16 highly-experienced employees who are on call to assist with facility applications.
Roman comes to NSi Industries with more than 20 years of experience in direct selling across the province of Ontario and eastern Canada in the electrical industry. He has established a track record for leading new business with and through a channel sales model that includes electrical and industrial distributors, electrical contractors, independent rep agencies and OEM integrators.
For more information, visit nsiindustries.com.
Omni Cable Hires Chip Barrett, Promotes Bryan Dabruzzi
Omni Cable, headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, hired Chip Barrett as director of business development and promoted Bryan Dabruzzi to southeastern regional vice president.
As director of business development, Barrett will focus on the research and development of new products and expansion of existing products.
He has more than 20 years of industry experience in product management and business development. Prior to Omni Cable, he spent 12 years with General Cable, with the last four years in Barcelona, Spain. He held several different roles while in Spain including director of product management, vice president of supply chain and vice president/general manager of General Cable’s Industrial, Construction and Specialty Business Unit before returning to the states in 2017.
Barrett received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Miami University in Ohio and his MBA from the University of Dayton in Ohio.
Dabruzzi is responsible for Omni Cable’s Atlanta, Charlotte and Tampa locations, as well as working closely with the company’s regional managers in those facilities to support customers and grow Omni Cable’s business.
Dabruzzi joined Omni Cable in 2009 and has more than 12 years of industry experience. He has held multiple sales positions within the company throughout the years. He previously served as the regional manager for Omni Cable’s Charlotte branch for more than five years. He graduated from Miami University in Ohio with a degree in operations management.
For more information, visit omnicable.com.