Latest Articles

Let’s be frank — if you work for a company, then your primary goal is to make money. Period. You may have secondary goals to serve the interests of your customers and employees, and be a good corporate citizen, but your number one priority is strictly return on investment. Profit.

Building Construction - December Total investment in building construction edged up 0.5% from November to $15.6 billion in December, with gains in both the residential and non-residential sectors. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction was largely unchanged at $12.8 billion.

Value of Building Permits - December The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased 7.4% to $8.7 billion in December. Increases were reported in five provinces, led by Ontario (+10.5% to $3.4 billion) and Quebec (+15.8% to $2.2 billion). For 2019 overall, municipalities issued $102.4 billion worth of permits, up 2.6% compared with 2018.

The Electrical industry is facing a runway of crossroads — and digital innovation intersects each one of the crossroads. Digital advancements in technology are transforming everything from product development and manufacturing to supply chain management and customer purchasing behaviours.

Survey Says Among six Canadian cities, the average pay is highest in Calgary and lowest in Montreal. See how sales reps in four other cities fare.

We are on the cusp of a major tidal wave hitting our industry; the onslaught of 10,000 new employees are set to replace the current base who are over 55 years of age and are on the horizon of retirement.

Commercial Lighting Trends in 2020 A broadening of the role of luminaires and a continued focus on people and energy efficiency are three top commercial lighting trends projected for 2020.

Electro-Federation Canada (EFC) hosted its first supply chain conference in November 2019. The theme “Shorter, Faster, Smarter” highlighted the need for manufacturers and distributors to work together to improve how the industry manages its supply chains.

Over the past nearly 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with marketing people, CEOs, presidents, VPs and directors from various electrical manufacturers, distributors, associations, and buying groups. And I’ve had the benefit of consulting with both upper management and marketing practitioners.

Sean Bernard

By Sean Bernard

Sitting in a meeting a few months ago, as the leadership team that I was a part of debated a new marketing strategy for a program, the generational differences among those at the table were blatantly obvious.

Page 7 of 104

The Winds of Change — Blowing in the Right Direction

By John Kerr

The past nine weeks have been to say the least a challenge across the electrical industry. From agents to suppliers, from end users to the electrical channel, all have been affected, all have been forced to think differently and all have begun the journey to retooling the way we operate.

This is the third report in our series quantifying and exploring how electrical wholesalers have had to adapt and how they are looking to find a way forward. For this we have taken a different approach from our previous reports in that we have incorporated the results from our recent survey alongside personal interviews and discussions with electrical distributor teams across Canada

Darkest Before the Dawn, Part 2

By John Kerr

I spoke in my previous article about my father’s quote darkest before the dawn. Well, he had another saying clearly brought forward by his growing up in the depression. He would say, “Money is not everything. It just helps,” and at a time like this when there are so many storylines of effort above and beyond the call, and so many initiatives underway by electrical distributors, there will be a rallying right across the country. The electrical distributors are moving, reacting, and more adaptable than ever before.

The current situation we find ourselves in is to say the least fluid, dynamic and somewhat disconcerting for many, but underlying it is a focused, disciplined approach to addressing the new norm and new reality. Some branches remain closed, some open with minimal staff, and others rotating staff and working differently than ever before.

Recent public reports by Wesco and Rexel have indicated drops approaching 23% through mid April and clearly ones that demonstrated a slowdown from mid March. Our discussions with both distributors and end users/contractors alike confirm their buying and purchasing activity were curtailed more aggressively in early April.

Over 106 electrical distributors responded to our recent survey with 73% from corporate and branch management.

Electrical Safety in the Home is More Important Than Ever Before

By Gurvinder Chopra

This June, Canadians will commemorate Electrical Safety Month; June also marks the fourth month of the COVID-19 pandemic national lockdown. For many Canadians, working from home has become the new normal. As confinement continues, the demand for constant power feed to connect to the world we now live, work, and play in at home has grown substantially. Homes are being equipped with new technologies that offer plenty of benefits, but they also place high demand on electrical systems at home, potentially causing serious safety risks.

Moving from Survivability to Thriveability

By David Gordon

In talking with distributors and manufacturers it is clear that many are actively in the planning and pivoting mode, moving from survivability to thriveability. They’ve stabilized their business financially, emotionally (from a staff viewpoint) and operationally. Now they are looking at “doing business,” and more financially secure ones are identifying ways to take share.

This doesn’t mean that others are not planning and pivoting. Some didn’t miss a beat; others typically don’t do much planning and live in the moment.

Value of Building Permits Declined 13.2% in March

Building Permits - March The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities decreased 13.2% to $7.4 billion in March, with declines reported in seven provinces and two territories. The $1.1 billion national decrease was the largest since August 2014. This reflected notable drops in Ontario (-12.9%), Quebec (-18.1%) and British Columbia (-19.4%), which coincided with efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Value of residential permits down

The total value of residential permits decreased 13.1% to $4.6 billion in March.

Savant Systems to Acquire GE Lighting

Savant Systems has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase GE Lighting, a ...

Darkest Before the Dawn, Part 2

Changing Scene

Peers & Profiles

Looking Back

Copper $US Dollar price per pound