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We often hear about how much the electrical industry is changing and how new and improved products and an ever broadening number of global manufacturers are disrupting how the wholesale market operates.
The best memory I keep from CEDA is the way that they accepted me when I came into the business. The welcome they gave to me, all of them men. (In those days there were not many women in business.) This welcome I will always remember. CEDA has played a very important role in my success.
In the 1930s to 1940s, CEDA’s Western Canada membership was very stable with old line independent companies like Horsman, Ashdowns, Brettell, Marshall Wells, Electrical Supplies Ltd., etc.
Read more: Recollections: Burt A. Robinson — Honourary Life...
Prior to the late 1950s there was little if any involvement in CEDA by the so-called “national suppliers.” They felt that the organization was more an association of local and provincial independently owned suppliers.
Read more: Recollections: J.E. Milburn, Honourary CEDA Life...
As 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation, we take a look back at an aspect of the history of wholesale sales in Canada.
The resource-based industries of the Maritimes are looking to electronics to make their operations more productive. This trend, in concert with the tremendous amount of work offshore oil development will provide, suggests a glowing future for distributors in the region. Kip Roberts, President of Harris and Roome Ltd., Halifax, points out that several industries are modernizing and much of their new equipment will be purchased from electrical distributors.
Electrical distributors must remain in both the electronic and electrical ends of the business to be successful, said Bryan Smith, President of Electrozad Supply Co., Windsor, from 1977 to 1982. “The electronics is the brains end of things. The electrical side is very important too.” Among areas where electronics have made a strong impact were programmable controllers, cable and instrumentation, which have gone completely electronic.
Read more: Electrical and Electronic Wholesaling in Ontario...
The public’s strong interest in energy-saving products should continue in the coming years, providing a boom for electrical distributors, forecasted Lew Searle of Amesco Ltd., Winnipeg. These products included lamps, ballasts, electrical furnaces (especially in new homes), and central air conditioning. He said the demand for air conditioners had increased sharply, indicating to him that air conditioning is no longer the preserve of the affluent. Upgrading gas furnaces was providing distributors with dividends as well, Mr. Searle said, noting that new panels, circuit breakers and other equipment were required.
Even in a principally agricultural province like Saskatchewan, the impact of electronics on the electrical distribution industry will be “very Big”, forecasts Ward Johnson, president of Ward Johnson Electric Ltd, Regina.
Electrical distribution companies operating in British Columbia will continue to get larger while most smaller independents will gradually disappear, predicted Art Reid, manager, B.C. District, Wesco Westinghouse Sales & Distribution Co. of Burnaby.
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The lack of staff or “lights out” nature of many local IT and mobile edge computing (MEC) sites makes operations and maintenance a challenge. This struggle worsens as the number of sites increase. How do you maintain IT resiliency in a cost-effective way under these conditions? It is not practical to staff each location with trained personnel. The answer lies, in large part, on data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) software. In this paper we describe essential DCIM functions for small, unmanned edge computing sites and attributes of next-generation DCIM solutions best optimized for that type of environment.
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ILSCO Canada Appoint Adanac Sales for British Columbia
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Peers & Profiles
Alex Couckuyt, Southwire Canada's Director of Operations Discusses His Career and What Has Contributed to His Success
By Blake Marchand
Alexander Couckuyt, Director of Operations for Southwire Canada, spent the majority of his formative years in Belgium where he undertook his schooling in Business Marketing and Sales before entering an Electrician Apprenticeship program, and working as a licenced electrician as well as an independent contractor for three years.
His work as a contractor would eventually lead him to his current position. Working with suppliers as an electrician, Alex was presented with an opportunity to work for CEBEO, one of Sonepar’s operating companies.
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