Volume 4, Issue 3 - August 2011
The Supplier
WUE IN THE SPOTLIGHT!
WUE was recently recognized by Electrical Wholesaling magazine as the 100th largest electrical distributor in the country as measured by total sales in 2010!
WUE was also recognized as the second highest distributor in the country as measured by sales per employee. WUE has been either #1 or #2 for the last 10 years!
WUE UPDATE
Mark your calendars for September 8th. Western United will host an Open House at their Brighton facility with lots of vendor displays, prizes and an afternoon cookout. In 2009, the event attracted over 30 vendors.
Members will again be receiving cash and certificates from WUE for purchases made during FY2011 (ending June 30th). See your WUE account manager for a summary of your coop’s percentage return based on the total purchases made from WUE in the last fiscal year.
In order to increase customer service, Tony Maestas has been promoted to Director of inside distribution sales in addition to his past role as Director of Purchasing. Additionally Steve Martin has joined Lamoyne Sturgeon, Brian Baseflug, Wendy Pucket and Greg Mumm as Inside Distributor Sales personnel. Cathi Taves continues to provide clerical and purchasing support to the team.
Two additional part time truck drivers have been hired by WUE for their Brighton location. WUE now has the equipment and drivers to dispatch up to five semi-trailers and one stake truck each day as customer needs dictate.
Sunflower Electric (G & T) from Kansas is the newest WUE member. Western United now has fifty three (53) members from seven Rocky Mountain states. All members enjoy the benefits of competitive pricing, superior service and annual patronage capital credits.
The new WUE warehouse in Albuquerque, NM is now open for business. A staff of three employees now provide customer support (quotes & orders) as well as shipments to customers in NM and AZ. WUE is very grateful to the excellent support received from reps and manufactures in the new market area. Inventory for electric utility construction and maintenance jobs is on the shelves and ready to ship. Employees located at the new location are Dave Mele, Frank Torres and Estevan Sisneros.
Please stop by for a visit!
COOPER POWER’S NEW 600A LOADBREAK SYSTEM
Cooper Power has always been a leader in introducing products that address customer’s needs. Their latest innovation is a 600A 15KV and 600A 25KV Class Loadbreak Connector System.
The new product replaces Deadbreak Connectors which can be disconnected only when they are dead. Additionally achieving a visible break and being able to easily ground the device is made easy with the newly patented design.
See your WUE account manager for a demonstration or view the unit at the September 8th open house.
NEW DOUBLE FACED POLE-LINE HARDWARE DRIVER
In response to linemen requests for a “better” hammer, AUS has introduced a 36 oz 15 1/4” long, 1 3/4” diameter face lineman hammer. The head has one side for lag bolts and the other (milled face) for staples. The fiberglass handle has a lifetime warranty. Balanced and weighted, this hammer nick-named “Sparky” is replacing all others in the market.
WUE has a full line of tools for the electric utility market place.
LIGHTING UPDATES
Wendy Pucket (WUE’s lighting champion) reports that Tri State offers significant rebates for projects employing the EVLUMA bulb (see the new bulbs at the September 8th open house) as well as other LED lighting projects.
Call Wendy for answers to your questions or for literature on either LED or induction products.
New LED products (i.e. Phillips) are being introduced at a furious pace with pricing becoming much more competitive. In response to customer’s requests for a more reliable photo control (to be used with LED lights), Sunrise Technologies (Fisher Pierce brand), introduced their TRS series. The series is constructed for a 20 year life by using high quality glass epoxy material on the control board, a Xenoy material for the cover and window, an improved 40,000A MOV arrester, a silicon coating on all electronics, a relay with an air gap and photosensor encapsulated in a glass and metal enclosure. No need to send a truck out to replace an inexpensive control that only lasts one year, the new control while more expensive is targeted for utilities performing total cost analysis.
GE’s ELECTRIC VEHICLE RECHARGER
General Electric is forecasting increased interest in providing charging stations for electric vehicles. Offered in a pedestal or wall mount configuration, the station enables a fast level 2 charging of the vehicle.
BURNDY’S PATRIOT TOOL LINE
Burndy is offering a $100 incentive (donation to the USO or American Express gift card) for any customer purchasing their American-Made “Stars and Stripes” battery operated compression tools (PAT750LI-USA OR PAT750XT-USA) through November 11 (Independence Day).
The tool uses either the 18V 3.0AL Li-Ion batteries or the 18V Ni-MH batteries. It has a 355 deg head rotation and crimps a wide range of connector sizes.
See your WUE account manager or operate it at the upcoming WUE open house on September 8th.