Volume 13, Issue 3: Western United Ranks #2 Nationally in Sales Per Employee
Western United Ranks #2 Nationally in Sales Per Employee
Electrical Wholesaling magazine’s June 2020 edition has named Western United as the #2 distributor in the U.S. for sales per employee. The ranking is based on calendar year 2019 results with sales of $3,333,850 per employee. This is the 15th consecutive year that WUE has been named as one of the top three ranked companies in this category. This accomplishment is a testament to the strong commitment that our members have shown in purchasing their electric utility, construction & maintenance materials, tools and supplies from the company that they own. In addition to the #2 ranking, WUE is also ranked #72 in the country in terms of overall sales.
Fish Fry Update
Due to the ongoing health crisis and to ensure the safety of our Coop community, Western United has canceled our August 27th Fish Fry. The annual fish fry has been an extremely popular event and one of the ways we say Thank You to our members for their support. We are actively exploring new ways to show our appreciation to our members and look forward to resuming the fish fry in 2021. Thank you for your understanding and continued support of Western United Electric Supply
Employee Spotlight
Meet Beverly Dinkel
Cooperatives are known for attracting loyal, longterm employees and no one epitomizes that more at Western United than Beverly Dinkel. Beverly first came to WUE in 1986 as a part-time employee and has been full time since 1999. She is Western United’s longest-tenured employee. During her career, she has served in
a multitude of roles including the company receptionist, administrative assistant and her current role as office coordinator and accounting clerk. If you have ever called WUE you have likely met Beverly as she is the cheerful voice that continues to answer many of the calls to our offices. Beverly is a Colorado native and grew up in Thornton. Family and friends are her top priority and she is very proud of her two sons. When she is not at WUE, Beverly enjoys traveling and has spent time in China and most recently, Greece. She has worked with four CEO’s during her time at WUE and is always excited to see where each will lead the company. Western United is very lucky to have had Beverly on our team for so many years and we look forward to many more.
Triple-Layered Cloth Masks with Your Logo available through WUE
Wearing a mask in public has become a way of life in recent months so WUE is now offering an effective and comfortable mask that can also display your coop logo. This line of triple layered cloth masks comes in many styles and colors and can include a logo.
Hubbell Releases Fire Protection Disconnector
The Hubbel Fire Protection Disconnector (FPD) is designed to install with a Hubbell PDV-100 Optima Heavy Duty surge arrester. When installed, the Hubbell FPD will provide the user with a fire protection arrester solution
Features and Benefits
Available for new installations or retrofit applications
Bright yellow sleeve enhances visual indication for field personnel, after disconnector operation
Compact design which is ideal for applications with limited clearances
IEEE 1656 compliant wildlife guard to protect against inadvertent wildlife contact
Hubbell is excited to announce their Fire Protection Disconnector and will soon be providing samples to Western United.
Contact your WUE sales representative for more details.
Industry Update
Western United’s Response to the Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System
On May 1st 2020, President Trump issued an executive order designed to secure the nation’s bulk power system. After reviewing the Executive Order, the provisions outlined in Section 2, subsection d, (i-ii) and Section 3, sub-section c, (i-iv) have not yet been completed or defined by the Federal Government. Therefore, it is impossible for us to fully respond since terms like “adversary” and “bulk-power equipment” are used throughout the document without an actual government definition.
As outlined in Section 3, sub-section f (i), the Task Force to be created by the EO will provide a report on the progress of defining such terms, naming such adversaries, products in-scope, and addressing other stated goals within one year of the EO date of May 1, 2020. Therefore, they have until May 1, 2021 to complete.
Western United does not currently purchase any power transformers, transformers, fiber, primary conductor, reclosers, AMI equipment, high voltage switches or structures from any foreign sources that could fall under the scope of potential adversaries, given the current global political climate. These are the key items that could be at risk due to foreign manufacturing that could have a massive impact on our domestic grid should they fail or become compromised in any way.
Our transformers and power transformers are domestic assembled options. There are many low-cost Chinese options that exist and we have avoided as a best practice and due to product reputation. Western United only stocks and sells Prysmian and AFL fiber products, and uses domestic sourced Preformed connector and deadend products for the fiber. Our primary cable is domestic sourced Okonite, and reclosers are S&C, G&W or Hubbell in inventory (no Ukrainian/Russian Tavrida product has ever been sold by WUE). AMI support and alignment is with Tantalus and Aclara (formerly GE) meters. Substation and Transmission switches and structures are sourced via domestic solutions. Given our sources of primarily domestic product, with a few NAFTA compliant options as well, we feel that Western United has already been operating in the best interest of our members and customers for years, by offering quality products to present the best overall lifetime value with reduced risk. In light of the new EO, we feel that our past practices of favoring domestic offerings are well established and have enabled us to provide for our members’ longterm success.
As this situation progresses, WUE will monitor our stocked products and what we quote to ensure full compliance. We do not, however, have any way of knowing what has been purchased and installed on a utility’s system from other sources. Each utility must be mindful of this and be prepared to establish their own internal controls to guarantee full compliance. To review the entire Executive Order go to: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-securing-unitedstates-bulk-power-system/