Canadian Electrical Wholesaler is published by Kerrwil Publications Limited with support from the EFC
Volume 3 • Issue 12

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Fundamental changes seem about to emerge and yet…

The industry has seen a lot of signals of economic revival lately and, good news, it's responding to these calls. This year, EFC's annual conference in Halifax issued calls to action in the face of disruptive technologies and the need to attract young people to the industry. Another call to action launched last year, by then Chair of EFC's Board of Directors Nathalie Pilon, was directed at women in the industry. A look at participation this year (initiated by one of the speakers) has shown that the composition of the industry is certainly changing, but the change is slow and attracting young people remains a priority. In this issue, another respected woman, Joan MacNaughton, President of the World Energy Trilemma Council, also issues a call to action and reminds us that in Canada, for example, women hold only 25% of jobs in the green energy field and that they play an important role in the alternatives implemented to address climate change. Good reading!

Line Goyette, Managing Editor
linegoyette@kerrwil.com  

CHANGING SCENE

Nexans Nexans Continues Its Commitment to Canada
Celebrating 50 years in Fergus, ON in June, Nexans has reinforced its commitment to Canada with a $15 million dollar investment in warehousing logistics and new equipment...
Stelpro Stelpro Names National Sales Director, Electrical Distribution (Canada)
As of May 30, Pierre Vincent has joined Stelpro as National Sales Director for its Canadian electrical distribution channel…
Beghelli Beghelli Canada Hires New Customer Service Manager
Maria McNaughton has joined Beghelli Canada as its Customer Service Manager, reporting to the General Manager...
EIKO

Opinion

What I Learned at This Year's EFC Conference

By Rick McCarten
Rick McCarten The electrical industry is the conduit for all forms of energy. As a conduit, it has the capacity unlike any other to supply the most sustainable, cleanest energy we produce. The future looks good for Electro-Federation Canada because of our role as an energy neutral entity. If you think about it, we are in an even more ideal situation than the utility whose role is to be the conduit of major sources of energy. In the future, microgrids may be the preferred supply vehicle. Here are just some of the key takeaways from this year's EFC Conference (held in late May), which demonstrate our continued role as a conduit for change during these transformative times… Read More

Best Practices: LED

LED Growth Exploding

By David Gordon
5 Years LED Sales Our friend Bill Attardi at Energy Watch shared interesting data he obtained regarding the exploding growth of the LED market… the growth is startling and has major ramifications relating to the LED market. So, what does this tell us and what questions should distributors be asking themselves? Here is his five-year chart of LED luminaire sales… Read More

Millenials

Stumbling Down the Rabbit Hole

By Shoynear Morrison
Shoynear Morrison I was only out of post-secondary school for four months when I started working for Sonepar Canada as their Communications Coordinator. I can easily compare my transition into the electrical industry with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Entering the business was similar to falling down the rabbit hole; at first I was completely bewildered. Initially, when I applied for the position I had no idea what "Electrical Wholesale Distributor" meant, much less the industry in which Sonepar Canada operated within. However, I was going to chase all my opportunities in order to build a successful career. With that in mind I willingly walked through the looking glass and entered the mysterious world of — electrical distribution. Read More

CEMRA - Opinion

The Evolution of the Manufacturer's Rep

By Marc Laplante
Marc Laplante A few years ago I had the honour of sitting on the board of NEMRA. It was a period of immense change. A big preoccupation that often came up in board meetings was, "How do we change our image?" For those who remember, the NEMRA logo used to be a man with a briefcase. For as long as I can remember, that's how I saw my father leave to go work every day. "You're nothing without a nice attaché case," my dad always said. If only my father could see us now. Tablets, smartphones, Cloud-based files, Dropbox, Repfiles, CRMs… you name it, we've got it. Independent reps have had to change dramatically the way they go to market. Read More

Human Resources

Why Women Are Critical to Clean Energy

By Joan MacNaughton
Women in Clean energy While climate change has been recognized as an urgent, global issue, the relevance of increasing the visibility of women in clean energy as a solution to advancing our climate goals is rarely discussed. Around the world, the energy industry remains one of the most gender-imbalanced sectors. In Australia, women make up 15% of the mining industry, including coal; in the United States, the number is 20% and in Canada it's 25%. Around the world, a number of key initiatives are underway to ensure that women become more visible in dealing with the international climate impacts, financial gains and policy shifts that are moving us closer to our collective clean energy future. Read More

Economy

Labour Productivity Rises 0.4% in Q1

Labour Report Chart Labour productivity of Canadian businesses rose 0.4% in the first quarter, following no growth in the fourth quarter. This was the largest increase since the fourth quarter of 2014. The productivity gain in the first quarter accounted for two-thirds of the output growth of businesses, while growth in hours worked accounted for the remaining third. Output and hours worked were essentially flat in the fourth quarter. Real gross domestic product increased 0.6%. Read More

Economy

Q1 Residential Construction Investment Up 2.1% YOY

Q1 2016 Res Constrution In the first quarter, total investment in residential construction rose 2.1% compared with the same quarter in 2015 to $26.1 billion. This marked the ninth consecutive year-over-year gain. Higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction (up 21.2% to $4.1 billion) was responsible for much of the advance. However, gains occurred in only four provinces: Ontario, BC, New Brunswick, and Quebec. The largest year-over-year decline was recorded in Alberta, followed distantly by Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Read More

Economy

Investment in New Housing Rises 9.7% YOY

Investment in New Housing Investment in new residential construction totalled $3.8 billion in March, up 9.7% from the same month a year earlier. At the national level, higher spending on apartment and apartment-condominium buildings, which rose 19.9% to $1.4 billion, and single-family dwellings, which increased 5.9% to $1.9 billion, contributed the most to the advance. Investment in row houses also increased, rising 9.2% to $384 million. Conversely, spending on semi-detached dwellings decreased for the 11th consecutive month, down 15.1% to $164 million in March. Read More

Canadian Electrical Wholesaler is published by Kerrwil Publications Limited with support from the EFC
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