Around the Industry

Sept. 9, 2011
Powin Energy partners with A-D Powin Corp., Tualatin, Ore., said Powin Energy, its wholly-owned subsidiary that manufactures and distributes products

Powin Energy partners with A-D

Powin Corp., Tualatin, Ore., said Powin Energy, its wholly-owned subsidiary that manufactures and distributes products for wind, solar, battery, LED and fluorescent lighting products as well as custom OEM parts for the renewable energy and energy efficient lighting industries, has signed an agreement to market its renewable energy and energy efficient lighting products through distributor buying/marketing group Affiliated Distributors (AD), Wayne, Pa., and its 530 independent distributor members.

“We are extremely pleased to join Affiliated Distributors' vast network of independent distributors and look forward to providing cost-effective renewable energy and energy-efficient lighting solutions to this network. This agreement gives us immediate exposure to a key target market, the electrical distributor sector, that would have taken years to attain without this agreement,” said Michael S. Morse, V.P. of operations for Powin Energy.

Analyst speculates about Eaton buying Cooper Industries

Industrial analyst Jeff Sprague of Vertical Research Partners on Wednesday speculated in a note to clients about the possibility of a merger between Eaton Corp. and Cooper Industries Plc. Cooper shares jumped 6.3 percent after Reuters reported on the note. In a research note he called “speculative,” Sprague said Cooper, with a current market capitalization of $7.2 billion, would be a big target for Eaton, but Eaton could afford such a purchase if it included an equity offering. Eaton and Cooper offered no comments.

OpenEI adds utility rates

Open Energy Information (OpenEI), a wiki resource for energy information developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has added nationwide utility rates to its store of energy data. OpenEI, en.openei.org, is an open-data source for energy information - specifically analyses on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The platform is a wiki, a format familiar to users of Wikipedia, meaning users can view, edit, and add data, and download data for free. The addition of utility rates allows anyone with Internet access to compare kilowatt-hour rates in dozens of cities and zero in on such variables as time-of-use rates, demand charges and tiered rate structures.

Kaman Industrial Technologies acquires Target Electronic Supply

Automation giant Kaman Industrial Technologies, Bloomfield, Conn., which last year acquired long-time Electrical Wholesaling Top 200 distributor and automation specialist Minarik Corp., Glendale, Calif., has acquired Target Electronic Supply, Westwood, Mass., a motion control specialty distributor with $19 million in estimated 2012 sales and locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire.