February 2004 news archive

Feb. 6, 2004
February 27, 2004 NECA publishes latest NEIS Michael Finnegan, president of Michael Finnegan Electrical Contracting Electric Supply Co., is the grand prize winner in Schneider Electric’s Square D 100th anniversary sweepstakes. The contractor from South Windsor, Conn., was randomly chosen from approximately 6,200 entries to win a Dodge Ram pickup truck. “I never expected to win, but I’m glad I did,”

February 27, 2004

NECA publishes latest NEIS

Michael Finnegan, president of Michael Finnegan Electrical Contracting Electric Supply Co., is the grand prize winner in Schneider Electric’s Square D 100th anniversary sweepstakes. The contractor from South Windsor, Conn., was randomly chosen from approximately 6,200 entries to win a Dodge Ram pickup truck.

“I never expected to win, but I’m glad I did,” Finnegan says. “This is a great way to kick off the new year.”

The contest featured specially marked packages of the company’s Amp Heavy Duty NEMA 1 and 3R safety switches that contained a promotional piece participants registered with the company. Five hundred instant winners received circuit breaker radios, and all participants who registered pieces were eligible for the grand prize.

February 26, 2004

NECA publishes latest NEIS

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) recently published NECA 406-2003, Standard for Installing Residential Generator Sets. The standard covers generators that are permanently installed in single-family dwellings for backup power and powered by gasoline, natural gas, or LP gas.

NECA 406 is the twenty-fourth volume of the National Electrical Installation Standards series of publications, and it’s approved by the American National Standards Institute. Copies of the standard are available for $30 by calling the NECA order desk at (301) 215-4504, or as a free PDF at www.neca-neis.org/standards.

February 25, 2004

eBay offers financing option

eBay is now offering business buyers an integrated financing option for industrial equipment and information technology priced at $2,000 or higher. Direct Capital Corp. will provide the financing service and perform inspection checks to ensure the quality of the products being sold.

The Equipment Financing Program can be accessed at the eBay business Web site. Sellers need to enroll in the program and include a link to the financing service within the item listing. Buyers complete an online application and, upon approval, can purchase items up to a specific financing amount.

Computer, networking, telecom, and construction products are available for financing.

February 24, 2004

Tice Electric Co. receives Eve Award

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao has awarded Tice Electric Co., Portland, Ore., with the Eve Award for excellence in equal opportunity programming. The company received the award at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19.

The company established an employee-based infrastructure to assist apprenticeship program participants overcome crises. The program helps to ensure employees complete apprenticeships and reach their career goals in spite of adversity. The company was also recognized for its efforts in training and the community.

Tice Electric Co., employs approximately 100 people and provides construction, remodeling, service work, telecommunication, high-voltage line work, and other specialized services for industrial and commercial clients.

February 23, 2004

Magnetek to assist Plug Power with stationary fuel cell development

Plug Power has selected Magnetek to provide power conditioners for a new line of stationary fuel cell it’s developing. Magnetek will complete the delivery of two prototype power conditioners in August 2005.

The power conditioners will invert the DC produced by the proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells into the AC required for stationary applications. Doing this will enable the fuel cells to operate in grid-tied or stand-alone mode in the event of utility power loss.

In stand-alone mode, each fuel cell will be able to handle peak power loads as high as 9kW and accommodate load imbalances from 0% to 80%. Should a utility fail in grid-tied mode, the power conditioner will pick up the load immediately and the fuel cells will continue to operate in a stand-alone mode until the utility power is restored.

February 20, 2004

Schneider Electric creates Critical Power Competency Center

Schneider Electric has launched a Critical Power Competency Center (CPCC) that’s based out of its Nashville, Tenn., office. The center aims to provide customized but repeatable power distribution and management for the critical power market.

The CPCC will combine the company’s product design, development, and distribution; program management; engineering; and power consulting and resources from its LaVergne, Tenn., Smyrna, Tenn., and Columbia, S.C., facilities. This group will assist customers through project steps like power system design, order entry, project management, and implementation.

February 19, 2004

New Jersey LMC launches new Web site

The New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Labor Management Council (LMC) has launched a new informational Web site, www.njlmc.org.

The site is designed to increase awareness about the LMC and its more than 16 organizational members, including NECA, and to provide those interested in starting a construction career with links to educational and training opportunities statewide.

The LMC represents more than 135,000 individuals in various union trades and employer associations throughout New Jersey.

February 18, 2004

President Bush’s 2005 budget includes topics of electrical industry interest

President Bush’s proposed 2005 budget, which he recently submitted to Congress, addresses several issues in a new initiative that some members of the electrical industry have come forward to support.

The initiative titled, “Jobs for the 21st Century,” would provide $250 million for a new employer-focused grant program for training in community and technical colleges. To receive funding for the grant, applicants would be required to prepare a training plan with community colleges and employers, and certify that the training would focus on industries with demonstrated labor shortages.

President Bush’s budget also addresses the administration’s support for Association Health Plans, which would help small businesses provide health insurance coverage for their employees. On the issue of taxes, the budget aims to permanently extend many of the provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003.

The IEC recently released a press release that states the organization’s support for the initiative.

February 17, 2004

MPS and BVSG combine to provide expanded services to enterprise customers

Meridian Project Systems (MPS) and BV Solutions Group, Inc. (BVSG) have joined together to service corporate accounts that use Proliance, a software programs designed for Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, and engineering and construction firms who need to design, construct, and maintain large capital and real estate construction programs.

Proliance is the first project controls software built on Web Services and XML technology. It allows global companies to manage projects, programs, and business processes across its organizations and external supply chains. This partnership will allow MPS to offer additional support to its customers through BVSG’s global network of technical consultants and project managers.

February 13, 2004

Philips Lighting and California to conduct seminar on waste disposal

Philips Lighting and the California Department of Toxic Substance Control will conduct the Lighting Crossroads, a seminar to help California facilities managers and others responsible for building maintenance understand the state’s new regulation that makes it mandatory to recycle lamps that contain mercury.

Sessions will be held in Sacramento on Feb. 24, Berkeley on Feb. 26, Orange County on March 2, Los Angeles on March 3, and Sad Diego on March 4. The seminars will include breakfast at 8 a.m. with the presentation to follow at 9 a.m.

The companies, along with lamp recyclers Advanced Environmental Recycling and Earth Protection Services, Inc., will discuss the reasons that light bulbs contain mercury, the new regulation, resources for recycling the mercury bulbs, and the importance of sustainable lighting practices.

To register for the seminar, visit the Philips Web site or call1-800-945-9071.

February 12, 2004

Appleton offers free review guide

Appleton is giving away copies of its 2002 NEC Code Review Guide, which explains recent revisions made to the articles of the Code. The guide is available in booklet or 17-minute DVD format.

To obtain a copy of the guide, visit www.appletonelec.com or call 1-800-621-1506.

February 11, 2004

Cmmscity.com and TEC, Inc. launch CMMS search tool

Cmmscity.com and Technology Evaluation Centers, Inc. have teamed up to create the Cmmscity.com Technology Evaluation Center (TEC), a search engine that assists users in finding computerized maintenance management systems and enterprise asset management systems vendors.

The TEC allows users to choose the appropriate system based on a customizable set of criteria for their specific needs. TEC provides product data and side-by-side comparisons based on more than 2,700 system criteria.

February 10, 2004

Magnetek Industrial Control Group adopts new name

Magnetek Industrial Controls Group is changing its name to Magnetek Power Control Systems. Peter McCormick, president and general manager, says this new name better represents the products and services the company now designs and manufacturers.

The company has grown into several divisions like electromotive systems, telemotive industrial controls, Mondel engineering, elevator drives, power products, and alternative energy.



February 9, 2004

Osram Sylvania receives Partner of the Year award

Osram Sylvania has been named an Energy Star Partner of the Year for the second year in a row. The company will receive its award at an Energy Star ceremony on March 2, 2004, in Washington D.C.

The company is being recognized for producing compact fluorescent lighting, which saves as much as 75% of the energy typically used in an incandescent light bulb.

February 6, 2004

Leviton wins big at the tecHOMExpo

Leviton Integrated Networks won two Innovative Housing Technology awards at the fourth annual tecHOMExpo last month in Las Vegas. The company was the only manufacturer to win more than one award at the show.

The company’s Compact Structured Media Enclosure, which creates a distribution point for basic telephone and video within each individual housing unit, earned the Home Networking Products award. The Spec-Grade Sound System Matching Module with AutoSurge technology, which allows impedance matching to take place at the central wiring point where speaker and control wiring converge to interface with the amplifier, took home the Video/Home Theatre Products award.

February 5, 2004

NFPA seeks new committee members

The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) has issued a call for members to serve on various standard committees. Interested applicants can visit NFPA’s Web site for a downloadable application.

Three of the 47 committees deal with electrical issues. The Committee on Electrical Systems Maintenance, which is responsible for NFPA 73, Electrical Inspection Code for Existing Dwellings, is looking for members in all interest categories, except special interests.

Two health care committees are also seeking new members. The Committee on Health Care Facilities-Electrical Equipment wants members in all interest categories, except users and The Committee on Health Care Facilities-Electrical Systems wants members in all interest categories, except special experts. Both committees work with chapters in NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code.

February 4, 2004

IBEW completes New Jersey Secaucus Junction

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 164, based in Paramus, N.J., recently completed work on the New Jersey Transit’s Secaucus Junction, a 312,000-square foot station that connects 10 of New Jersey’s 11 regional lines from Bergen and Passiac counties to a tunnel transfer to Manhattan’s Penn Station, Newark Liberty Airport, and along the northeast corridor. The project was three years in the making, and it’s considered one of the largest jobs in the Local’s recent history.

The project employed an average workforce of 25 electricians and 10 telecommunication technicians to install the wiring network for 11 elevators, 32 escalators, 465 addressable fire alarm points, 232 closed-circuit television cameras, 984 public-address speakers, and three 8-foot diameter clocks. In addition, the group installed 1,600 feet of continuous fluorescent lighting in architectural ceilings and wall covers, and 11,500 feet of linear recessed fluorescent lighting on the train platforms, mezzanine levels and main concourse level, and ran 500,000 feet of cable and fiber optic wiring for the station’s data, telephone, and CCTV work.

February 3, 2004

Emerson Motor Technologies finds a new home

Emerson Motor Technologies recently moved into a new facility in Southaven, Miss. The 150,000-sq ft Southaven Customer Service Center consists of a warehouse, modification center, and a local customer service center.

The company plans for multiple divisions to operate out of this single building. The first to make the move last month was Liebert.

February 2, 2004

SF 330 release date pushed back

Federal procurement agencies have pushed back the effective date of the new SF 330 form from Jan. 12, 2004 to June 8, 2004. The date change will allow time for the private and public sector to adjust, and for compliance software and other products to come to market. The SF 330 form will replace the SF 254 and 255 forms architects and engineers must complete and submit when bidding on public projects.

The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) which lobbied with the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services to delay the compliance date, plans to hold a teleseminar in the upcoming weeks to help applicable engineers complete the new form.

Some of the objectives of the SF 330 are to merge the current SF 254 and SF 255 into a single form, expand information about qualifications and experience, and reflect current architect-engineer disciplines.

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