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Latest Scoop
Contrary
Rulings Leave Questions in Arlington v. Bridgeport Patent
Dispute
The outcomes of two separate federal court actions last
month in a dispute between Arlington Industries Inc., Scranton, Pa.,
and
Bridgeport Fittings Inc., Stratford, Conn., over patent rights on a
snap-in conduit fitting didn’t clarify much, except that the conflict
will continue. The two lawsuits, brought by Arlington in 2001 and 2006,
concluded in the same federal court district in the same month, but
reached opposite results.
The complaints, both litigated in U.S. District Court for the Middle
District of Pennsylvania, allege that Bridgeport’s Whipper-Snap
connector infringes on patents held by Arlington for a snap-in fitting
that allows installers to connect the fitting to an electrical box with
one hand, without tools or lock nuts.
Emerson
Goes After Data Center Market with $1.2 Billion Purchase of
Avocent
Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis, will acquire network
equipment technology provider Avocent Corp., Huntsville, Ala., for
about
$1.2 billion in cash in a deal that will further Emerson’s ability to
deliver total infrastructure management solutions to its data center
customers around the world. Avocent provides hardware and software for
managing data centers. About half of its 2008 sales of $657 million
were
from outside the United States. The company focuses on IT operations
management solutions that reduce operating costs, simplify management
and increase the availability of critical IT environments 24/7 via
integrated, centralized software.
IDEA
Releases New Attribute Schema
Electrical distributors pushing to be on the forefront
of electronic commerce — or simply wishing to help their customers
make better choices when shopping through an online catalog or web
storefront — have been clamoring for years for their manufacturers to
provide more detailed data about their products.
Seemed like a simple-enough request, but collecting and organizing all
that data for the vast number of products sold through the electrical
channel makes it a huge undertaking.
Last month at its annual E-Biz Forum in Tucson, Ariz., IDEA, Arlington,
Va., introduced a key part of the solution — a new industry standard
for organizing all the attributes of the millions of products made and
sold through the electrical supply channel.
August
Construction Increases 0.8% Over July
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that construction
spending during August 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of $941.9 billion, 0.8 percent above the revised July
estimate of $934.6 billion. The August figure is 11.6 percent below the
August 2008 estimate of $1,066.1 billion. During the first eight months
of this year, construction spending amounted to $629.5 billion, 11.9
percent below the $714.3 billion for the same period in 2008.
People On The Move
Jeff
Riestenberg named national sales manager for Robroy conduit
The Conduit Division of Robroy Industries (Gilmer,
Texas): Jeff Riestenberg has been named national sales
manager. He will be responsible for planning, managing and directing
the
sales activity for Robroy’s PVC coated conduit product lines. Other
duties will include overseeing the activities of all sales rep
agencies,
technical marketing managers and quotations specialists in their
interaction with distributors and end-users.
On The Wire
Cape
Electrical Supply acquires Beck Electric
Cape Electrical Supply Co., Cape Girardeau, Mo., has
acquired Beck Electric Co., Kennett, Mo. The transaction was completed
on September 30, 2009. Bill Beck, who opened the business in 1999, will
remain involved with Cape Electrical Supply, along with his sons
Darryld
Beck, store manager, and Greg Beck in sales and customer service, plus
grandson Kris Beck handling sales and operational duties. Beck becomes
Cape Electrical Supply’s 21st location. The company operates
locations
in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Platinum
Equity to acquire Alcan Cable
Platinum Equity, Los Angeles, has signed a definitive
agreement to purchase controlling interest in the Atlanta-based Alcan
Cable division of Rio Tinto. Alcan Cable, a division of the Alcan
Engineered Products business, is a manufacturer of aluminum cable
products. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Siemens
adds to industrial automation unit with Rulestream
Siemens PLM Software, Plano, Texas, a business unit of
the Siemens Industry Automation Division that provides product
life-cycle management (PLM) software and services, announced the
purchase of the Rulestream software technology and brand assets.
Rulestream sells engineer-to-order (ETO) software applications for
streamlining the business processes associated with custom-built
products. Siemens PLM Software will offer the solution to its customers
under the Rulestream brand name and assume full responsibility for
ongoing software development and support.
Obituaries
Rego of
Encore Wire dies
Vincent A. Rego, chairman emeritus and co-founder of
Encore Wire Corp., McKinney, Texas, passed away on Oct. 7. He stepped
down in 2005 after suffering a stroke.
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