### VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS HANDOUTSack president of and chief executive officer of Advance Jack ri®dy is the TransformerCo., Rosemont, Ill., haslong 1^ been one of the industry's most vocal sell-

# appointed point advocates of energy conservation. He is spearheading an effort to launch a 

# man in
a 

# crus

# ade to generic public relations campaign backed by the National Electrical 

# raise awarene ss Manufacturers Association (NEMA) that would teach America's corporate executives the economic advantages of 

# among executives

energy-efficient electrical products. The

essence of Briody's "Re-electrify 

# nationwide about
America" pitch is that replacing old y, lighting systems, motors and other elec- 

# the benef its of trical equipment with state-of-the-art products on the market today can save 

# energy-efficient
American businesses as much as $1 per sq ft per year over an average product products By Douglas Chandler

, Managing Editor life cycle of 10 to 18 years. These newer systems can pay for themselves in an average of 2.5 years and return 40% of the investment to the bottom line. Widespread acceptance of this idea will bring a bevy of benefits, he says, incl udingim proved competitiveness for end users via lower operating costs; reduced consumption of fossil fuels andgeneration of pollutants from powergeneration; increased production of energyefficient products and creation ofproduction-related jobs; increased distributor sales revenues and profits; and increased project activity for electrical

contractors. Electrical Wholesaling caught up with Briody to discuss the state of the energy-efficient market today and the prospects for his initiative.

EW. You have said the market for energy-efficientelectricalproductshasnot lived up to its potential. On what were you basing your expectations, and to what extent has it fallen short?JB: The percent of market penetration, based on the known installed base of ballasts, lamps, motors, and relatedproducts, as well as the Bureau of Census reported sales, 5s estimated at less than 10% of the potential. There is less than a 20% upgrade rate for the estimated 6 billion sq ft of Green Lights Program floor space committed bycorporate America and is a further indicator of the low level of upgrade activity.

EM What would you estimate the potentialmarket for these products to be? JB: $80 billion to $100 billion for lighting; $100 billion to $150 billion for other electrical products.

EW: What impact do you expect a reduction of utility rebates for energy efficient products to have on the market? JB: The reduction of utility rebates will result in a lower level of retrofit and upgrade activity, as utility rebates havetraditionally covered 30% to 50% of upgrade investments and cut the project payback period by one-third to one-half.

Continued on p. 51

MAY 1996/ELECTRICAL WHOLESALING 3 3ENERGY UPDATE Cont. from p. 33 LW What is your appraisal of theway electrical distributors have marketed and sold these products? 1B: Electrical distributors have playedthe traditional role of supplying the products requested by the end user. The roleof educating end users to the high return on investment represented by the upgrade of electrical products has been provided by a limited number of ESCOs and engineering firms that reach the decision-makers in American business.

EW Are there things distributors could do to improve the penetration of these products?J6: Absolutely. Distributors could significantlypenetrate their customer base to deliver the value-added message ofenergy-efficient electrical product upgrade and energy cost reduction. A distributor, in my opinion, is the best qualified player in the market to provide the full ESCO package. He hasaccess to the products, to the manufacturers, to the contractor, and to the financial resources to make this work. A distributor has existing relations



# INTEGRAFLAME

HIGH TEMPERATURE ELECTRICAL CABLE CSA/UL 450°C NON UL 538°C

M 

### VIRTUALLY INVINCIBLE. In fire.threatening installations, in critical applications, In extreme temperature

operations...

Jntegraflame cable works where other cables fail . Withstands direct flame

up to 2400QF

APPLICATIONS INCLUDE: Overhead cranes, teeming ladles, cor>raniious casters, tundish cars slab melting furnaces, coke ovens, torpedo" rs slab cars, blast furnaces, electroNJ,magnets clay guns and ingot grab.

;Toss Canada & U.S A a is c514) 7;,73 677 with contractors, a warehouse to store products, an ongoing business with employees and support systems in place. He could use those resources to set up a separate, dedicated business for end users he already sells a lot of product to. He has to look at it as a separate,dedicated initiative to address this market. The people have to be trained differently and compensated differently because these are slower, long-term sales.

LW Have you called on Advance Transformer's distributors to change their approach to the market? And how have they responded?JB: Yes. Response has been disappointing at best. A limited number ofour distributors have initiated independent ESCO-type activities, however, with impressive results.

LW What do you mean by "ESCOtype activities," and what do ESCOs do differently? 13: When we talk about ESCOs, they're not selling lamps and ballasts.They're selling a financial productthey're selling ahigh-return investment in energy saving products and systems. Only when the customer is sold on the

ti

• 

## Safer, smaller, better! • All the safety benefits, 

## no corrosion, no extra cost! The New Standard In Safety, King Safety Sealed " Connectors

am



### • Added Safety with no more call-ba • No more flashover to 20,000 volts. • National advertising will have contractors coming back. • A greater margin of safety & profits.

King Safety Products • 3801 Lloyd King Drive • St. Charles, MO 63304 Toll-Free: 800-633-0232 • Phone: 314-519-5400 • Fax: 314-519-5410

CIRCLE 34 ON READER SERVICE CARD I CIRCLE 35 ON READER SERVICE CARD

MAY 1996/ELECTRICAL WHOLESALING 51 

### VAILABLE FROM STOCK
Call toll free 

# 300) 363.5492 investment does the ESCO order product, hire a contractor and arrange for financing, if the customer wants it.

EW.. Why have electrical distributors not taken advantage of this market? 16: They're not hungry. This is a pretty successful industry. Maybe the profits aren't as high and the margins aren't as they might be, but they make a good living. So the question becomes, 'How do you get satisfiedpeople to take risks?'You must appeal to the second generation, or to companies in need of growth. Maybe there's a guy who wantsto own his own electrical distributorship some day and will look at this as a vehicle to demonstrate his ability.

E1N: You 've said part of the problem lies in not having people who can respond intelligently to interest from a CFO and explain the energy-efficiency story in financial terms. Will a generic "Re-electrify America" message solve the problem, or expose it to public view? JB: A generic "Re-electrify America"
message to American industry will significantly increase demand for ESCOtype services and, in turn, the number of distributors and contractors required to satisfythe new demand level. q 

# ED SAFETY SELLS!