Issue: November 2009
By: Frank Bisbee

BISBEE’S BUZZ

Chemical Reaction

by Frank Bisbee

The dangers a fire can put in the air

US building codes have emphasized flame spread and smoke generation. On the surface, this seems to adequately address fire safety. However, in the European Union (EU), codes also address toxic gases that can kill and incapacitate building occupants before they can safely exit a burning structure.

Today’s workplace is a canned environment. Most new high-rise buildings, especially those more than five stories, have sealed windows, part of a sophisticated air quality system intended to make occupants more comfortable and productive. If there is a fire, the smoke detectors should activate the air system dampers to keep the smoke from spreading. But, what about the deadly gases that are, most often, clear and odorless? Those threats are not recognized or controlled by smoke detectors and dampers.

In a typical office building, there are carpets, desks, furniture, paper and a host of modern plastic materials that are flammable and could generate toxic gases. However since they all lie below the drop ceiling, the office sprinkler system would douse flames before dangerous heat levels are reached. Above the drop ceiling, there is a return air plenum space. The ducted cool or heated air is vented into the space below, and the return-air flows back through the open area above the ceiling. All building materials used in the return-air plenum space are supposed to be labeled limited combustible, except communications cabling, which is plenum rated (CMP).

In case of fire …

During a fire, occupants of the structure should try to exit immediately. However, they may be blinded and choking from either heavy smoke or acids from invisible gases. Typically, fire injuries and death occur as a result of a two-stage process. The first stage is incapacitation, which results from exposure to fire effluent, consisting of smoke and a range of toxic products. This is followed by the second stage of death resulting from continued exposure to heat and toxic gases, with carbon monoxide particularly being an ultimate cause of death.

For many years, U.S. experts have acknowledged the importance of reduced flame spread and low smoke generation. The cables located in the plenum space (usually above the ceiling) are potential concealed highways for a fire to spread. Reduced flame spread is an important part of the safety formula. The low smoke generation property of the cable is designed to inhibit the obscuration factor associated with thick smoke. We need to see the exit signs and the pathways to safety. Smoke also has a choking effect when inhaled, which is one more reason to limit the smoke. Both flame spread and smoke are part of the testing criteria (UL910/NFPA 262 for CMP) for communications cables for use in return air plenum space.

Since 1975, the communications industry has installed nearly 9 million miles of communications cable in the workplace. Most of the cable is CMP, which has never been tested by code-making organizations for toxicity in a fire. But, communications consumers aren’t likely to pull out 9 million miles of toxic cables from air systems in the workplace.

So what is the safest alternative? Toxic gas sensors can be added to the same system used for smoke detectors. Several manufacturers of gas sensors identify carbon monoxide and chlorine gases. In addition, a few sensors will identify toxic gases generated by fluorine materials.

Several of the world’s leading sensor manufacturers are exploring products that will identify hydrogen fluoride (HF) gases. HF is perhaps the most reactive material known to man. It can change to hydrofluoric acid on contact with moisture (even humidity) and can even eat glass. Imagine what it would do to the eyes, nose and throat of a building occupant trying to escape a fire.

Honeywell Analytics, Lincolnshire, Ill., manufactures a few products that can identify HF. Monitors, such as the company’s Vertex and CM4 models, have a central monitoring instrument that accepts inputs from a number of sensors that can be mounted on ducts. Honeywell also has single-point monitors, such as the Apex and Midas, for $1,500 or less. One of these devices mounted alongside the air return port of the HVAC air handler could cover the area of a typical office and might be just as effective as the multipoint system.

Sierra Monitor Corp., Milpitas, Calif, also makes gas sensor modules that provide continuous trouble-free monitoring of hazardous gas conditions to protect personnel and facility. The modules condition the sensor signal and provide an industry standard 4 to 20 mA output that can interface with single or multichannel controllers and distributed control systems.

Honeywell Analytics said the company would be happy to work with designers or installers on identifying the optimum solution for a given application. This is an exciting opportunity that can significantly enhance life safety and also provide a wide-open opportunity for forward-looking contractors.

Reprinted with permission from Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com

….

BIG PROBLEM

We were told that in the past, both domestic and foreign manufactured CMP & CMR cable have been retested and failed, neither the public nor the distributors were notified by the testing service.

We asked both the major testing services and numerous cable manufacturers for specifics on past failures on retesting and what actions were taken. No one would comment except to say “no comment”.

Universal policy seems to be “DON’T ASK. DON’T CARE.”

None of the distributors we polled had ever been notified of retest failures on CMP or CMR cables.

And as a final point, In the USA under the NEC, NONE of the cables are tested for HAZMAT or TOXIC GASSES (generated by heat).

We feel that the testing services should make the information available to the public if they find any cables in distribution that fail when retested.

But that’s just my opinion,

Frank Bisbee
"Heard On The Street" Monthly Column
www.wireville.com
4949 Sunbeam Rd, Suite 16
Jacksonville, FL 32257
(904) 645-9077 office
(904) 645-9058 fax
(904) 237-0365 cell
frank@wireville.com

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Megladon® Announces Node Tails with HLC® SCRATCHGUARD™ Terminations Are Sold Exclusively Through Draka Communications

Austin, Texas, October 27, 2009 – Megladon Manufacturing Group announced an exclusive agreement with Draka Communications to private label BendBrightXS node tails with HLC SCRATCHGUARD terminations. Integrating the HLC connector mating surface with Draka’s bend insensitive glass has provided the fiber optic market with a superior product that minimizes insertion loss, optical return loss and bend loss.

With the growing video on demand and streaming video content on the web, a need arises for high quality fiber optic products capable of withstanding this trend. Industry leaders and providers are having to transition into a more competent network infrastructure to conform to the now industry standard of high performance fiber optic networks.

Megladon’s SM APC HLC SCRATCHGUARD fiber optic terminations are ideally equipped for network installers that are utilizing high speed video networks. The HLC technology provides mating surface durability and low loss; paired with an Angle Polish Connector we now have a product that significantly reduces reflection, cutting down on interruptions in any given network.

“Since partnering with Megladon to offer scratch-resistant HLC technology in our CATV node cables last year, Draka has secured several key CATV accounts including several top MSO’s.  The technological superiority of this optical endface coupled with BendBright-XS bend insensitive fiber has generated significant inquiries about Draka’s advanced node cable assemblies for today's rigorous communications environments”, said Greg Williams, Marketing Director, Draka Public Networks.

“We are excited about our relationship with Draka Communications. They have used existing customer relationships to promote the HLC technology and secured corporate approval of the node tail product with major MSOs. In response to their focused effort, Megladon has agreed to exclusively terminate HLC node tails for Draka to market,” said John Culbert, President of Megladon.

For more information, please contact Draka’s National Sales Manager - CATV, Jack Graves at jack.graves@ draka.com or download a node cable spec sheet at www.drakaamericas.com/catv_connectorized_cable.cfm.

About Megladon® Manufacturing Group Ltd.

Megladon® Manufacturing Group Ltd., a subsidiary of TyRex Group Ltd.®, is recognized as a leader in the fiber optic marketplace. Founded in 1997, Megladon made it their mission to provide customers with fiber optic products that far exceed industry standards. As technology innovators, Megladon created the HLC® (Hardened Lens Contact) termination, which has changed the market and taken it to the next level. For additional information on Megladon and their patented processes please visit the company’s website at www.megladonmfg.com.

For additional information regarding Megladon’s variety of fiber optic products please contact John Culbert at 512.615.4687 or by email at scratchguard@megladonmfg.com.

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Siemon’s Headquarters Goes Zero Landfill as Part of Its “Greener Cabling” Effort

October, 2009 Watertown, CT, USA – Siemon, a worldwide leader in IT network infrastructure, today announced that its global headquarters and United States manufacturing facility is a zero-landfill operation.  According to an extensive ISO-14001 driven internal audit, over 99% of the waste material at Siemon’s Watertown, CT campus is recycled, reused or repurposed in an environmentally sustainable manner. Siemon is the first and only network cabling manufacturer to achieve this notable green milestone and the first manufacturing company in the State of Connecticut to reach this level of recycling.

As part of extensive efficiency and environmental management programs, Siemon maintains a 95% recycling rate on all waste material, including manufacturing by-products and office scrap.  These ongoing recycling efforts ensured that over 900 tons of waste materials were reused in 2008 alone.  All remaining non-recyclable items are transported to a local waste-to-energy plant, where they are incinerated under carefully controlled conditions to produce electricity.  A small amount of ash, the by-product of the waste-to-energy process, is all that reaches a landfill.

This program combines extended recycling capabilities with strong employee support. Clearly marked recycling stations are located throughout the facility to help separate waste material into proper containers - even compost bins are provided to ensure that food scraps do not end up in the trash.

According to Paul Knickerbocker, Siemon’s Plant Engineering and Facilities Manager, achieving the zero-landfill benchmark was not a function of a single effort, but years of full-scale efficiency and waste management initiatives. “Since 2006, and perhaps even earlier, 97% to 98% of our waste was being repurposed,” explained Knickerbocker.  “To get beyond 99%, we looked hard at our garbage and found that with the right recycling programs, we could divert even more from the garbage waste stream.”

Carl Siemon, the company’s President and CEO, was quick to point out the employees’ role in the zero-landfill achievement. “This is a team effort all the way,” he explained.  “To make it work, everyone at Siemon has truly stepped up their recycling efforts.  While that has paid great dividends here, we also hope it encourages more recycling at home and beyond.”

While zero-landfill status is viewed as a progressive and far-reaching environmental achievement, Knickerbocker cautioned that it is only one element of a comprehensive green effort, joining Siemon’s implementation of a renewable solar energy program, forestland conservation efforts and more.    “When you have made environmental stewardship a matter of corporate culture for as long as we have, it is hard to look at any one benchmark and say ‘we’ve made it.’ We’re proud to be zero-landfill, but we can’t lose sight of Siemon’s other, equally-important green initiatives.” 

For more information on Siemon’s environmental initiatives, visit www.siemon.com/green.

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specializing in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global offices, manufacturing and service partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) category 5e, category 6 (Class E), category 6A (Class EA) and category 7/7A (Class F/FA), and multimode and singlemode optical fiber cabling systems available. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, from patch cords to patch panels, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company's long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

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Intelligent Industrial Campuses: Platforms for Global Commerce - CABA

By James Carlini

Over 20 years ago, intelligent buildings were talked about as a new concept to add technology to a building to make it more effective and efficient in the areas of communications, information technologies and building automation.

Many in real estate have yet to understand this paradigm shift to intelligent amenities that include broadband connectivity, diverse power sources and other communications-based applications in single commercial properties, let alone newer campuses of synergistic businesses and functional operations, where intelligent buildings have now been clustered instead of built in a stand-alone environment.

Some of these concepts were ahead of their time, by the virtue of price, performance and acceptance.  Today, those who understand the demands of today’s tenants, and who must succeed in competitive global markets, use these concepts in building clusters on business campuses and parks.

Economic development equals broadband connectivity

Ten years ago, site selection teams did not have “broadband connectivity” in their “top 10 list” for choosing a location.  In the last couple of years, it has risen to being one of the top three.  Hence, the importance of “location, location, location” has evolved to “location, location, connectivity”.  Areas that do not have adequate access to broadband connectivity are starting to feel the loss of interest by organizations that are locating or re-locating their facilities to regions that can provide a better infrastructure. 

Further, more municipalities and regions are also trying to become established centers for economic development, global trade and job growth.  To facilitate this phenomenon, municipalities around the world have been promoting the idea of the intelligent building campus.

The concept of the intelligent business campus has come of age as industry seek out high-performance real estate platforms to launch and maintain state-of-the-art facilities that support their core businesses.  In this case, high performance means high profitability through high occupancy, a defined theme, and utilization of redundant power grids and diversified broadband connectivity as well as high security for the entire development.

This approach confirms my observation that economic development equals broadband connectivity, and that broadband connectivity equals jobs.

A great example of an intelligent industrial campus is the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago, IL.  DuPage is an 800-acre development that is focused on attracting corporate tenants that require intelligent amenities such as redundant power supplies as well as multiple-gigabit connectivity provided by several network carriers.

Corporate executives, corporate site selection committees, real estate executives as well as municipal leaders see value in the campus.  Municipalities see the benefits of highly connected industrial facilities and are reaping the economic benefits that others are losing as companies locate to such locations that can provide broadband connectivity.  Those cities and regions that don’t attract such facilities are suffering job erosion and losing regional sustainability.

This is also a concept that is beginning to appear globally.  Examples are emerging in China (Sunward Park), Taiwan (Far Glory Park), and Hong Kong (Cyberport).  These cities have applied next-generation technology to their respective industrial parks to generate enhanced economic development in their regions.

One of the key ingredients is broadband connectivity and the ability to add this amenity upfront along with power requirements as part of the overall master planning of a campus environment.  Broadband connectivity should be multiple-gigabit per second or above in an intelligent business campus.

The bottom line is that broadband connectivity is becoming a major differentiating amenity for sophisticated business tenants choosing one location over the other.  Property managers cannot escape from this fact.

Besides specific amenities, the concept of fast-track build-out capability facilitated by a streamlined development process from the municipalities and the master developer working together is important.  “One-stop shopping” morphing into “one-stop support” after corporate tenants move in is a concept that has traction with corporate site selection in the United States. 

Best practices are a moving target

All the hype of building and managing various types of real estate structures using “best practices” can be discounted by simply understanding that best practices are a moving target, especially when it comes to network and power infrastructures.  What was state-of-the-art one year ago could be completely obsolete today. 

The question becomes how do you “future-proof” your real estate holdings whether you are a commercial real estate company or a multinational corporation with various real estate holdings around the world?

The answer is by understanding global commerce as a platform that can leverage emerging intelligent industrial campus infrastructure.

James Carlini is President of Carlini & Associates.  Carlini can be contacted at 773.370.1888 or james.carlini@sbcglobal.net.

Reprinted with Permisssion from CABA- Continental Automated Buildings Association www.caba.org

The Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) is a not-for-profit industry association dedicated to the advancement of intelligent home and intelligent building technologies in North America.

The organization is supported by an international membership of nearly 400 companies involved in the design, manufacture, installation and retailing of products relating to home automation and building automation. Public organizations, including utilities and government are also members.

CABA's mandate includes providing its members with networking and market research opportunities. CABA also encourages the development of industry standards and protocols, and leads cross-industry initiatives.

The organization was originally founded in 1988 as the Canadian Automated Buildings Association. The founding members included Bell Canada, Bell-Northern Research, Ontario Hydro, Hydro-Québec, Consumers Gas, Canadian Home Builders’ Association, the Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association of Canada, Industry Canada, Minto Developments Inc. and the National Research Council of Canada.

In 2006, CABA integrated the Internet Home Alliance, an association of technology companies committed to research and development within the intelligent home sector.  The working group now exists as CABA's Connected Home Research Council.

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2009 NECA Industry Partner Award Given to NAED

NAED - National Association of Electrical Distributors received the 2009 National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Industry Partner Award during NECA's 2009 Convention and Trade Show in Seattle. Graybar Chairman, President and CEO Bob Reynolds accepted the award on behalf of NAED. www.naed.org  www.necanet.org

The NECA Industry Partner Award was established in 1996 and has been presented annually to recognize individuals or organizations associated with the electrical construction industry whose decisions, actions, or cooperation with NECA contribute to the industry's success. NAED and NECA have worked together for more than a century to the mutual benefit of our respective members.

This past year, NECA and NAED entered into our most ambitious joint venture to date, the Anti-Counterfeit Products Initiative (www.counterfeitscankill.com). The purpose of the initiative is to bring the serious consequences of counterfeiting to the attention of everyone involved in the electrical industry.

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ANIXTER net income of $22.1 million declined by 63 percent as compared to $59.7 million of net income in the year ago quarter

Anixter Third Quarter – Continued declining results

Sales of $1.27 billion decreased 20 percent compared to sales of $1.59 billion in the year ago quarter.

Third quarter operating income of $58.4 million declined 51 percent compared to $117.9 million reported in the year ago quarter.

As a result of the decline in operating profits, third quarter operating margins were 4.6 percent compared to 7.4 percent in the year ago quarter.

Net income of $22.1 million declined by 63 percent as compared to $59.7 million of net income reported in the year ago quarter.

Third Quarter Sales Trends

Commenting on third quarter sales trends, Robert Eck, President and CEO, stated "Our third quarter sales patterns were largely a continuation of flat daily sales patterns experienced over much of the first half of this year. Sequentially, the current quarter benefited from the fewer number of holidays as compared to the second quarter. At the same time, some of the normal seasonal effects (vacations, factory shutdowns) had less of an impact than our historical experience. As we expected, year-on-year sales comparisons continue to be negatively impacted by the broader economic slowdown combined with the year-on-year strengthening of the U.S. dollar and the decline in the spot market price of copper that occurred in late 2008. Although, in the case of the latter two items, the impact in the third quarter was less significant than the previous quarter as the U. S. dollar weakened and copper strengthened on a consecutive quarter basis."

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CABA Newsbrief Is Just One of The Reasons CABA Is One of The HOTTEST Groups To Join

For more than twenty years, The Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) has been a not-for-profit industry association dedicated to the advancement of intelligent home and intelligent building technologies in North America.

The organization is supported by an international membership of nearly 400 companies involved in the design, manufacture, installation and retailing of products relating to home automation and building automation. Public organizations, including utilities and government are also members.

CABA's mandate includes providing its members with networking and market research opportunities. CABA also encourages the development of industry standards and protocols, and leads cross-industry initiatives.

The organization was originally founded in 1988 as the Canadian Automated Buildings Association. The founding members included Bell Canada, Bell-Northern Research, Ontario Hydro, Hydro-Québec, Consumers Gas, Canadian Home Builders’ Association, the Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association of Canada, Industry Canada, Minto Developments Inc. and the National Research Council of Canada.

In 2006, CABA integrated the Internet Home Alliance, an association of technology companies committed to research and development within the intelligent home sector.  The working group now exists as CABA's Connected Home Research Council.

www.caba.org

Verizon, Motorola unveil the Droid
Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to get their hands on the much anticipated Google Android phone called the Droid. The companies officially unveiled the device at an event here. Like most smartphones of its class, the phone will cost $199 with a two-year contract. And it will be available to consumers starting November 6. Customers can pre-order the device now. CNet (10/28)

First LEED log home certified in U.S.
The first LEED Platinum log home in the U.S. was designed by Eric Hughes of Image Design LLC, and built by Hybrid Homes LLC out of Muskegon, Michigan. The house is located in Pentwater, Michigan and features the extensive use of re-used, recycled materials and efficient technology. Jetson Green (10/26)

Electronics survey highlights 30-somethings
A recent survey revealed that customized-electronics dealers used to working with men in their 40s will need to adjust to cater to younger clients. According to the survey, men in their 30s place less emphasis on HD and audio products, while 70% want online media via their TVs. CEPro.com (10/27)

 New report outlines home automation trends in Asia
According to In-Stat the Asia/Pacific home automation services market is expected to grow quickly in 2008 and 2009; however, the market development within the region is uneven. Japan and South Korea are expected to continue to take the leading positions in the region in terms of the technology. China, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore are potential markets with the need for more customer education. Live-PR (10/14)

Ericsson, Samsung make LTE connection
The flood of pro-long term evolution (LTE) in mobile communication announcements continued late last week with news that Ericsson AB and Samsung Corp. have "successfully achieved interoperability between the world's first commercial LTE device from Samsung and the live network from Ericsson in Stockholm, Sweden." Light Reading's Unstrung (10/23)

uControl and SMC Networks partner on home security, monitoring, automation
uControl, a leading provider of next-generation home security and automation solutions, and SMC Networks, a specialist in providing high-quality, reliable customer premise equipment to service providers, announced an industry-changing partnership that will result in accelerated innovation and manufacturing efficiencies within the security, energy management and automation space. PRWeb (10/28)

New material could dramatically boost computer data storage, save energy
North Carolina State University engineers have created a new material that would allow a fingernail-size computer chip to store the equivalent of 20 high-definition DVDs or 250 million pages of text, far exceeding the storage capacities of today's computer memory systems. ScienceDaily (10/20)

HAI adds touchscreen control/energy management to DSC panels
Home Automation, Inc. (HAI), a leading manufacturer of integrated security and home automation products has announced the improved integration between HAI's Lumina central lighting and home automation product line and Tyco's DSC PowerSeries security panels, allowing touchscreen control and energy management. HomeToys.com (10/27)

Intruder alarm transmission systems poised for growth in U.K.
Estimates supported by the British Security Industry Association suggest that the annual cost of crime to UK businesses - not including crime at domestic premises - has now topped £19 billion As a consequence, new kinds of 'cost-competitive' dual-path security alarm transmission systems are opening up new opportunities for installers upgrading from audible-only. SourceSecurity.com (10/28)

Analyst predicts as many as 46 million 3-D TVs in homes by 2013
By 2013, there could be as many as 46 million homes worldwide with 3-D-capable TV sets, according to GigaOM Pro analyst Alfred Poor, who added that the rate of uptake would be greatly affected by cost considerations. Sony and Panasonic, both of whom have said they will launch 3-D HDTVs next year, are likely to lead the way. Yahoo!/The Associated Press (10/26)

Vizio expects flat-panel growth
Vizio Inc., a supplier of low-cost flat-panel-display TVs in the U.S., expects shipments of its liquid-crystal display televisions to rise more than 70% to more than six million units this year as prices are set to fall at least 30%. Wall Street Journal (10/27)

 In-Stat: Renters willing to pay more for remote access, home automation
In-Stat expects the number of households paying a remote access fee to control or monitor their automation or security system in North America will rise by a 24% CAGR from 2007 through 2011, while fee-based remote access service revenue will rise similarly. Live-PR (10/14)

A "to-drool-for" home theater
For newly minted lottery winners with an appreciation for home theaters, check out this report. It details the creation of a to-drool-for, nautically inspired, 5,600-square-foot home-theater setup that's tucked into a home in New York's Adirondack Mountains. HomeEntertainmentOnline.com (10/23)

 NIST accepts CableLabs specs for smart grid of the future
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has accepted the initial specifications for the cable industry's participation of the Smart Grid of the future. Among the specs that were accepted are CableLabs' PacketCable guidelines for home automation, home security and energy management, according to a draft report from the NIST. CEDMagazine.com (10/23)

Best Buy offers Blu-ray player that streams Netflix, too
Best Buy in-house brand Insignia has introduced the NS-BRDVD3, a Blu-ray player with a twist: With a firmware update, it is capable of streaming Netflix content. Best Buy currently is offering the player for $99, which puts it in direct competition with the Roku media player. CEPro.com (10/26)

Solar community on track to dramatically reduce energy costs
Initial testing of the effectiveness of Alberta's innovative solar community, a 52-home neighbourhood in the Okotoks is meeting all expectations. Though only two years old, the extensive engineering to create the solar-powered neighbourhood is already on track to use the sun to produce 90 per cent of its heating requirements by year five, according to tests by Natural Resources Canada. Ottawa Citizen (10/24)

 fifthplay selects Linux for home automation gateway
Wind River recently announced that Belgium-based fifthplay, a subsidiary of the Niko Group, has selected Wind River Linux to enable its new home automation gateway. The FG4000 Gateway platform allows sensors, lights, cameras and a wide range of home automation equipment to be seamlessly linked to and controlled by mobile phones or via a Web interface. Hiddenwires (10/26)

Wal-Mart offering home theater installation
In an attempt to position themselves as an alternative to Best Buy’s Geek Squad, Wal-Mart is stepping up its consumer electronics offering by providing installation services. For a cost of anywhere from $99 to $339, customers can have their new television, computer, network or home theater set up by Wal-Mart’s team. The service includes a pre-purchase consultation and a tutorial on how to use the newly purchased equipment once it is set up. High-Def Digest (10/27)

Microsoft: Built-in Blu-ray not in Xbox 360's future
Microsoft has no plans to redesign its Xbox 360 video game console to include a Blu-ray player, according to a company spokesman. The software giant, which supported Toshiba's HD DVD platform in the high-definition format battle with Blu-ray, has been bulking up the VOD capabilities of its console through the Xbox Live service. Digital Trends (10/23)

 Sony PS3 users get Netflix access at no extra charge
Looking for a competitive edge against Microsoft and its Xbox 360 console, Sony has announced a deal in which owners of its PlayStation 3 system will get access to Netflix's library of TV shows and movies for instant streaming. The key difference with the Xbox 360, which offers Netflix access for $50 a year, is that Sony will provide the Netflix gateway at no extra cost to Netflix service subscribers. Reuters (10/26)

Toshiba first major CE maker to launch methanol cell charger
Toshiba ended years of research and development in finally introducing a charger in Japan based on technology called direct methanol fuel cell, or DMFC, which can power up batteries in cell phones and digital cameras via USB connections, the company said. Toshiba, which issued no plans to sell the charger -- named the Dynario -- overseas, will limit sales to 3,000 units at $328 apiece. PC World/IDG News Service (10/22)

 3-D TV is getting closer, but business model remains elusive
While the technologies needed for 3-D TV production are ramping up -- and their cost is coming down -- a business model that is profitable for providers and fair to subscribers does not appear to have emerged yet. At a panel discussion, Steve Necessary, the vice president of video product for Cox Communications, said he was not fond of creating a dedicated 3-D channel that would be paid for by subscriber fees, adding, however, that "if enough consumer interest is generated, then, of course, we are interested." Broadcasting & Cable (10/21)

 Video: Windows 7 hits stores
Microsoft last week officially released Windows 7, the much-hyped, highly anticipated successor to the company's Vista operating system. With the sluggish, buggy Vista usurped, analysts expect computer users in large numbers to switch their operating systems for the first time in nearly a decade. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (10/22)

www.caba.org

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Commscope 3Q Earnings Drop and Revenue Plunged to $750.4 Million from $1.06 Billion A Year Ago

CommScope reports third-quarter net income of $45.8 million,  down from $84.7 million, in the same period last year. Excluding special items, the Hickory-based cable manufacturer earned $63.3 million, or 61 cents per diluted share, in the latest quarter.

Revenue plunged to $750.4 million from $1.06 billion a year ago.

Chief Executive Frank Drendel said. “During this tough economic period, we have reduced working capital and lowered costs while continuing to fund key research and development projects.”

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Distributor Sees Recovery Under Way = CSC

Success comes to those who wait, as long as they work their tails off while they wait

WESCO at Nine Months: Sales Down last quarter. Improvements are underway thanks in part to outstanding customer service and competitive prices.

Through nine months of calendar 2009, WESCO’s sales were down a bit more than 25% from year-earlier results. In Q3, “WESCO faced weak overall end-market demand and highly competitive conditions,” said John Engel, CEO.

Sales included a 1.4% “negative impact from foreign exchange rates and .5% for one less workday.”

Q3 sales were $1.15 billion, down 29.2%. Gross margin in Q3 was 19.2%, down from 19.4% in last year’s same quarter. Gross margins over the nine-month period: 2009 19.6%, 2008 19.7%.

See WESCO’s Q3 release here and the transcript of its conference call with analysts here.

Among items TedMag learned from reading the transcript:

“Backlog, which consists of firm construction orders for future delivery, ended the quarter down 8% from year-end and 1% from the second quarter.” (Richard Heyse, vice president/CFO)

In calendar 2009, WESCO will have “$140 million of operating expense reduction in 2009. Approximately $70 million…is related to lower headcount, branch closures and other permanent actions. Approximately $45 million are related to incentives and freight costs that vary with business activity.” (Heyse)

“Our data communications geographic expansion program utilizing existing WESCO facilities has resulted in the opening of nine communications supply locations since this program started in 2008. We are planning on significant further expansion of this program in 2010. This branch within a branch expansion strategy increases cross-selling and service opportunities into our blue chip customer base.” (Steve Van Oss, senior vice president/COO)

Pricing: “…to characterize the pricing environment…it is very competitive. We’re seeing a similar dynamic in the third quarter as we saw in the second. That is, there are many more—I’ll call it contractors bidding for new projects. And those projects that are underway really increased pressure to look at price reduction and/or additional re-bids.

“So if you step back and take a look at it, a lot of capacity came out of the industrial market, the destocking [that’s] been occurring it’s not quite finished on the construction side.…[A] large number of competitors are still in the market competing for a smaller number of opportunities. And the pricing dynamic, I’d say in the third quarter is very much similar in the second, which is highly competitive.” (Engel)

Acquisitions: “…they’ve been an integral part of our growth and value creation strategy, having done over 30 since 1994 when we spun out of Westinghouse. We see ourselves as a good acquirer. We have a pretty stringent process in terms of how we identify acquisitions. We have a very healthy pipeline.

“Look at the capital structure transactions we did this year. It would position us to continue to be positioned to take advantage of outstanding acquisition opportunities. And as we mentioned, we think the challenging market conditions and this expected duration of the downturn is going to give us opportunities to continue to do acquisitions that are very powerful additions to our portfolio and our accretive.

“So the takeaway should be we’re well positioned to do it and it’s a matter of right deal, right time, right place. We have a rigorous process.” (Engel)

WESCO/CSC continues to lead the electrical and communications distributor sector in the recovery, as they introduce high value technology in packages that drive bigger benefits for the contractor and their customers.

Many electrical contractors are adding communications and security offerings to their quiver of capabilities.

SECURITY IS HOT

Security is hot as many municipalities, colleges, hospitals, and retailers are adding enhanced surveillance systems to protect their “communities”. Choosing the proper server has always been a challenge in the security system. Communications Supply Corporation  - CSC has introduced a new program that allows the buyer to properly “size my server” using their innovative and unique Faster Than Light™ Server and Storage Solutions.

CSC will actually “show” customers their server and storage solution is 100% optimized before they buy it.

In September 2009, Communications Supply Corporation (CSC), a subsidiary of WESCO International, Inc., announced the availability of its all-new exclusive line of Faster Than Light (FTL) Server and Storage Solutions.

Frank Bisbee, editor of the monthly e-zine “HOTS - Heard On The Street” commented, “We think this revolutionary server and storage technology will literally change the way security professionals and integrators design and build IP security systems. No need to fear failure with this kind of resource. VERY IMPRESSIVE.”

The FTL Server and Storage Solutions are fully customized and optimized for a customer’s unique environment using CSC’s IP Optimization Portal™ (www.cscoptimizationportal.com). This incredible and exclusive configuration and optimization portal leverages complex algorithms that analyze software and hardware configurations, camera system load, storage requirements, system resources, and other technology to determine if an FTL Server and Storage solution has been fully optimized.

The portal then uses CSC’s exclusive Surveillance Performance Index™ (SPI)* to calculate the server and storage optimization level based on its current configuration. SPI is the only true performance index that assesses and analyzes the entire chain of surveillance technology to ensure a surveillance system is 100% optimized before the customer buys it.

CSC’s IP Optimization Portal also “future proofs” the FTL Server and Storage Solution by showing the customer the current camera system load, remaining storage, and system resources that are available as additional surveillance equipment is added over time.

“Many contractors have been frustrated for years with the deployment process and fluctuating performance levels of IP video surveillance solutions, added Frank Bisbee. “ Now we can get answers easily and quickly. CSC is solving the surveillance performance problem by fundamentally changing the way security professionals and integrators configure the entire chain of technology in a surveillance system.”

The Faster Than Light (FTL) Server and Storage Solutions combine the reliability of Dell™ hardware with optimized computing technology from Iomnis. These fully customized sever and storage solutions are available exclusively through CSC and are specifically optimized for video surveillance recording and monitoring. All hardware and software has been configured to maximize performance by using a complex “pixel seconds per frame” methodology and storage solutions range from 3TB to 334TB for a single system. The FTL Server and Storage Solutions have been customized for use with solutions from Milestone, OnSSI, IPConfigure, Strand USA, Aralia Systems, and other leading security technology companies.

Another big benefit is a rock-solid warranty. Every FTL Server and Storage Solution comes with a 3 year Manufacturer Warranty and next business day on-site hardware replacement services. Bundled FTL Server and Storage Solutions are also available and can include Video Management Software, cameras, switches, patch cords, cabinets, monitors, keyboards, UPS, and more.

About Communications Supply Corporation (CSC)

Communications Supply Corporation (CSC), a subsidiary of WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC) distributes a full range of IP infrastructure products and solutions. Together, CSC and WESCO form the largest electrical and data communications network in North America, with 400 full service branches, a full-suite of global distribution capabilities and annual sales of over $6 billion. With vast resources at their fingertips, the CSC sales team does more than just provide product. Their nation-wide team has been intensively training to help each customer and contractor add successful security solutions to their quiver of capabilities. www.gocsc.com.

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Dupont Predicts A Continued “Losing Streak” for About Two-And-A-Half to Three Years

DuPont says it does not expect to match last year's profit levels until at least 2012, according to a filing with U.S. regulators on October 7, 2009.

Executive Vice President Mark P. Vergnano told investors on Tuesday that he doesn't expect the company to return to 2008 profit levels for about two-and-a-half to three years.

DuPont is the largest supplier of Teflon® FEP in the world. FEP is used (in the USA) in CMP rated plenum cable insulation. The use of this cable material is not permitted in the EU regulations because of toxic hazards.

http://www.wireville.com/news/Datacom%20Cabling%20Safety%202004.pdf

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Graybar and Rockwell Automation Receive Richard Buzun Award from IDEA

IDEA presented Graybar and Rockwell Automation with the third annual Richard Buzun Award for Leadership and Innovation in eCommerce during the IDEA E-Biz Forum 2009 in Tucson, Arizona. The award recognizes one manufacturer and one distributor company for developing and executing successful eCommerce programs in the electrical industry.

The distributor award winner, Graybar, was recognized for using eCommerce to improve the customer's user experience. Rockwell Automation, the manufacturer winner, was acknowledged for their work on data quality programs and valuing all of their data as intellectual property.

The award is named after the late Richard Buzun, former IDEA Chairman, and former president and CEO of Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.

www.naed.org

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General Cable Fiscal 3Q Crashed 68 Percent

General Cable posts 68 percent drop in fiscal third-quarter profit

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) -- General Cable Corp. said its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 68 percent as the recession slashed demand for its fiber optic and metal cable products.

General Cable also issued fourth-quarter guidance well below Wall Street expectations and shares plunged.

For the three months ended Oct. 2, net income fell to $16.4 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $50.5 million, 94 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. General Cable Corp. issued initial fourth-quarter guidance that reflects weak demand for its fiber optic and metal cable products.

Sales crashed to $1.08 billion from $1.63 billion.

"The company is facing a demand environment in North America which is much worse than the last recession earlier this decade, while demand in Iberia is off nearly 50 percent," said CEO Gregory B. Kenny. He also said he expects U.S. nonresidential construction to keep declining.

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IPC To Tackle New China Rohs Laws

Unfortunately, US laws do NOT require RoHS for cabling. US law and code makers continue to ignore testing results for Toxic and Hazardous Materials used in some domestically produced communications cable. The chemical cartel has deep pockets and a powerful lobby against the clean-up. http://www.wireville.com/news/Datacom%20Cabling%20Safety%202004.pdf

October 28, 2009 -- On November 10 in Irvine, CA, IPC will host a conference titled “It’s Not Easy Being Green: Complying with Global Environmental Regulation,” a detailed discussion of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT’s) initial list, or Catalogue, of products subject to lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) restrictions. The new restrictions, released on October 9,  will be discussed along with the criteria for future products to be added to the catalogue.

Tad Ferris, partner at law firm Holland & Knight, will offer key insights on issues such as expected mandatory premarket certification and required laboratory analysis. Ferris has more than 15 years of experience working with Chinese government agencies, multinational corporations and multilateral institutions through Holland & Knight’s Beijing office.

In addition to covering recent changes to China’s regulations, the conference will feature an up-to-date read on European Union (EU) deliberations on the recast of the original Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS). Steve Andrews, the United Kingdom’s representative to the EU’s RoHS Technical Advisory Committee, will lead off the conference with an insider’s view of the debate in the EU Council and Parliament.

Presentations by key industry experts will offer critical updates on global environmental regulations and trends, including Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), and California’s recently proposed Green Chemistry Policy. Afternoon highlights include halogen-free electronics, conflict metals restrictions and the tools available to help companies measure their eco-environmental impact.

“Not merely interesting politics, the issues being debated this year could have a substantial impact on the global electronics industry,” says Fern Abrams, IPC director of government relations and environmental policy. “Green nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are continuing to push for additional substance restrictions and compulsory testing and labeling under the CE mark.”

For attendees wanting more in-depth information on REACH, an afternoon workshop on November 9 will offer a primer on the EU’s regulation. Lead by Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates, this workshop will serve as an introduction and background to the REACH update being presented during the full-day technical conference the following day.

A companion Materials Conference on November 11 will feature comprehensive sessions examining performance and reliability issues related to halogen-free laminate and lead-free alloys.

For more information on IPC’s “Its Not Easy Being Green” conference or the Materials conference, visit www.IPC.org/Compliance-Materials-Conference. To register, go to www.IPC.org/Compliance-Materials-Register or call (847) 597-2861.

http://www.interconnectionworld.com/index/display/article-display/0988787121/articles/connector-specifier/materials-distribution/green-electronics/2009/10/ipc-to_tackle_new.html

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GREAT Offer from CSC - Download the AXIS Whitepaper on HDTV & Be Entered To Win A Free Network Camera

http://www.gocsc.com/AXIS1031wFP09/

*No purchase necessary. Drawing for ONE (1) AXIS M1031-W to take place on Nevember 15, 2009, entry must be time stamped no later than 11:59 PM CST November 14, 2009. Flash drives will be awarded to the first TWENTY (20) respondants to fill out form, based on submittal time stamp. Flash drive winners WILL BE ELIGIBLE for camera drawing. A purchase will not improve the chances of winning. Enter only online. Only one entry is allowed per person. Winner will be contacted within 14 days of drawing. This offer is not open to CSC, WESCO or AXIS employees and their families. To receive name of winner please email your request to info@gocsc.com after August 5, 2009. Offer void where prohibited. Supplier brand names and promotional items are the trademarks of their respective companies.

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NECA 2009 Annual Conference Set the Bar HIGH. Next Year Will Be Even BETTER

THE NECA SHOW

CONTRACTORS CONNECTING THE WORLD WITH POWER + LIGHTING + INTEGRATED SYSTEMS

October 2009 Volume 2 • National Electrical Contractors Association • Convention - Exposition Dept

2009 NECA POST-SHOW Report

New Energy Audit Workshop...a Resounding Success in Seattle

Energy Audit: A Portal to Green Projects offered contractors their first

look at a brand-new resource developed just for them by NECA – a

step-by-step guide to evaluate the energy conservation, efficiency and

alternative power opportunities for an existing

building.  More…

NECA SHOW 2010 UPDATE

NEW THIS YEAR! We are offering two package upgrades, above the Basic

Booth Package, for our exhibitor’s consideration.

BOOTH PACKAGE UPGRADE #1 - $150

- Expanded website listing (1000 characters, approx.100 words)

- Expanded printed official show guide listing (1000 characters)

- Company logo added to website listing and official printed show guide

listing

- Up to ten (10) Press Release uploads

BOOTH PACKAGE UPGRADE #2 - $300

- All the Above, plus...

- PREMIERE POSITIONING at the TOP of the "Exhibitor List" page in

addition to your "alpha" location. Stand out from your competitors, and

make sure your customers & prospects find you FAST & FIRST!

For More Information Contact:

Julie Duda, Exhibit Sales Manager

770-632-0044 T

770-632-7922 F

julduda@necanet.org

www.necaconvention.org

They're Still Talking About Us...

“Graybar wants to clearly communicate our strong support for NECA and

its contractors.  NECA contractors are our best customers.  As a Premier

Partner of NECA, our exposure at The NECA Show improved our show experience

far beyond our expectations.

The warm recognition we received at events such as the Opening Ceremony

and the Board of Governors Meeting, and the graphics recognizing us around

the show activities were very good for Graybar.  The floor at this year’s

NECA Show was very busy, and we saw more key contractors than ever.

Graybar has supported The NECA Convention from the first show in 1954,

but this year’s was the best show yet.”  Dave Moeller, Graybar

NECA SHOW 2009 ATTENDEE SURVEY RESULTS

-#1 Reason for Attending the NECA Show: Looking for New Products &

Services

-98% are Very Satisfied or Satisfied with the 2009 NECA Convention & Show

-Experienced Record Attendance in Management Seminars

NECA SHOW 2010 EXHIBIT HALL FILLING UP FAST

View the Trade Show Floor Plan Here

THE ANNUAL SHOW FOR THOSE WHO POWER THE WORLD!

NECA • 3 Bethesda Metro Center • Suite 1100 • Bethesda MD 20814

www.necaconvention.org • www.necanet.org

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NAED Learning Center Upgraded

The NAED Learning Center has undergone a major upgrade in order to better serve our members. The NAED Learning Center is a web-based learning management system that provides a central location for employee training and development in the electrical distribution industry. Online NAED courses, manufacturer product training courses, and a wide range of soft-skill and business-skill courses are all conveniently offered in one place.

Some of the improvements include:

An updated web-based platform offering state-of-the-art technology and a more responsive and secure user experience

Customized company home pages and role-specific dashboards

An enhanced reporting engine with more comprehensive data filtering, analysis tools, and output options

The ability for users to enter comments about industry training completed on the NAED Learning Center for others to review

Implementation of online course evaluations and reports for analyzing user feedback

Company-specific libraries for hosting internal documents, PDFs, files and other resources

For more information, please visit www.naedlearningcenter.org. To sign up for the NAED Learning Center, contact Customer Service at 888-791-2512 or email customerservice@naed.org.

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NECA Requests Extended Comment Period for OSHA Minimum Approach Distance Rulemaking

The National Electrical Contractors Association has filed a request that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration extend the time period for comments on proposed rulemaking regarding minimum approach distance.

Minimum approach distance (MAD) refers to OSHA’s guidelines for the safe proximity between a worker and exposed electrical parts and the protective equipment that should be used in such proximity. OSHA’s current proposal included revised minimum approach distances for how close a worker or an object that the worker is holding can get to an electrical part.

“OSHA is to be commended for reaching out to the industry for comments,” said Michael Johnston, NECA Executive Director, Standards and Safety. “When we work together, we can develop sound regulations that can be implemented practically and benefit the end-users. Given the technical complexity of the issues related to minimum approach distances, NECA must advise OSHA to extend the comment period for an additional 60 days, which will allow for further industry analysis and review.”

NECA recommended that OSHA hold on making changes to minimum approach distances until the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) Subcommittee 8 had completed its review of the issue. NESC is the code-making organization for transmission and distribution (high-voltage) electrical work. Including NESC’s recommendations in the OSHA regulations would help ensure that effective and meaningful regulations are adopted.

“NECA believes that to integrate any changes to MAD at this time prior to the Subcommittee 8 work would be premature,” said Jerry Rivera, NECA Director, Safety. “The established review sequence for making changes to MAD has been IEEE 516 first, followed by NESC, and then OSHA. To alter this established sequence would cause a great disservice to the regulatory process and jeopardize successful implementation of any changes.”

www.necanet.org

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Tom Naber - The President and CEO of NAED to Receive Award from IEC

The President and CEO of NAED, Tom Naber, will receive the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) President's Award for Advancement of the Electrical Industry during the 52nd Annual IEC National Convention and Electric Expo in St. Louis. IEC National President Steve Wiege will present Naber with the award at the President's Reception and Awards Gala on October 24, 2009.

Naber joined NAED in 1997 as publisher of tED magazine (www.tedmag.com), was named president of NAED in 2001, and was promoted to president and CEO last year. www.naed.org

IEC was founded in 1957 and is a national trade association for merit shop electrical and systems contractors. IEC has more than 3,700 members in nearly 70 chapters around the nation. To learn more about IEC, please visit www.ieci.org.

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USGBC UPDATE Pilot Credit Library Allows Teams to Guide the Improvement of LEED

The strength of the LEED green building certification program lies in its ability to constantly grow, adapt and improve through a process driven by consensus, innovation and feedback from LEED users. This week, USGBC launched the LEED Pilot Credit Library, a new tool that will add to the flexibility of that continuous improvement process.

The ability to introduce proposed new credits and prerequisites to LEED through a credit-by-credit pilot process was a key component to LEED v3, the newest version of LEED that was released in April 2009. Credit piloting allows LEED to adhere to a predictable improvement cycle while remaining adaptable. Because innovation doesn’t follow a schedule, the ability to introduce new ideas to LEED without waiting for the launch of an entirely new version of the rating systems is critical to the ability of LEED to continue to raise the bar and drive the marketplace toward greater sustainability. With the introduction this week of six proposed new LEED credits, the LEED Pilot Credit Library is now up and running – and ready for your help to ensure the highest level of integrity.

LEED project teams that find any of the proposed credits suitable to their projects are encouraged to participate in pilot testing those credits. All participating project teams will submit evaluation forms, providing input on the proposed credit’s strengths and weaknesses. This feedback will be reviewed by a Pilot Working Group established by the LEED Steering Committee and will help inform improvements to the content of the credit or prerequisite or determine whether it is suited for introduction into LEED. Any new credit or prerequisite will go before the USGBC membership for balloting before it can be introduced into LEED.

Each project that participates in a credit’s pilot and submits feedback will receive one Innovation & Design or Innovation in Operations credit, regardless of whether it would have achieved the actual credit being piloted. Because the credits are in pilot and are not yet part of LEED, points will not be awarded for achieving the pilot credit itself.

The credits currently being piloted are:

Pilot Credit 1: Life Cycle Assessment of Building Assemblies and Materials.

Pilot Credit 2: PBT Source Reduction: Dioxins and Halogenated Organic Compounds.

Pilot Credit 3: Medical and Process Equipment Efficiency.

Pilot Credit 4: Innovative Ventilation.

Pilot Credit 5 & 6: Preliminary Integrative Project Planning & Design.

To read the proposed credit language, learn more about the credit piloting, or register your project to participate in a pilot, visit the Pilot Credit Library »

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What Every Company Should Know About ACUTA (It Is A Big Value & It’s Growing)

ACUTA, the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, is an international non-profit educational association serving colleges and universities.

Attention ACUTA Corporate Members: Tips on FREE Benefits.

Our Members are Your Customers
We have over 1700 institutional members from nearly 800 campuses throughout the US, Canada, and New Zealand.  Seventy-two percent of our members are responsible for institutional telephone services, and seventy-one percent that have functional responsibilities that cover not just voice but data and video services as well.  Increasingly, ACUTA members report that communications technology plays a strategic role in the long-range plan for their campus.

Our Events Put You in Touch with Your Customers
There are exhibit and sponsorship opportunities at all 4 of our national events each year.  From a survey of our 2009 Annual Conference attendees, we learned that 94% expect to meet with vendors they already have a relationship with and 97% expect to meet new or potential vendors.  For information on our upcoming events, go to the tradeshow section of our Corporate Participation page.

Membership is Affordable
Membership starts at just $595.  And members receive discounts on exhibit booths, advertisements in our ACUTA Journal, and access to free membership benefits such as our Press Room, Special Deals Webpage, Free Audio/Web Seminar Webpage, Listserv, and Annual Membership Directory.  For more information on corporate membership and the application to join, visit our Corporate Membership Page.

You Can Reach Out to our Members by Renting a Mailing List
Our membership mailing list (mailing addresses only) are available on labels for non-member companies at a fee of $600, and electronically for member companies for $50-75.  Contact Michele West, mwest@acuta.org for information on how to obtain a mailing list.

We Have Free Online Resources for Corporate Members

Press Room: Corporate Members can post their press releases for free on the ACUTA Online Press Room.  Go here for more information.

RFI/RFP Webpage: Our school and corporate members can post and access active RFIs and RFPs on our RFI/RFP Webpage. 

Special Deals Webpage: Post your company's special deals and discounts to ACUTA school members on the Special Deals Webpage

Listserv: Be a part of our members' daily conversations by joining the ACUTA Listserv.  Contact Aaron Fuehrer, afuehrer@acuta.org for information on how to join.

Free Audio/Web Seminar Webpage:  Advertise your company's Free Audio/Web Seminars to ACUTA members.  For more information check out the webpage at http://www.acuta.org/?2518.

We Have Advertising Space in our Journal

We sell advertising space in our popular Journal of Information Communications Technology in Higher Education which is mailed quarterly to our full membership.  And corporate members receive a 15% discount.  

We Have Corporate Member Logos
Corporate members can advertise their support of ACUTA with official member logos.  Contact Amy Burton for more information (aburton@acuta.org, 859/278-3338 x240).

Have Questions about ACUTA?
Contact Amy Burton, Manager of Membership Marketing & Corporate Relations at 859/278-3338 x240, aburton@acuta.org.  It's Your Market, Your Moment, Your Move.

ACUTA
152 W. Zandale - Suite 200 - Lexington, KY 40503
Voice - (859) 278-3338 - Fax (859) 278-3268

http://www.acuta.org/?1715

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10 Tips for Success with Video Analytics

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Time: 2 PM (EST), 11 AM (PST)

Register Today at:

http://www.1105info.com/t.do?id=3557118:2935042

Overview:

Video analytics are bringing new levels of intelligence to the security world and are having a wide-ranging impact. Starting with improved protection at the most critical infrastructure sites and high-risk facilities, video analytics are making their way into broader commercial markets and transforming many aspects of the industry.

However, when it comes to choosing an architecture, vendor or product to properly implement an intelligent video surveillance system, there are key considerations to keep in mind.

Join us for this live Webinar during which we will explore the essential tips to help you make the best choices to successfully employ intelligent video systems. Together, we will take a look at real-world companies of all sizes who have used intelligent video surveillance systems with great effect.

In this Webinar you will learn:

* The top 10 tips for success with video analytics

* What to look for in an intelligent video surveillance system

* Various applications of video analytics across different companies and industries

* How video analytics can both maximize your technology investment and proactive security protection

Speaker:

Doug Marman, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Products, VideoIQ

A 25-year security industry veteran with 25 security patents under his name, Doug Marman drives VideoIQ's advanced technological solutions and strategic product development as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Products. Prior to joining VideoIQ, Marman served as CTO for GE Security, Inc., where he focused on identifying critical technologies that would impact the security industry and developing strategic plans for research and development, licensing and acquisitions.

A Q&A session will be held during the last 15 minutes of the Webinar.

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Time: 2 PM (EST), 11 AM (PST)

Register Today at:

http://www.1105info.com/t.do?id=3557119:2935042

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Christmas BONUS - A Reel Deal on the DTX CableAnalyzer

Fluke Networks and Cable Leaders Team Up to Offer the DTX Reel Deal

The cabling business is looking up and the DTX Reel Deal will help you take advantage of installation jobs in 2009. Fluke Networks is working with these leaders to make it easier to install and certify copper or fiber cable:

ADC

Belden

Berk-Tek

Corning

General Cable

Mohawk Cable

The DTX Reel Deal is simple: Purchase 30,000 feet of copper cable or 3,000 meters of fiber-optic cable by December 31, 2009 and you can get a cash rebate of up to $2,250 on a new DTX CableAnalyzer.

All cable and DTX purchases must be made between September 8, 2009 and December 31, 2009. There is no limit on the number of DTX CableAnalyzers that qualify for a rebate once you purchase the minimum amount of copper or fiber cable.

Details, forms, and a full list of eligible cable brands can be found at www.flukenetworks.com/ReelDeal

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2010 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition January 17-21, Orlando, Florida

Where Content Comes to Life — Conference for ITS Champions

Announcing the Premiere ITS Event of 2010!

Become a champion of the industry at the 2010 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition this January in Orlando, Florida! Registration is now available for the conference, which features more than 20 educational seminars, a large Exhibit Hall and exciting events like the Third Annual BICSI Cabling Skills Challenge and the BICSI Annual Awards Banquet. A full schedule of events and education can be found here.

Conference Highlights -           Top Technology Topics

Electronic Safety and Security

“CCTV Deployment: Understanding the Whole Picture”

“Video Analytics—Promise and Practicality”

“CCTV Deployment: Understanding the Whole Picture”

“Layer Zero: Your Network Revolution”

“Case Studies of Emergency Communications within Higher Education Institutions”

“Fiber’s Role in the Video Security and Surveillance Network”
“Protecting Critical Infrastructure: IP Security Networks Go Beyond the Enterprise”

“Security System Integration”

“Using the Structured Cabling System for Security Applications”

Data Centers

“Layer Zero: Your Network Revolution”

“40Gbps Over Twisted-Pair Cabling: Planning for a New Ethernet Application”

“An Expanded Role of the Rack in the ‘Future Proofing’ of a Data Center”

“The Importance of Cabinet Level Power Monitoring in a Data Center”

“Data Center Cable Plant and Infrastructure Management (DCIM)”

“Data Center Optical Connectivity with Bend-Optimized OM3/OM4 Multimode Optical Fiber”

“Data Center Relocation…Take One!”

Optical Fiber

“Contemporary Considerations When Precision Cleaning Fiber Optic Connections”

“Fiber’s Role in the Video Security and Surveillance Network”

“Data Center Optical Connectivity with Bend-Optimized OM3/OM4 Multimode Optical Fiber”

“AV System Design Using Twisted-Pair and Fiber Optic Technologies”
“Developing a Green and Sustainable Fiber Optic Infrastructure with Air-Blown Fiber Technology”

Cabling Skills Challenge

Competitors will be racing against the clock and each other in several fast-paced events such as Fiber Termination, Cable Assembly and SCS Installation. The Challenge with will be held in the Exhibit Hall during the evening exhibition and reception on Sunday, January 17, Monday, January 18, and Tuesday January 19. The winners will be announced during the BICSI Annual Awards Banquet on Wednesday, January 20.

Annual Awards Banquet, Wednesday, January 20, 7-10 p.m.

The Awards Banquet, featuring entertainment by artist David Garibaldi and the Jake & Elwood Blues Review, will recognizes some of the industry’s finest, committed to advancing the information transport systems industry. 

Jon Gordon, Opening Keynote Speaker, Tuesday, January 19, 8:45-9:30 a.m.

Jon Gordon is a speaker, consultant and author of the international best seller “The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy,” as well as three other titles. His presentations have been sought after by leading NFL coaches and well-known companies. He has been featured on CNN, NBC’s “Today Show” and in Forbes, Fast Company, O Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. A graduate of both Cornell and Emory Universities, Jon delivers a powerful message that brings out the best in those he reaches.

Mike Eruzione, Closing Keynote Speaker, Thursday, January 21, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

Mike Eruzione led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to its Gold Medal victory in Lake Placid, New York. His Olympic team’s win is the inspiration behind the Disney film “Miracle” and was voted the number one sports moment of the century by Sports Illustrated Magazine. Mike excelled in a variety of sports, including baseball, hockey and football, with an impressive number of awards and accolades under his belt. He also spent many years as a sports commentator and broadcaster. Now, Mike travels the country, spreading his motivational message to thousands each year.

The 2010 Winter Conference offers world-class education, exhibits and networking, along with a group of fantastic events you won't want to miss. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

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Leviton Fiber Connect Joins Cisco Technology Developer Program, Completes Interoperability Testing

CHICAGO - (Business Wire) Leviton, Inc., a global data center integration firm specializing in the development of connectivity products and services for the physical layer of a data center, announced that it has joined the Cisco Technology Developer Program as part of the program’s Data Center Storage Networking solution category. In addition, Leviton Fiber Connect’s High Density Data Center Port Replicated Patch Panel Series, F8xLx-576 and interconnect components have successfully completed interoperability testing with Cisco 3.0.

The Cisco Technology Developer Program (http://www.cisco.com/go/ctdp) unites Cisco with third-party developers of hardware and software to deliver tested interoperable solutions to joint customers. Members of the program share Cisco’s strong commitment to customer service and satisfaction and are required to undergo interoperability testing based on criteria set forth by Cisco. With Cisco Technology Developer Program member offerings such as Leviton Fiber Connect’s High Density Data Center Port Replicated Patch Panel Series, F8xLx-576 and interconnect infrastructure, customers can more quickly deploy a broad range of Cisco Compatible business applications that can enhance the capabilities, performance, and management of their Cisco network.

*The interoperability testing is designed to simulate typical customer configurations, and does not replace the need for on-site testing in conjunction with actual implementation.

About Leviton Fiber Connect

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Saint Charles, IL, Leviton Fiber Connect is a global data center integration firm specializing in the development and implementation of connectivity products and services for the physical layer of a data center.

With deep experience on both the mainframe and networking sides of a data center, Leviton Fiber Connect is the first company to offer a Phased Switch Focused Infrastructure (SFI) Roadmap, a 7-10 year systems plan that results in a flexible, efficient data center and a unified physical infrastructure. Because the company is “switch universal”, its physical cabling can be designed around any manufacturer’s switch.

All Leviton Fiber Connect products are made in the U.S.A. and manufactured in-house for customized cabling and fast turnaround, delivery and installation. At the same time, the company offers a complete suite of services, including project management, data center design, installation support and testing, RFP development, and maintenance support.

Leviton Fiber Connect is a division of Leviton, Inc., the largest privately held manufacturer of electrical, electronic and telecommunication devices. For more information about Leviton Fiber Connect, please call 630-443-0500 or visit www.fiber-connect.com.

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Draka Announces Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Large Effective Area Fiber Available in All Cable Designs

NZDS-LA readily available in a wide variety of cable designs for applications ranging from metropolitan to long haul networks.

Draka Communications – Americas, a leader in fiber and fiber cable solutions, announced the availability of non-zero dispersion shifted, large effective area (NZDS-LA) fiber into all outside plant cable products for a variety of applications ranging from metropolitan to long haul networks.

Introduced in 2007, Draka has expanded the application of this fiber into all loose tube, ribbon, and central tube cable product families.  “It is important for us to offer customers a broad range of options when building or restoring metropolitan, regional and long haul networks.  Customers win by having a full compliment of cable designs plus a wide variety of choices for fiber types, to adapt to the diversity of legacy and newly built optical fiber cable infrastructure”, states Greg Williams, Director of Marketing at Draka.

NZDS-LA joins Draka’s flagship Teralight fiber, a high performance, non-zero dispersion shifted long haul fiber that has been available for 10 years in loose tube, ribbon or central tube cable types.  Teralight long haul fiber was introduced in 1999 and meets ITU G.655 and G.656 industry standards.

In addition to meeting the ITU G.655 performance standard, Draka’s NZDS-LA fiber cable product offers several unique features and benefits:

•    A high quality glass with sharp refractive index design manufactured using Draka’s industry leading, proprietary PCVD and APVD processes.

•    The EzPrepTM advantage – Draka’s unique cable design recognized by installers as the most craft friendly in the industry.

The new product is available immediately.  For more information contact Draka Customer Care at (800)879-9862.

“With DRAKA optical cable products, you have perhaps the best cable available on the market. The proper installation guarantees the best performance, provided the connector technology is equal to or better than the Megladon Mfg. www.megladonmfg.com ScratchGuard™ fiber optic connector (available in all sizes). This unique patented process by Megladon has been tested and compared to virtually all commercially available connector products. The results show that ScratchGuard™ connectors are substantially superior to the competition in almost all areas.” said Arthur Padgett, CATZ - Cabling A To Z Consulting.

www.cablingconnections.com

Draka Communications is a world leader in the development, production and sale of optical fiber, cable and cable systems.  The Draka fiber advantage is rooted in the superiority of the trench assisted core profile and Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD) process.  This process is inherently more flexible than other processes and, because it is Draka’s standard manufacturing process, it ensures the compatibility of the fiber with existing networks.  Research shows that other bend insensitive fibers with unproven designs may exhibit significant variations in performance and impact their use in the field.

Draka Communications clients in North America are served from Draka's unique site in Claremont, North Carolina which is home to a 125-acre corporate campus & Americas headquarters, over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space and the only integrated optical fiber and cable facility in North America.  www.drakaamericas.com  

About Draka Communications – Americas
Draka, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a €2.7 billion, publicly listed (Euronext) company with 9,500 employees worldwide.  Draka is divided into three Groups: Energy & Infrastructure, Industry & Specialty and Communications.

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Draka’s BendBright-XS Meets New G.657 ITU Categories for Bend-Insensitive Fibers

•    Ensures end-to-end fiber consistency with higher levels of performance from point-of-presence to customer premises

•    Future-proofs FTTH access network infrastructure roll-outs

•    BendBright-Elite complies with new sub-category for extreme applications

Draka Communications, a global leader in the cable and optical fiber industry announces that its bend-insensitive BendBright-XS fiber fully complies with the ITU’s new G.657.A2 sub-category, a key component of the recently updated ITU recommendation. The A2 category brings 100% compliance with G.652.D, as well as a hundredfold improvement in bending performance.

The A2 sub-category raises the level of fiber consistency throughout access networks, from the Point-of-Presence (PoP) to customer premises. This will result in reduced  footprints for outside plant cables and connectivity, more resilient indoor cabling and end-to-end availability of full fiber bandwidth from 1260 nm to 1625 nm in PON or point-to-point configurations. This high level fiber standard will help future-proof FTTH access network infrastructure roll-outs.
 
“Draka welcomes the latest ITU-T decision to update G.657 in line with today’s market developments.” said Jan-Willem Leclercq, Vice-President Business Development for Draka Communications. “BendBright-XS has always provided  double compatibility with both G.657.A and G.657.B categories, assuring customers of state-of-the-art bending performance in total compliance with regular G.652.D single-mode fiber. Today, sub-category A2 validates our belief that ultimate bend-insensitivity should not come at the expense of sacrificing any of the parameters that have contributed to the success of G.652.D.”

With access networks extending all the way to single family homes and multi-dwelling units, the industry has welcomed the emergence of a robust, easy to install optical fiber that can endure the rigors of traditional copper cable installations. Draka BendBright-XS has a patented design that eliminates the technical complications of splicing and connectivity. This year BendBright-XS output approaches a record million kilometer mark, the most deployed bend-insensitive fiber worldwide.

The updated ITU-T G.657 recognizes that  improved bending performance will further reduce costs for operators rolling out fiber to the home (FTTH), while still addressing current market concerns for end-to-end fiber consistency. This new ITU recommendation preserves fully the original A and B category structure for total backward compatibility with the previous G.657 version. The former A class is subsequently renamed to A1. An additional A2 category is created with a tenfold better bending performance than A1, bringing the A category to the level of the previous B category performance with full G.652.D compliance. The former ITU-T G.657.B class fiber is re-named B2.  A new sub-category B3 acknowledges the need for tighter bend radii (down to 5 mm) for extreme applications in the B class, which demand exceptional bending performance yet do not impose G.652.D compliancy. B3 authorizes fibers with a lower mode-field diameter, or of a different construction.

BendBright-Elite Complies with New G.657.B3 Sub-category
BendBright-Elite, Draka’s ultra bend-insensitive fiber, is fully B3 compliant, while still meeting G.652.D standards. BendBright-Elite is targeted towards specialty applications and those indoor applications requiring extreme bending performance. Offering a low 5mm radius, BendBright-Elite secures against mechanical failure under extreme bending constraints and hostile environments by doubling the proof-test level during fiber production.

“With DRAKA optical cable products, you have perhaps the best cable available on the market. The proper installation guarantees the best performance, provided the connector technology is equal to or better than the Megladon Mfg. www.megladonmfg.com ScratchGuard™ fiber optic connector (available in all sizes). This unique patented process by Megladon has been tested and compared to virtually all commercially available connector products. The results show that ScratchGuard™ connectors are substantially superior to the competition in almost all areas.” said Arthur Padgett, CATZ - Cabling A To Z Consulting.

www.cablingconnections.com

Draka Communications clients in North America are served from Draka's unique site in Claremont, North Carolina which is home to a 125-acre corporate campus & Americas headquarters, over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space and the only integrated optical fiber and cable facility in North America. 
www.drakaamericas.com  

About Draka
Draka (Euronext Amsterdam: DRAK), headquartered in Amsterdam, has around 9000 employees in countries worldwide and a 2008 annual turnover of € 2.7 billion. Draka has 68 subsidiaries in 30 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.

Draka’s activities are divided into three groups: Energy & Infrastructure, Industry & Specialty and Communications. Draka Communications with its two business units, Telecom Solutions and Multimedia Specials, is a global market leader for the development, production and sales of fibers, cables and advanced network solutions. www.draka.com.

Draka’s BendBright-XS Meets New G.657 ITU Categories for Bend-Insensitive Fibers

The new G.657 ITU recommendation preserves fully the original A and B category structure for total backwards compatibility with the previous G.657 version.   Category A is fully G.652.D compliant while B authorizes fibers with a lower mode-field diameter, or of a different construction. The former A class is  renamed as A1. An additional A2 category is created with a tenfold better bending performance  than A1. This brings the A subcategory to the level of  previous B category performance with full G.652.D compliance. The current ITU-T G.657.B class fiber is re-named B2 , with a new sub-category B3 covering even tighter bend radii.

Draka’s high-level description of the updated G.657 structure.

Alain Bertaina, Draka Communications, Tel: + 33 130776306  or  alain.bertaina@draka.com

Terry Davidson, The Communications Group, Tel: +32 2 640 92 07 or terry@eurocom.be

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Greenbuild 2009 Offers LEED Professionals Numerous Opportunities for Green Building Education and Credentialing Maintenance

New this year: Professionals can take their LEED credentialing exam during the show

(Washington, DC) November 2, 2009 – Green building professionals seeking to earn or maintain the LEED AP or LEED Green Associate credentials will have many opportunities to do so Nov. 11-13 at Greenbuild 2009, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has announced. GBCI administers the LEED Professional Credentials, including the exams and credentialing maintenance, both of which will be available at Greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual conference and expo being held this year in Phoenix, Ariz.

The show offers attendees several types of career development activities, including opportunities to prepare for or take a LEED professional exam, and to attend educational sessions and events to earn credits toward maintaining LEED credentials and other industry certifications.

“Green building professionals go to Greenbuild every year to expand their knowledge, connect with their peers and find the resources they need to grow their business or practice,” said Peter Templeton, President, GBCI.  “The unmatched access to continuing education opportunities makes attending this year’s conference more valuable than ever to LEED Professionals.”

The LEED Green Associate and LEED AP specialty exams will be offered locally during the show to eligible candidates. Testing is available for the following LEED AP specialty credentials: Building Design + Construction (BD+C), Interior Design + Construction (ID+C), Operations + Maintenance (O+M), and Homes.  If you have met eligibility requirements and your application has been processed you will be able to schedule your LEED professional exam in Phoenix before, during, or after the conference.  Find times and locations online at www.prometric.com/gbci.

In addition, all Greenbuild 2009 education sessions, workshops, and tours offered throughout the show will satisfy GBCI’s Credentialing Maintenance Program (CMP) requirements for LEED APs and LEED Green Associates.  Current LEED APs must enroll in CMP at www.gbci.org by Dec. 31, 2009, to earn GBCI continuing education (CE) hours for attending qualifying programs at Greenbuild in Phoenix.  Enrolling in CMP by this date also guarantees that approved courses and activities completed since July 8, 2009, will count toward credentialing maintenance.
 
LEED Professionals will also be able to record their CE hours using GBCI’s new online tool, scheduled to launch at www.gbci.org on Nov. 3.   This new online reporting tool will help LEED Professionals keep track of their credentialing maintenance activities.

As LEED APs and LEED Green Associates work to maintain their credentials at Greenbuild, there are a host of other industry credentials whose continuing education requirements can also be fulfilled while at the conference, including AIA, APA, ASLA, BOMI, CoreNet Global, CSI, IFMA, and IIDA. To learn more about Greenbuild, visit www.greenbuildexpo.org.

About GBCI
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) provides third party confirmation that specific criteria related to LEED building certification and LEED professional credentialing continues to be developed in accordance with best practices for credentialing and certification programs. To underscore this commitment, GBCI is undergoing the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation process for personnel certification agencies complying with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 17024. Early in 2009, GBCI assumed responsibility for administering the LEED building certification program for the more than 30,000 commercial projects seeking third-party verification of compliance with the industry's leading green building rating system. For more information, please visit www.gbci.org.

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HEALTHCARE IT SPECIALIST JOINS RTKL AS PRINCIPAL

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Oct. 20, 2009—Todd W. Taylor, RCDD, NTS, OSP, has joined the Special Systems Design Group of RTKL Associates Inc., one of the nation’s leading engineering and architecture firms, as a principal specializing in healthcare.  Based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, he will be involved in the design and installation of structured cabling systems to support low voltage systems in hospitals across the country and in the Middle East.

“As healthcare becomes more and more technology intense, the delivery of quality patient care will be in direct relation to an institution’s IT capabilities, said Darren L. Vican, RCDD, OSP, vice president of RTKL.  “Todd’s ability to deliver a quality project that supports the institution’s goals makes him an excellent addition to our team.”

As part of RTKL’s Healthcare Technologies team, Taylor will lead the firm’s projects at several large healthcare facilities across the country, including work at Ohio State University, Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Ill. and at the Children’s Hospital Orange County in Orange, Calif.

Using his more than 25 years of overall information technology experience, Taylor spent the last eight years focusing on the healthcare industry.  He has provided a full range of medical communications, technology planning and design services for community hospitals, large academic healthcare entities and related healthcare facilities.

Taylor joins RTKL from Smith Seckman Reid where, as technology director, he handled quality assurance and control for projects.  Some of his past work includes comprehensive medical communications planning and design for a 600,000-square-foot expansion of Duke University Medical Center; low voltage planning, design and specification for a 1.6 million-square-foot clinical building at Johns Hopkins Hospital; and integration planning for the medical communication systems at Rockingham Memorial Hospital’s (Harrisonburg, Va.) replacement facility, as well as managing the design for the hospital’s IT operations center and Tier III data center.

Taylor is a Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD), Network Transport Systems Specialist (NTS) and Outside Plant Specialist (OSP) through Building Industry Consultant Services International (BICSI).  His additional involvement with BICSI includes serving as the secretary of the Standards Committee and as a contributor and editor to the Technical Information and Methods Committee, which is responsible for writing and updating the organization’s technical manuals.  Taylor also serves as the chairperson for the BICSI Healthcare design standards document.  He also influences medical communications IT standards as part of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA) Healthcare Task Group and Healthcare Engineering Committee, as well as the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee C8 (wire and cable).  Finally, he is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Association for Computer Operations Management (AFCOM) and Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA).  Taylor has a bachelor’s degree in business information systems management from Utah State University.

About RTKL
RTKL is a worldwide architecture, engineering, planning and creative services organization. Part of the ARCADIS global network since 2007, RTKL specializes in providing its multi-disciplinary services across the full development cycle to create places of distinction and designs of lasting value. RTKL works with commercial, workplace, public and healthcare clients on projects around the globe. www.RTKL.com

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Intel's Plan to Replace Copper Wires

A new kind of optical cable will provide ultra fast connections between electronic devices.

By Kate Greene

There's a reason that the Internet backbone is made of fiber-optic cables: photons transport bits of information faster than electrons. But while photons and fiber are the most efficient way of sending data across continents, it's still cheaper and easier to use electrons in copper wiring for most data transfer over shorter distances.

Now Intel plans to sell inexpensive cables with fiber-optic-caliber speed to connect, for instance, a laptop and an external hard drive, or a phone and a desktop computer. At the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco Wednesday, the company announced a new type of optical cable that it hopes will be fast, cheap, and thin enough to make it an attractive replacement for multiple copper wires.

By 2010, says Dadi Perlmutter, vice president of Intel's mobility group, the company hopes to ship an optical cable called Light Peak that will be able to zip 10 gigabits of data per second from one gadget to another, a rate equivalent of transferring a Blu-ray movie from a computer to a mobile video player in 30 seconds. A single Light Peak cable will also be capable of transporting different types of data simultaneously, meaning it will be possible to back up a hard drive, transfer high-definition video, and connect to a network with just one line.

At both ends of a Light Peak cable are chips that contain devices that produce light, encode data in it, and send it on its way. The chips can also amplify incoming signals and convert the light to an electrical signal that can be interpreted by gadgets. The first generation of Light Peak will use chips made with standard optical materials such as gallium arsenide. However, to truly make optical cables cheap enough to replace copper, future versions of Light Peak, which will handle 40-gigabits-per-second and 100-gigabits-per-second transfer rates, will most likely need to rely on silicon-based optical chips, a product of the maturing field of silicon photonics. Silicon photonics researchers hope to transform computing by making high-bandwidth connectors cheaper than ever before, not just in cables, but also eventually within electronic motherboards and microprocessors.

"This will be a long-term transition," says Perlmutter, referring to the fact that it takes years to develop and adopt standards for new connecting technologies. On stage during his IDF keynote, he held up in one hand a bundle of cables he currently lugs around with his laptop, and in the other, a thin, white Light Peak prototype cable. "I have a very light notebook," he said, "but carry a huge amount of cables with me."

Intel has already made a name for itself in silicon photonics. In 2005, the company announced a silicon laser, an engineering feat that many thought was impossible due to the physical properties of silicon. And within a couple of years, the company's engineers demonstrated other silicon-based optical devices, such as high-performing modulators for encoding data onto light, and high-performing detectors for capturing the light-encoded data. Other researchers and companies, including those at University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Southern California, and MIT joined the fledgling field of silicon photonics. In 2007, optical chipmaker Luxtera announced an optical cable called Blazar that contained some silicon-based chips and was designed to connect servers in data centers.

The first generation of Light Peak cables will use the same sort of $75 optical chips found in telecommunications devices. But Intel has employed some tricks to drive down cost by more than a factor of 10, says Victor Krutul, director of Intel's optical I/O team. For one, the chips don't need to transmit data over the distances of telecom devices. For another, they don't need to last as long or withstand harsh conditions. Because telecom chips in consumer cables won't need to last for decades or withstand heat and humidity, manufacturing standards can be relaxed and allow the chips to be made more inexpensively.

While cables may not seem a cutting-edge technology, says Alan Willner, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California, it is the ideal early application for silicon photonics because the market is potentially huge. "Silicon-based cables provide high-bandwidth connections, and frankly, nowadays everything is high-bandwidth." Willner adds that the devices inside the chips, such as lasers and detectors, may not be the highest-performing, but they don't have to be. "What they do have to be is robust and cheap and manufacturable," he says. "From a user's point of view, all they see is a lighter, cheaper, and faster cable than what used to be. That's a great thing."

"We're launching an optical technology for a mainstream platform," says Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's photonics technology lab. "We're going to start at 10 gigabits per second and scale to 100 gigabits per second." Paniccia was reluctant to forecast a timeframe for silicon photonics to be used in Light Peak, but in order to achieve the higher bandwidths, he says, silicon photonics will need to come into play.

Intel says it will be able to make Light Peak cables up to 100 meters long. And because new connective technologies, be they wireless or wired, require standards and industry collaboration, Intel is working to form partnerships with various companies. At the developer forum, Perlmutter announced that Sony is supportive of the technology, with more announcements planned.

Copyright Technology Review 2009.

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LEEDuser Comes to Greenbuild "Live and In-Person"

The Experts and Editors Behind LEEDuser Exchange Tips with Users at Booth #1652

Monday, October 26, 2009

CONTACT:
Jerelyn Wilson
802-257-7300 ext. 102
jerelyn@buildinggreen.com

BRATTLEBORO, VT, October 26, 2009 - Ready for a LEED jam session unlike any other? Visitors to Booth #1652 at Greenbuild in Phoenix will get to experience "live and in-person" the interaction and advice that's usually available only online at LEEDuser.com.

Over the two-and-a-half days of LEEDuser Live and In-Person, many of LEEDuser's cohort of Guest Experts will be on hand to give short presentations on the lessons they've learned about how best to approach key LEED credits, similar to the commentary and review available on LEEDuser.com. Conference attendees will be able to talk with LEED experts, as well as having the opportunity to ask questions and share tips from their own project experience. Tips and questions will be physically "posted" to the giant message board representing LEEDuser's online forum, and everyone will have a chance to add their own answers.

Responding to the need for comprehensive help with the new LEED rating systems that's based on real-world experience, LEEDuser is officially opening for business at Greenbuild. The launch follows a beta-testing period in which over 3,000 people registered to use the site and inaugurated the user forums with hundreds of substantive questions and suggestions for LEED implementation.

Over 10,000 individual tips and action steps in LEEDuser's "Getting it Done" section guides users to success with credits in the LEED 2009 rating systems. Guest experts from fifteen leading national sustainable design and LEED consulting firms are reviewing the site's contents and responding to comments, and many of these experts will be Live and In Person at booth #1652.

About LEEDuser
This new website, at www.LEEDuser.com, provides comprehensive credit-by-credit guidance for teams working on LEED certification. Included are clear descriptions of credit requirements, tips to streamline LEED submissions, online calculators, and online user forums related to specific credits. LEEDuser facilitates LEED certification for projects using the five LEED 2009 rating systems: New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. BuildingGreen has created LEEDuser with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council and with the help the consultants at YRG Sustainability and a host of other LEED experts and topic-area specialists. The creators of LEEDuser have experience on hundreds of design teams for LEED-certified buildings, as LEED trainers, and as LEED certification reviewers.

For more information, visit www.LEEDuser.com

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It’s Just a Matter of Facts! - ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR Magazine

“Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams, 1770

“Just the facts, ma’am.” – Sgt. Joe Friday – “Dragnet,” Circa 1950s

“Don’t confuse me with the facts; my mind’s made up.” – Too many of us, Circa Now

We all deal with facts differently. We accept, ignore or rationalize around them, depending on circumstances. As you begin to plan your 2010 marketing plans, here are a few facts about our market that if ignored, are guaranteed to cost you lost sales and share.

“The Times Have Changed.”

Electrical Contractors actively influence, design in, and specify your product. Ignore this fact and you leave a lot of sales dollars on the table for your competitor who knows this truth.

Electrical contractors generate more than 47% of their total revenue from active participation in design/build projects. (In firms with more than 100 employees = +80%.) That fact, by definition, implies specification influence and authority.

Facts prove “specs” are looser, less specific, and less complete than ever. Who increasingly completes final design? Who decides between product choices “specified?” (80% of electrical specs are written “multiple/or equal”) They’re called electrical contractors. Check our exclusive 2008 “Profile of the Electrical Contractor” research for more facts about electrical contractors (www.ecmag.com/research)

If your 2010 marketing plan does not include the electrical contractor as a major specification authority, it is costing you money. They play a key role in whose product actually gets installed. That’s a fact. Here’s a couple more:

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR Magazine …

REACHES over 85,300 electrical contractors responsible for over 92% of total industry dollar volume

Is READ and PREFERRED by a minimum of 3:1 over any other

DELIVERS MORE and more thoroughly documented RESULTS

COMBINED with ecmag.com, DELIVERS a TOTAL, COST/REACH EFFECTIVE market communication package.

Please talk with your marketing representative and, as always, many thanks for your continued business and support.

John Maisel, Publisher

www.ecmag.com

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McCormick Systems CEO Honored With ELECTRI International Award

Jack McCormick, founder and CEO of McCormick Systems, was honored at September’s NECA Convention with the Wendt Award, which “recognizes exemplary leadership and service to the electrical industry,” according to NECA.

It’s the highest award bestowed annually by ELECTRI International, the electrical contracting industry’s research organization. [To see NECA’s release on the award, go to http://tinyurl.com/yl2exp5.]

McCormick Systems provides software used in estimating and project management for electrical construction and automated building systems. The company and its founder have been involved with ELECTRI International since 1992.

Over the years, the company has contributed $350,000 in cash to the research organization, including $100,000 in 2009. Additionally, McCormick Systems has, according to Jack McCormick, provided “an in-kind investment of close to $900,000 by giving colleges and universities access to our software.”

Jack McCormick was an electrical contractor (and member of NECA) in 1978, when he founded the company that would eventually become McCormick Systems. One of the first efforts made to promote the company’s products was to exhibit at the 1981 NECA Show in Las Vegas.

After receiving the award at NECA’s Seattle convention, Jack McCormick left immediately to return to Baja California to help with relief efforts needed there as the result of a hurricane. His other prime interest in recent years has been Baja Bush Pilots (www.bajabushpilots.com) – which, among other things, conducts search and rescue and disaster relief efforts in Mexico and elsewhere.

About McCormick Systems

Privately owned McCormick Systems (Chandler, AZ) is the nation’s leader in software used for electrical and ABS estimating and project management. The company’s products enable contractors to quickly produce consistent, profitable estimates for electrical and voice-data-video work, and more.

More information: www.mccormicksys.com or 800-444-4890.

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BICSI FALL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION SERVES 3,500 ITS PROFESSIONALS

Las Vegas, Nev., September 24, 2009—BICSI, the association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry with information, education and knowledge assessment, closed its 2009 Fall Conference and Exhibition today. The event marked the release of the Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual (TDMM), 12th edition, the Electronic Safety and Security Specialist Program. A total of 34 individuals passed the design exams—including the Electronic Safety and Security (ESS) credential by BICSI President, Edward J. Donelan, RCDD, ESS, NTS, TLT.

“This conference has been enlightening. The information I picked up on security surveillance and building automation integration will be put to good use by me in the near future,” said Ted Sievert, Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, Ill.

More than 30 educational and motivational sessions took place throughout the week. Pre-Conference seminars were sold out and rooms were “standing room only” in concurrent breakout sessions on Wednesday. The Exhibit Hall was bustling while the thousands of attendees and visitors walked the hall. 

“Despite the economic downturn the BICSI Fall Conference in Las Vegas continued to provide a high level of qualified leads from industry-leading companies. Our company was very happy that we decided to participate in this event, and we will definitely continue to come in future years,” said Mark Buck, Smart Pathways, LLC, Tampa, Fla.

The conference closing activities included a panel presentation on the trends of the ITS industry, moderated by Robert Faber, RCDD, NTS, Siemon, Watertown, Connecticut. Randall R. Nason, PE, CPP, CH Guernsey & Company; Jonathon Jew, J&M Consultants, Inc.; and Tony Whaley, RCDD, NTS, WD, RTKL Associates Inc. shared information on the current trends in the key ITS areas of outside plant, networks, grounding and bonding, wireless and electronic safety and security.

In addition, the Closing Keynote Speaker was Rick Searfoss, one of less than 100 people who have ever commanded a human space mission. In his presentation, Searfoss shared fundamental ideas for teamwork and success in business that translated well from space to the work of information transport systems professionals responsible for laying out the infrastructure for the future.

“The Fall Conference concludes with a major opportunity,” said Donelan. “Never before have we in the ITS industry been afforded an opportunity to engage with IP convergence, integration and commissioning of technology-based IP systems. Education, training and knowledge assessment is paramount to continued career advancement. BICSI leads the way as the trusted resource in this regard. On a personal note, my newly acquired ESS credential will help my company engage the new business opportunity with confidence and a high degree of competence for our new customer base.”

BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry.  ITS covers the spectrum of voice, data, electronic safety & security, and audio & video technologies.  It encompasses the design, integration and installation of pathways, spaces, fiber- and copper-based distribution systems, wireless-based systems and infrastructure that supports the transportation of information and associated signaling between and among communications and information gathering devices.

BICSI provides information, education and knowledge assessment for individuals and companies in the ITS industry. We serve more than 23,000 ITS professionals, including designers, installers and technicians. These individuals provide the fundamental infrastructure for telecommunications, audio/video, life safety and automation systems. Through courses, conferences, publications and professional registration programs, BICSI staff and volunteers assist ITS professionals in delivering critical products and services, and offer opportunities for continual improvement and enhanced professional stature.

About BICSI

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA, BICSI membership spans nearly 90 countries.

For more information, visit www.bicsi.org.

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NECA 2009 Seattle Delivers Results for Electrical Contractors

The convention and trade show of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) wrapped up an event full of education, inspiration and innovation on Sept. 15. More than 6,900 industry professionals took in the exposition, technical workshops, management seminars and special guest speakers during the three-day event.

“As our industry shifts to meet new market conditions and customer demands, NECA 2009 Seattle provided a forum to discuss the impact these changes are having on how we do business,” said NECA president Rex Ferry.

More than 50 pre-convention and management workshops focused on workforce training, smart tools for productivity, safety instruction, and new market development, especially green energy solutions. Industry experts led sessions on the building trends and technology shaping electrical construction today, including energy auditing and lean construction.

“I learned a lot at the education sessions about what to expect in the coming months and years, but what mattered the most to me at NECA 2009 Seattle was the opportunity to meet other contractors,” said Marion A. Hayes, III, CEO, BRK Electrical Contractors LLC, St. Louis. “It’s a chance to learn from individuals from other areas, ask what strategies have worked for them, and maybe form a business relationship.”

Hayes also pointed out the business opportunities offered by the NECA Show, the industry’s leading exposition, with over 240 exhibitors featuring products and services specifically for electrical contractors. The Northwest Naval Band, sponsored by Helmets to Hardhats, opened 2009 NECA Show with great fanfare on Sept. 12.

In addition to the trade show and educational opportunities, NECA 2009 Seattle also hosted NECA's student summit, finalist presentations and winner announcement in the Green Energy Challenge, and inspirational presentations by former Starbucks president and blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer.

Recaps and photos from the event are posted on the NECA 2009 Seattle website, blog.necaconvention.org, as well as information about NECA 2010 Boston, Oct. 2-5, 2010.

About NECA

NECA is the voice of the $130 billion electrical construction industry that brings power, light, and communication technology to buildings and communities across the U.S. NECA’s national office and 119 local chapters advance the industry through advocacy, education, research and standards development. For more information, visit www.necanet.org.

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NAED Education & Research Foundation Kicks Off Annual Contribution Campaign

  Industry Contributions Support the Foundation’s Professional Growth and Development Mission 

ST. LOUIS… The National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) Education & Research Foundation announces the kick off of its 2009-2010 Annual Contribution Campaign. The funds collected from the campaign are used to develop the industry-specific training programs and education that NAED offers its members. This year’s campaign runs through June 2010.

“The NAED Education & Research Foundation satisfies our industry’s needs in two critical areas: one—training and development, and—two—fact-based research,” said James Etheredge, chair of the NAED Education & Research Foundation. “The Foundation’s mission is to further the professional growth and career development of the thousands of people who work in the electrical industry. Crescent Electric Supply Company and its associates are proud to support the Foundation and its efforts to enhance and improve our industry.”

The Foundation works to help companies develop a knowledgeable and skilled workforce through the delivery of convenient, effective, and targeted education and training. This year’s goal for the campaign is $112,000, all of which would be used for important program development. The NAED Learning Center has more than 400 courses and activities available.

Some of the most popular courses and research include:

The Selling Green 101 Course Series

Achieving Superior Service Every Time (ASSET)

Electrical Products Education Course (EPEC)

Research in Action Webinars, White Papers, and Interactive Tools

Going Green Inside and Out Research Study

All donations to the NAED Education & Research Foundation go directly to program development and are tax-deductible. Those who contribute to the campaign receive a certificate, a listing in tED magazine, and ribbon acknowledgment at all NAED regional conferences and the National Electrical Leadership Summit.

To make a contribution, go to www.naed.org and download an invoice that can be mailed into the foundation or you can make a donation online by clicking on the Foundation/Annual Campaign Link. For more information, please call the NAED Education & Research Foundation at 888-791-2512.

NAED is the trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership operates in approximately 4,400 locations internationally.

NAED Launches Latest Course in “Selling Green 101” Series: “Building Sales Momentum in the Green Building Market.”

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Learn About Green Building Certification and How to Sell the Concept to Your Customers

ST. LOUIS… The National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) announces the launch of the fourth course in the "Selling Green 101" series. “Building Sales Momentum in the Green Building Market,” is now available at an introductory price of just $29.95 per student. 

"Building Sales Momentum in the Green Building Market" explains exactly what a green building is and the wide range of electrical products and systems those buildings require. This course also presents facts and strategies sales associates can use to build an effective business case for customers in the green building market.

“This course is a great way to make green building work for you,” said Michelle McNamara, NAED vice president and executive director of the NAED Education and Research Foundation. “Students will gain the knowledge necessary to make a strong business case for investing in green building.”

In this course students will learn how to:

Define green building

Recognize key components of green building certification programs, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

List products and services that developers, builders and owners of LEED buildings need

Build a case to encourage customers to invest in green building

Choose strategies and tactics to strengthen your company’s presence in the green building market

The training series—“Selling Green 101”—is based on research commissioned by the NAED Channel Advantage Partnership. The research study, titled “Green Goes Mainstream: How to Profit from Green Market Opportunities,” was conducted by Yudelson Associates.

The series will consist of a total of seven, 20-30 minute courses that build on this overview of green markets. It will present a more tactical perspective of the research for inside and outside sales people to identify basic terms and drivers of the green market, and learn selling tactics for appropriate applications and technologies. 

Following is the complete list of “Selling Green 101” course titles:

Course 1: “What Does Green Mean?”

Course 2: “Your Easiest Green Sale: Lighting Retrofits and Upgrades”

Course 3: “Grow Your Business with Lighting and Building Controls”

Course 4: “Building Sales Momentum in the Green Building Market”

Course 5: “Increase Your Bottom Line with Renewable Energy”

Course 6: “New and Emerging Technologies”

Course 7: “Build a Compelling Case for Buying Green Electrical Products”

Courses one through four are currently available on the NAED Learning Center. To order, purchase online at www.naed.org/estore or contact NAED Customer Service at (888) 791-2512 or customerservice@naed.org. For additional information, visit www.tedgreenroom.com.

NAED is the trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership operates in approximately 4,400 locations internationally.

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NECA NEWS

http://www.necanet.org/news/

NECA Presents: A New Webinar on NFPA 70E Essentials

10/19/2009

Join us! Tuesday, November 17 from 2-4PM EST

more

Nebraska Electrical Industry Leaders Open New Windmill Training Facility

10/15/2009

The federal stimulus legislation will send millions of dollars to Nebraska specifically for "green job training," but the Nebraska Chapter, NECA, and Locals 22, 265, 231 and 1525 of the IBEW did not wait for those funds.  Instead, they received a grant that made history. To celebrate becoming the first wind training facility in the state, the organizations hosted ribbon-cutting ceremony for a wind powered training structure today.

more

New NECA Women Peer Group Organizing

10/12/2009

more

Special Offer on Leading Authorities LiveCast Series

10/08/2009

NECA has joined with Leading Authorities to bring four LiveCast web presentations by highly-regarded business thinkers and authors – free of charge for NECA members.

more

NFPA 70E Back in Cycle

10/05/2009

The review cycle for NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace has begun, and NECA members interested in submitting proposals are invited to send in their ideas today.

more

Factors Critical To NECA's Support Or Opposition Of Health Care Legislation

10/03/2009

The Senate Finance Committee aims to vote on its version of health care reform legislation during the week of October 5, and if that bill is approved in committee, the full Senate may consider the legislation (or a version thereof) before mid-October. Our Government Affairs Committee has gained the Executive Committee’s endorsement for a list of factors regarding our association’s support or opposition to health care legislation when it is brought to the House or Senate floor.

more

ELECTRI International Launches Partners for Progress Campaign

09/30/2009

ELECTRI International has an ambitious new fundraising initiative called Partners for Progress. Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. is the first new member of the ELECTRI Council under the program.

more

Welcoming New NECA Student Chapter At Cal Poly

09/26/2009

A new NECA Student Chapter has been established within the Construction Management Department at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. There are now 18 such organizations operating at universities across the country.

more

New NECA International Chapter Established In Bermuda

09/26/2009

With the addition of the Bermuda Electrical Contractors Association into our organization,  there are now 13 NECA International Chapters.

more

NECA Welcomes Sponsor Federated Insurance Company As Official Partner

09/25/2009

Federated Insurance Company has made a long-term commitment to NECA and our members by joining NECA's sponsorship program at the Official Partner level. Next week, all NECA members will receive a letter from our CEO John Grau to introduce this outstanding company.www.federatedinsurance.com

more

Finding the Right LEED AP Certification for ECs

09/23/2009

New Energy Solutions Blog Now Live -

more

NECA 2009 Seattle Delivers Results for Electrical Contractors

09/21/2009

More than 6,900 industry professionals at NECA 2009 Seattle took part in the exposition, technical workshops, management seminars and special guest speakers during the three-day event.

more

Highest Ranking Woman In IBEW Elected AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer

09/20/2009

A number of items of interest occurred at the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention, including the election of Liz Schuler to the second highest position on the AFL-CIO Executive Council. She’s now the secretary-treasurer of the labor federation after serving as the executive assistant to IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill for the past decade.

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IBEW-NECA Employee Benefits Conference, January 28-29 In Naples, Florida

09/20/2009

This article provides registration links for the IBEW-NECA Employee Benefits Conference which will be held January 28-29 at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club in Naples, Florida. The deadline for registering for the conference and booking hotel space before the room block is lifted is January 13, 2010.

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Wrapping Up NECA 2009 Seattle

09/17/2009

Everyone at the airport yesterday seemed to be a face I recognized from the past four days at NECA 2009 Seattle. We were all sporting bags from NECA Show exhibitors (ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR’s bag seemed to be the most popular), and we all looked pretty tired, but happy.

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University of Washington Wins First Green Energy Challenge

09/16/2009

Following presentations from the three Green Energy Challenge finalist teams yesterday, the entry from the NECA student chapter at the University of Washington was selected as the winner. The results were announced at the NECA Student Chapter Summit today.

more

Nine New Fellows Inducted into Academy of Electrical Contracting

09/14/2009

The 2009 induction ceremony of new Fellows into the Academy of Electrical Contracting at the Opening General Session marks the 41th anniversary of this exceptional organization.

more

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NEMA Publishes VE 1-2009 Metal Cable Tray Systems

ROSSLYN, Va., October 8, 2009—The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published VE 1-2009 Metal Cable Tray Systems. The standard is also published by the Canadian Standards Association as CSA C22.2 No. 126.1-09.

NEMA VE 1-2009/CSA C22.2 No. 126.1-09 is the third edition of the common NEMA and CSA specification for metal cable tray systems for use in North America, providing technical requirements concerning the construction, testing, and performance of metal cable tray systems. It supersedes the second edition, published in 2002.

Revisions include changes to the fill depth section and requirements for load testing for wire mesh. The load class designation table was also split into separate tables for the U.S. and Canada.

“VE 1/CSA 22.2 No. 126.1 is a helpful resource to a variety of audiences, including personnel at warehouses, data centers, paper mills, oil refineries, and manufacturing plants,” said Bob Slaga, chair of the Cable Tray Technical Committee and member of the Cable Tray Section. “Through this revision, NEMA’s Cable Tray Section hopes to continue to promote safety of persons and property by the proper selection and use of metal cable tray systems.”

The contents and scope of VE 1-2009 may be viewed, or a hardcopy or electronic copy purchased for $64, by visiting http://www.nema.org/stds/ve1.cfm, or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956 (international), 303-397-2740 (fax), or global.ihs.com.

NEMA is the association of electrical and medical imaging equipment manufacturers. Founded in 1926 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., its approximately 450 member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and distribution, control, and end use of electricity. These products are used in utility, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential applications. The association’s Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) Division represents manufacturers of cutting-edge medical diagnostic imaging equipment including MRI, CT, x-ray, and ultrasound products. Worldwide sales of NEMA-scope products exceed $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA also has offices in Beijing and Mexico City.

NEMA. Setting Standards for Excellence

Visit our website at www.nema.org

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BICSI MEMBERS ELECT NEW OFFICERS

Tampa, Fla., October 8, 2009—BICSI members have chosen five board members to serve two-year terms on the Board of Directors in voting that ended September 30.

President-Elect: Jerry L. Bowman, RCDD, NTS, CISSP, CPP, TPM

Treasurer: Robert S. (Bob) Erickson, RCDD, NTS, OSP, WD

U.S. Northeast Region Director: Brian S. Ensign, RCDD, NTS, OSP, CSI (incumbent)

U.S. North-Central Region Director: Chris Scharrer, RCDD, NTS, OSP, WD

European Region Director: Rita Recalcati

Jerry Bowman, RCDD, NTS, CISSP, CPP, TPM, has been a BICSI member since 1997. Bowman is currently serving his second term on the BICSI Board of Directors as the U.S. North-Central Region Director and is the Chair of the BICSI NxtGEN Committee. Bowman plans to spend his next four years on the Board advancing BICSI into a new era of convergence and globalization by focusing on members’ needs, technological advances and the ITS market evolution. Bowman is currently Senior Vice President of Global Services for Beacon Solutions in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Robert S. (Bob) Erickson, RCDD, NTS, OSP, WD, has been a BICSI member since 1990 and has served as Chair of the Registration and Specialties Supervisory Committee since 1996. As Treasurer, Erickson will work to continue BICSI’s financial strength and stability. Currently, Erickson owns and operates Communications Network Design in Haysville, Kan.

Brian S. Ensign, RCDD, NTS, OSP, CSI, has been a BICSI member since 1996 and is the incumbent U.S. Northeast Region Director. During his second-term as Northeast Region Director, Ensign will focus on enhancing region meetings, driving membership and supporting BICSI programs. Ensign currently serves as the Director of Training and Technology at Legrand North America, and he is based out of York, Pa.

Chris Scharrer, RCDD, NTS, OSP, WD, has been a BICSI member since 1993. He has been a Subject Matter Expert Team Leader on the Technical Information and Methods Committee since 2004 and chaired the Network Design Reference Manual subcommittee for the 6th edition and currently working on the 7th edition. Scharrer will focus on developing new programs that serve the needs of our membership while working to redefine or retire outdated ones. Scharrer is currently an independent consultant at DCS Technology Design, LLC in Chelsea, Mich.

Rita Recalcati has been a BICSI member since 2003. She currently serves as at the Country Chair for Italy and has previously held the position of Interim European Region Director. Recalcati will work in the European Region to expand BICSI’s presence outside of the U.S. Recalcati works for Anixter as the Program Marketing Manager EMEA for mainly fiber optical programs.

“The BICSI nominating committee is pleased to see the results of the election and especially encouraged to see the increase in membership voting participation,” stated Edward Donelan, RCDD, ESS, NTS, TLT, BICSI President. “The nominating committee is committed to improving the election process and will be enhancing next year’s election process in several ways. We want to thank all of the self nominating candidates for stepping forward and volunteering to run for a board position. On behalf of the Board of Directors we welcome the incoming board members and look forward to working together to improve BICSI for the members benefit.”

The new officers will officially be inaugurated in January 2010 during the BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla.

About BICSI

BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry. ITS covers the spectrum of voice, data, electronic safety & security, and audio & video technologies.

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New LineGuard™ Surge Suppressors Protect Vulnerable Data Lines

Key application is security cameras, DVRs, and other IP-based equipment

Dallas, TX – November 4, 2009 – Para Systems, Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive power protection solutions, today announced the release of a new line of data line surge suppressors designed to protect equipment from being damaged by electrical surges or spikes.  The new Minuteman LineGuard™ products are intended to protect analog and digital surveillance cameras, DVRs, plus other network peripherals, including devices using Power Over Ethernet (POE).

Minuteman’s LineGuard products incorporate solid-state surge protection technology with a response time of two to five nanoseconds, clamping the surge to ground and automatically resetting itself after a low-voltage surge occurs.  If a catastrophic surge such as lightning does hit a data line, the LineGuard product provides fail-safe protection, sometimes sacrificing itself to prevent damage to the more expensive devices it was designed to defend.

Electrical transients can cause equipment to malfunction and can even have a catastrophic effect, inflicting severe damage to expensive devices, some of which may be mission critical.   These electrical disturbances can enter into a network system through data lines that create a “back door” entrance to equipment.  Normally, these electrical lines transmit data via very low voltage signals between devices, and by their very nature, data cables can have a direct route into equipment when higher voltage transients find their way onto data lines.  Such damaging transients include electrostatic discharge, electromagnetic interference, and the most devastating of them all, lightning.  When damage to expensive equipment does occur from these types of anomalies, it is not covered under a manufacturer’s warranty.

“Our new LineGuard series represents an excellent value, with all units priced at $119 or less,” stated Bill Allen, director of marketing for Para Systems.  “When someone purchases expensive security cameras, DVRs or other networking equipment and does not protect them from potential damage, these mission critical devices are obviously at high risk.  When you compare the cost of downtime and equipment replacement expenses, these surge suppressors are an excellent investment.”

In most applications, it is recommended that both ends of the data line be protected with a LineGuard device to insure maximum defense against potentially damaging surges.  The seven LineGuard models include protection for PTZ cameras (using BNC connectors or UTP terminal blocks), analog cameras (using UTP to BNC connectors with built-in balun), CAT5 LAN (RJ-45 connectors), CAT5 Power Over Ethernet (RJ-45 connectors), CAT6 LAN (punch-down block connectors), and CAT6 Power Over Ethernet (punch-down block connectors).

Minuteman’s LineGuard products are UL listed and designed for fast, simple installation.  All models are covered under Minuteman’s limited lifetime warranty, along with a $10,000 attached equipment protection plan.  Further information can be found at www.minutemanups.com/LineGuard, and all LineGuard products are currently available for purchase through Minuteman’s distribution and reseller network.

About Para Systems, Inc.

Para Systems, Inc., based in Carrollton, TX, is a leading provider of power technologies.  The company’s Minuteman brand of comprehensive power protection solutions range from small to large-scale uninterruptible power supply (UPS) products to a full line of unique surge suppressors, power distribution units, and remote power management systems.  Minuteman products protect telephone/VOIP systems, personal computers, network servers and infrastructure peripherals, security systems, and industrial applications. The Minuteman brand of products is sold through a large network of distributors and resellers.  Para Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Components Corporation of America, headquartered in Dallas, TX, whose roots date back to 1916. For more information, visit www.minutemanups.com.

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Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Salutes 2009 Nobel Prize Winner Charles K. Kao for His Groundbreaking Work in Fiber Optics Communications

TIA Congratulates Kao, Along with Physics Award Co-Winners Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Labs, Inventors of the Imaging Semiconductor Circuit

Washington, D.C. – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) salutes Nobel Prize winner Charles K. Kao on his award "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication."

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave half of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physics to Kao of the United Kingdom's Standard Telecommunication Laboratories and Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Academy awarded the other half of this year's prize to two more "Masters of Light," Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Laboratories, for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor."

The 2009 Nobel Prize winners' scientific achievements "helped to shape the foundations of today's networked societies," said the Academy. "They have created many practical innovations for everyday life and provided new tools for scientific exploration."

"TIA wishes to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of the scientists who won awards this year," said TIA President Grant Seiffert. "Their achievements changed the world, enabling the global communications of today and tomorrow, and highlight the need for continued basic and applied research and development to continue their work. TIA extends its congratulations and deepest appreciation for their lifetime contributions."

In 1966, Kao made a discovery that led to a breakthrough in fiber optics. He carefully calculated how to transmit light over long distances via optical glass fibers. With a fiber of purest glass it would be possible to transmit light signals over 100 kilometers, compared to only 20 meters for the fibers available in the 1960s. Kao's enthusiasm inspired other researchers to share his vision of the future potential of fiber optics. The first ultrapure fiber was successfully fabricated just four years later, in 1970.

Today, optical fibers make up a huge part of the circulatory system that nourishes our communication society, facilitating global broadband communication such as the Internet. Light flows in thin threads of glass, and it carries almost all of the telephony and data traffic in each and every direction. Text, music, images and video can be transferred around the globe in a split second.

If we were to unravel all of the glass fibers that wind around the globe, we would get a single thread over one billion kilometers long – enough to encircle the globe more than 25,000 times – and is increasing by thousands of kilometers every hour.

In 1969, Boyle and Smith invented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a Charge-Coupled Device. The CCD is the digital camera's electronic eye. It revolutionized photography, as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film. The digital form facilitates the processing and distribution of these images. CCD technology is also used in many medical applications such as imaging the inside of the human body, both for diagnostics and for microsurgery, and has become an irreplaceable tool in many fields of research.

Sign up for RSS feeds on TIA news.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. With roots dating back to 1924, TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment and entertainment.

TIA co-owns the SUPERCOMM® tradeshow  and is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit tiaonline.org.

TIA's Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., GENBAND, Inc., Graybar, Henkels & McCoy, ILS Technology, Intel Corporation, Intersect, Inc., LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Openwave, Inc., Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Powerwave Technologies, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., and Verari Systems. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, Orca Systems and Telcordia Technologies.

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October 29, 1929 - 2009 = Big Difference

October 29, 1929  - Black Tuesday

Also Known As: The Great Wall Street Crash of 1929;

Historical Importance: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated the economy and was a key factor in beginning the Great Depression.

Overview of the Stock Market Crash of 1929:

The end of World War I heralded a new era in the United States. It was an era of enthusiasm, confidence, and optimism. A time when inventions such as the airplane and radio made anything seem possible. A time when 19th century morals were set aside and flappers became the model of the new woman. A time when Prohibition renewed confidence in the productivity of the common man. It is in such times of optimism that people take their savings out from under their mattresses and out of banks and invest it. In the 1920s, many invested in the stock market.

The Stock Market Boom

Although the stock market has the reputation of being a risky investment, it did not appear that way in the 1920s. With the mood of the country exuberant, the stock market seemed an infallible investment in the future.

As more people invested in the stock market, stock prices began to rise. This was first noticeable in 1925. Stock prices then bobbed up and down throughout 1925 and 1926, followed by a strong upward trend in 1927. The strong bull market (when prices are rising in the stock market) enticed even more people to invest. And by 1928, a stock market boom had begun.

The stock market boom changed the way investors viewed the stock market. No longer was the stock market for long-term investment. Rather, in 1928, the stock market had become a place where everyday people truly believed that they could become rich. Interest in the stock market reached a fevered pitch. Stocks had become the talk of every town. Discussions about stocks could be heard everywhere, from parties to barber shops. As newspapers reported stories of ordinary people - like chauffeurs, maids, and teachers - making millions off the stock market, the fervor to buy stocks grew exponentially.

Although an increasing number of people wanted to buy stocks, not everyone had the money to do so.

Buying on Margin

When someone did not have the money to pay the full price of stocks, they could buy stocks "on margin." Buying stocks on margin means that the buyer would put down some of his own money, but the rest he would borrow from a broker. In the 1920s, the buyer only had to put down 10 to 20 percent of his own money and thus borrowed 80 to 90 percent of the cost of the stock.

Buying on margin could be very risky. If the price of stock fell lower than the loan amount, the broker would likely issue a "margin call," which means that the buyer must come up with the cash to pay back his loan immediately.

In the 1920s, many speculators (people who hoped to make a lot of money on the stock market) bought stocks on margin. Confident in what seemed a never-ending rise in prices, many of these speculators neglected to seriously consider the risk they were taking.

Signs of Trouble

By early 1929, people across the United States were scrambling to get into the stock market. The profits seemed so assured that even many companies placed money in the stock market. And even more problematically, some banks placed customers' money in the stock market (without their knowledge). With the stock market prices upward bound, everything seemed wonderful. When the great crash hit in October, these people were taken by surprise. However, there had been warning signs.

On March 25, 1929, the stock market suffered a mini-crash. It was a prelude of what was to come. As prices began to drop, panic struck across the country as margin calls were issued. When banker Charles Mitchell made an announcement that his bank would keep lending, his reassurance stopped the panic. Although Mitchell and others tried the tactic of reassurance again in October, it did not stop the big crash.

By the spring of 1929, there were additional signs that the economy might be headed for a serious setback. Steel production went down; house construction slowed; and car sales waned.

At this time, there were also a few reputable people warning of an impending, major crash; however, as month after month went by without one, those that advised caution were labeled pessimists and ignored.

Summer Boom

Both the mini-crash and the naysayers were nearly forgotten when the market surged ahead during the summer of 1929. From June through August, stock market prices reached their highest levels to date. To many, the continual increase of stocks seemed inevitable. When economist Irving Fisher stated, "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau," he was stating what many speculators wanted to believe.

On September 3, 1929, the stock market reached its peak with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 381.17. Two days later, the market started dropping. At first, there was no massive drop. Stock prices fluctuated throughout September and into October until the massive drop on Black Thursday.

Black Thursday - October 24, 1929

On the morning of Thursday, October 24, 1929, stock prices plummeted. Vast numbers of people were selling their stocks. Margin calls were sent out. People across the country watched the ticker as the numbers it spit out spelled their doom. The ticker was so overwhelmed that it quickly fell behind. A crowd gathered outside of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, stunned at the downturn. Rumors circulated of people committing suicide.

To the great relief of many, the panic subsided in the afternoon. When a group of bankers pooled their money and invested a large sum back into the stock market, their willingness to invest their own money in the stock market convinced others to stop selling.

The morning had been shocking, but the recovery was amazing. By the end of the day, many people were again buying stocks at what they thought were bargain prices.

On "Black Thursday," 12.9 million shares were sold - double the previous record.

Four days later, the stock market fell again.

Black Monday - October 28, 1929

Although the market had closed on an upswing on Black Thursday, the low numbers of the ticker that day had shocked many speculators. Hoping to get out of the stock market before they lost everything (as they thought they had on Thursday morning), they decided to sell.

This time, as the stock prices plummeted, no one came in to save it.

Black Tuesday - October 29, 1929

October 29, 1929, "Black Tuesday," is known as the worst day in stock market history. There were so many orders to sell that the ticker quickly fell behind. (By the end of close, it had lagged to 2 1/2 hours behind.) People were in a panic; they couldn't get rid of their stocks fast enough. Since everyone was selling and nearly no one was buying, stock prices collapsed.

Rather than the bankers rallying investors by buying more stocks, rumors circulated that they were selling. Panic hit the country. Over 16.4 million shares of stock were sold - a new record.

The Drop Continues

Not sure how to stem the panic, the decision was made to close the stock market on Friday, November 1 for few days. When it reopened on Monday, November 4 for limited hours, stocks dropped again. The slump continued until November 23, 1929, when prices seemed to stabilize. However, this was not the end. Over the next two years, the stock market continued to drop. It reached its low point on July 8, 1932 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41.22.

Aftermath

To say that the Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated the economy is an understatement. Although reports of mass suicides in the aftermath of the crash were most likely exaggerations, many people lost their entire savings. Numerous companies were ruined. Faith in banks was destroyed.

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred at the beginning of the Great Depression. Whether it was a symptom of the impending depression or a direct cause of it is still hotly debated.

Historians, economists, and others continue to study the Stock Market Crash of 1929 in the hopes of discovering the secret to what started the boom and what instigated the panic. As of yet, there has been little agreement as to the causes. In the years after the crash, regulations covering buying stocks on margin and the roles of banks have added protections in the hopes that another severe crash could never happen again.

Anyone who bought stocks in mid-1929 and held onto them saw most of his or her adult life pass by before getting back to even

EIGHTY YEARS LATER…

Economy Grows By Most In 2 Years

WASHINGTON DC -- The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. It's the strongest signal yet that the economy has entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.

Going forward, many analysts expect the pace of the budding recovery to be plodding due to rising unemployment and continuing difficulties by both consumers and businesses to secure loans.

"This welcome milestone is just another step, and we still have a long road to travel until the economy is fully recovered," said Christina Romer, President Barack Obama's chief economist. "It will take sustained, robust ... growth to bring the unemployment rate down substantially. Such a decline in unemployment is, of course, what we are all working to achieve."

The much-awaited turnaround reported Thursday by the Commerce Department ended the streak of four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the first time that's happened on records dating to 1947.

It also marked the first increase since the spring of 2008, when the economy experienced a short-lived uptick in growth.

The third-quarter's performance -- the strongest since right before the country fell into recession in December 2007 -- was slightly better than the 3.3 percent growth rate economists expected.

Armed with cash from government support programs, consumers led the rebound in the third quarter, snapping up cars and homes.

Consumer spending on big-ticket manufactured goods soared at an annualized rate of 22.3 percent in the third quarter, the most since the end of 2001. The jump largely reflected car purchases spurred by the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program that offered a rebate of up to $4,500 to buy new cars and trade in old gas guzzlers.

The housing market also turned a corner in the summer. Spending on housing projects jumped at an annualized pace of 23.4 percent, the largest jump since 1986. It was the first time since the end of 2005 that spending on housing was positive. Purchases of home furnishings and appliances also added to economic growth.

The government's $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers supported the housing rebound. Congress is considering extending the credit, which expires on Nov. 30.

The collapse of the housing market led the country into the recession. Rotten mortgage securities spiraled into a banking crisis. Home foreclosures surged. The sector's return to good health is a crucial ingredient to a sustained economic recovery.

A top concern is whether the recovery can continue after government supports are gone.

Many economists predict economic activity won't grow as much in the months ahead as the bracing impact of Obama's $787 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts fades.

The National Association for Business Economics thinks growth will slow to a 2.4 percent pace in the current October-December quarter. It expects a 2.5 percent growth rate in the first three months of next year, although other economists believe the pace will be closer to 1 percent.

Romer, in remarks last week said the government's stimulus spending already had its biggest impact and probably won't contribute to significant growth next year.

Brisk spending by the federal government played into the third-quarter turnaround. Federal government spending rose at a rate of 7.9 percent in the third quarter, on top of a 11.4 percent growth rate in the second quarter.

In other encouraging developments, businesses boosted spending on equipment and software at a 1.1 percent pace in the third quarter, the first increase in nearly two years.

Third-quarter activity also was helped by increased sales of U.S.-made goods to customers overseas, as economies in Asia, Europe and elsewhere improved. The cheaper dollar is aiding U.S. exporters, making their goods less expensive to foreign buyers. Exports of U.S. goods soared at an annualized rate of 21.4 percent in the third quarter, the most since the final quarter of 1996.

Businesses, meanwhile, reduced their stockpiles of goods less in the third quarter, after slashing them at a record pace in the second quarter. With inventories at rock-bottom levels, even the smallest increase in demand probably will prompt factories to boost production. This restocking of depleted inventories is expected to help sustain the recovery in the coming months, economists said.

Even with the third-quarter improvement, the economy isn't out of the woods yet.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and members of Obama's economics team have warned that the nascent recovery won't be robust enough to prevent the unemployment rate -- now at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent -- from rising into next year.

Economists say the jobless rate probably nudged up to 9.9 percent in October and will go as high as 10.5 percent around the middle of next year before declining gradually. The government is scheduled to release the October jobless rate report next week.

The Labor Department said Thursday that newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment insurance fell by 1,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 530,000. Analysts expected a drop to 521,000.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits, fell by 148,000 to 5.8 million, steeper than analysts expected. Those figures lag initial claims by a week.

With joblessness growing and wages dipping slightly in the third quarter, consumers are expected to turn more restrained in the months ahead. That would put a much heavier burden on America's businesses to keep the recovery going.

"We're beginning to crawl out a very deep hole," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "It will take time to get back to normal again and there are questions about how consumers will hold up in the months ahead. But I think the recovery will be sustained."

To foster the recovery, the Fed is expected to keep a key bank lending rate at record low near zero when it meets next week and probably will hold it there into next year.

With the economy on the mend, the Fed has slowed down some key emergency support programs but doesn't want to pull the plug until the recovery is on firm footing.

Even if the economy climbs back into positive territory in the third quarter, it will be up to another group to declare the recession over. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a panel of academics, is in charge of dating the beginning and ends of recessions. It usually makes it determinations well after the fact.

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Austin, TX Is to Be the #1 Recognized Good City In America

On August 18th, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, held a press conference with a declaration that Austin is to be the #1 RecognizeGood City in America.   This is a challenge to be shared with all the communities in the U.S.  The mayor’s  press conference and its related iWitness Goodness Contest provided an end result of some outstanding videos, pictures, and stories about individuals, acts of kindness, charity and good deeds.  These can all be viewed on www.RecognizeGood.org, featured in three categories, “Hall of Fame”, “Featured Goodies” and “Recent Recognitions”. 

Recognizing individual acts of kindness, charity or in general good deeds have no geographical boundaries.  Recognizing Good is Everyone’s Responsibility.

There is no cost to recognize individuals via the RecognizeGood website in any community across the United States and beyond our borders as well.  The daily act of looking for good deeds will change your attitude and outlook on business and life in general.  Sharing these recognitions of good will create a greater public awareness of the heart and positive attitude of our communities and country.

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Siemon® Announces Ultra High-Density 48-Port, 1U Category 6A Patch Panels for Z-MAX™ 6A Shielded and Unshielded Cabling Systems

Space-saving 48-port 1U patch panels meet or exceed all 10GBASE-T and category 6A/class EA performance requirements, including alien crosstalk.

October 14, 2009, Watertown, CT – Leading network cabling expert Siemon is proud to announce the 48-port, 1U version of their innovative Z-MAX™ 6A modular patch panel. Available in both category 6A/class EA shielded and unshielded options, the Z-MAX 6A modular panels combine robust 10Gb/s performance with ultra-high density patching.  This combination provides users additional flexibility to deploy high-performance, category 6A/class EA cabling infrastructures within strict space limitations while saving valuable rack and cabinet space in the data center or telecommunications room.

The Z-MAX 6A panel outlet is central to the patch panel’s performance in high-density applications. The outlets feature exclusive diagonally-oriented insulation displacement connector (IDC) contact technology that maximizes distance between contacts within side-stacked outlets compared with traditional rectangular contact layouts. Maximizing pair-to-pair separation between adjacent outlets enhances noise resistance in both Z-MAX 6A shielded and unshielded systems and minimizes alien crosstalk even in the most dense category 6A/class EA patching environments.

The Siemon’s Z-MAX 6A patch panels also feature a unique modular Quick-Snap panel design, which allows Z-MAX 6A panel outlets to be quickly snapped into place or removed to speed initial deployment and subsequent moves, adds and changes.  Designed specifically for the Z-MAX panels, Z-MAX 6A panel outlets utilize the same best-in-class termination process as Z-MAX hybrid outlets. Using the simple, patent-pending Z-TOOL™, both shielded and unshielded Z-MAX 6A panel outlets can be terminated in as little as 60 seconds from start to finish, including cable preparation and can then be easily snapped into the panel.

The Z-MAX 6A panels’ Quick Snap design makes them ideal for use with Siemon’s Z-MAX 6A pre-terminated trunking cable assemblies.  Equipped with Z-MAX 6A panel outlets, Siemon trunks are configured specifically to the customer need, allowing permanent links in high density environments like data centers to be quickly deployed to minimize installation time. This exact-fit approach, combined with the Z-MAX Quick Snap panel design, significantly reduces installation time - up to 75% compared to individually field-terminated channels.  By consolidating multiple cabling channels, Siemon trunks also improve cable management and pathway space utilization in raised floor or overhead cable tray as well as facilitating efficient moves, adds and changes.

These durable panels are constructed of lightweight, high strength steel with industrial black finish, scratch/fade resistant port marking and user-friendly integrated cable management.  Port identification is enhanced through the Z-MAX panel’s innovative high visibility magnifying labeling system.

Z-MAX 6A shielded panels feature Siemon’s integrated Quick Ground™ technology, which automatically grounds Z-MAX 6A shielded modules to the panel upon insertion, eliminating additional outlet grounding steps.  Both Z-MAX 6A shielded and unshielded panels are available as complete kits including patch panel, Z-MAX panel outlets and all necessary accessories. Empty panels are also available for use with Z-MAX pre-terminated trunking cable assemblies.

Siemon’s Z-MAX 6A line includes complete end-to-end category 6A/class EA systems in both shielded and unshielded configurations.  The full Z-MAX 6A channel consists of Z-MAX 6A outlets Siemon category 6A cable and Z-MAX 6A patch panels, as well as Smart-Plug-equipped Z-MAX 6A patch cords, which feature an exclusive design integrating a precisely tuned printed circuit board (PCB) into every plug for enhanced signal and unparalleled end-to-end system performance.

Z-MAX 6A systems are supported by multiple work area faceplates and surface mount options in addition to a full suite of Siemon data center cabinet, rack and cable management products.

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specializing in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global offices, manufacturing and service partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) category 5e, category 6 (Class E), category 6A (Class EA) and category 7/7A (Class F/FA), and multimode and singlemode fiber cabling systems available. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, from patch cords to patch panels, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company's long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

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Snake Tray Introduces the new Independent Overhead Supporting System for Mega Snake® Cable Tray

Snake Tray is proud to announce the new overhead self-supporting system for Mega Snake to be used when overhead installations to the ceiling are prohibitive.  This easy to install system allows for cabinets and other hardware to be installed underneath the free standing Mega Snake cable path. The system is adaptable and reusable to accommodate changes.

Mega Snake® is a high capacity pre-manufactured cable tray system with a patented integrated accessory mounting rail offering a complete cable management and power distribution solution in one fast installing system.

For further information on Snake TrayÒ products please call 800-308-6788, email info@snaketray.com, or visit www.snaketray.com.

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TEKNOR APEX APPOINTS TWO CANADIAN SALES REPRESENTATIVES fOR VINYL, NYLON, aND SPECIALTY COMPOUNDS

PAWTUCKET, RI, U.S.A., October 20, 2009: Teknor Apex Company has expanded its representation in Canada through the appointment of two specialists in plastics raw material sales to be in charge of the company’s vinyl, nylon, and specialty compound product lines.    

● Domenic Marando, who joined the Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex in 2003 as a sales engineer, has been promoted to sales representative for the Chem Polymer, Teknor Specialty Compounding, and Vinyl Divisions. He will be in charge of sales in Ontario, central and western Canada, upstate New York, and northwestern Pennsylvania.

Marando is based in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Prior to joining Teknor Apex, he held sales, marketing, and technical positions during 14 years with acrylic resin and sheet producer CYRO Canada, Inc. He holds a diploma in chemical engineering, with a major in polymer technology, from Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto.

● Gerard Cousineau has been appointed sales representative for the same three divisions in Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces.

Cousineau is based in Candiac, Quebec. He brings 24 years of plastics experience, including sales positions with the resin distributors PolyOne / Resin Direct and GE Polymerland and technical sales and development positions with Hoechst Celanese, GE Plastics, and Shell Canada. He holds a bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal and a bachelors degree in Chemistry from Montreal University. Cousineau speaks French and English.

Chem Polymer produces reinforced and specially modified compounds of nylon 6, 6/6, 6/10, and 6/12 under the Chemlon® brand. Teknor Specialty Compounding is a diversified toll and custom manufacturer of thermoplastic compounds, including polyolefin compounds and additive masterbatches and blends. The Vinyl Division manufactures flexible and specialty rigid compounds for automotive, medical, wire and cable, and a wide range of other consumer and industrial applications.

 About TEKNOR APEX COMPANY

A privately held firm founded in 1924, TEKNOR APEX COMPANY is an international polymer technology company and one of the world’s leading custom compounders of plastics. For U.S. markets, the company also manufactures chemicals such as plasticizers and the nationally branded consumer product, Apex® garden hose. Teknor Apex is headquartered in Pawtucket, RI, U.S.A., operates manufacturing facilities around the world, and sells in 90 countries. Six of the eight Teknor Apex business units focus on plastics compounding, including bioplastics; color concentrates; nylon, PET, and other engineering thermoplastics; thermoplastic elastomers; toll and specialty compounds; and vinyl. The company’s operations in the U.S. serve customers throughout the Americas. Subsidiaries in China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom serve customers in Asia, Africa, the Mideast, and Europe. Visit www.teknorapex.com.

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The Countdown to Greenbuild Begins: World’s Largest Green Building Conference & Expo Coming to Phoenix

Washington, D.C. – (November 4, 2009) – The U.S. Green Building Council hosts the world’s largest green building conference and expo, Greenbuild, coming to Phoenix, Ariz., Nov 11-13, 2009.  Greenbuild will connect the green building community to the education, innovative ideas, resources and opportunities needed to help grow their career and the industry at large. Join the more than 20,000 pre-registered representatives from all sectors of the green building movement for three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, an exhibition floor with over 1,800 booths, a green jobs fair, ample networking events providing unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest technological innovations, and opportunities to explore new products and exchange ideas with other professionals.

“This year’s Greenbuild will offer more opportunities than ever for attendees to literally connect to the conversation, whether it is through interactive sessions and events, the vast expo floor or through social networking platforms,” said Kimberly Lewis, Vice President of Conferences and Events, USGBC.

A host of new and returning sessions and events provide opportunities for attendees to plug in.  The Executive Roundtable brings together some of the leading corporate, finance, higher education and non-profit CEOs to talk about what corporate sustainability means to them, how they make their green decisions and what role employees can play in that process. Web audience viewers and attendees will be able to interact with the CEOs in the hot seat by forwarding questions through Twitter.

New to the show this year are Greenbuild Salons, innovative sessions centered on the intersection of art, technology and sustainability, taking place Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2:00-5:00 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 12, 2:00-5:00 p.m.  Each salon will be an intimate, interactive conversation with cutting-edge speakers from the art, technology and sustainability realms.

The second annual Residential Summit caters to the residentially focused sector of the building market and provides an opportunity for professionals to network and share best practices and ideas during two days of informational sessions and educational tracks. This year’s Summit will feature an opening general session on greening our new housing stock, featuring KB Home CEO Jeff Mezger, Bensonwood Homes company steward Tedd Benson, UDR, Inc. President & CEO Thomas Toomey, and “Renovation Nation” host Steve Thomas.

And with green jobs on many people’s minds this year, Greenbuild is opening doors for green building professionals, connecting like-minded companies and job-seekers at the first annual Green Building Jobs Fair on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1-5 p.m. Additionally, a jobs Resource Center will be open Wednesday through Friday and will offer networking opportunities, professional development workshops, informational interviews and resume posting.

Greenbuild will offer ample opportunities to connect to the online conversation with up-to-date information delivered through multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and the new Greenbuild blog.  Attendees and exhibitors can sync up this year with Greenbuild Connect, an online forum that allows users to communicate with others who have similar interests, sharing tips and ideas about educational sessions they are attending and what exhibitors are of interest and to schedule onsite meetings to further extend the event networking experience.

The Opening Keynote & Celebration will kick off Greenbuild and will feature a keynote by former Vice President and noted environmental advocate, Al Gore, a musical performance by nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow and an address from USGBC President, CEO & Founding Chair, Rick Fedrizzi.  The Opening Keynote & Celebration will take place Nov. 11 at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Key Obama environmental adviser Carol M. Browner will deliver the keynote speech at the closing plenary on Nov. 13.

In addition to an impressive collection of master speakers, Greenbuild 2009 will also feature more than 100 educational sessions, LEED and Education Provider workshops, off-site educational sessions, a two-day Residential Summit, and tours of local green building sites throughout the Arizona area. More than 1,800 exhibitors will showcase some of the leading technologies and products in green design, construction and operations. For more information, visit www.greenbuildexpo.org and www.usgbc.org. To see presentations made at last year’s Greenbuild, visit www.greenbuild365.org. 

About U.S. Green Building Council
The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.

With a community comprising 78 local affiliates, more than 20,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 131,000 LEED Accredited Professionals, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.

About Greenbuild
The U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo convenes the industry’s largest gathering of representatives from all sectors of the green building movement. Three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, a vast exhibition floor and ample networking events provide unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest technological innovations, explore new products, and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild is the three time recipient of IMEX Green Meetings Award and the 2009 show will be held on Nov. 11-13, 2009, in Phoenix, Ariz. This past year’s conference in Boston, Mass. drew more than 28,000 attendees and featured more than 800 exhibit booths. Visit www.greenbuildexpo.org for more information. To view last year’s Greenbuild show, go to www.greenbuild365.org and to watch a video recap, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghqw9WqZ_i4