Lamp Indices Continue to Ebb During First Quarter 2009 NEMA's incandescent and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) indices for First Quarter, 2009 declined 2.4 and 4.6 percent, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. The incandescent lamp shipments index showed a decline of 16.9 percent on a year-over-year basis, nearly reaching the all-time low set during the third quarter of 2008. Since the beginning of 2007, the incandescent index has declined in 6 of the 9 previous quarters. CFL shipments declined 14.8 percent on a year-over-year basis following a gain of 11.0 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008. Market penetration of CFLs versus incandescent lamps increased to 23.3 percent from the fourth quarter 2008 level of 22.5 percent. Although its share has drifted lower from the record high of 25.3 percent set back in the third quarter of last year, the ratio of CFLs sold continues to hover around one in every four household lamps.

WAGO Offers New Application Development Software WAGO Corporation announced the release of version 5.2 of its ProServe product development software suite. Among the additions to the 16,000+ products of ProServe 5.2's 'productLOCATOR' are those in the SPEEDWAY (Series 767) range of modular IP 67 I/O automation products. For this range, ProServe 5.2 has an array of diagnostic tools that allows the user to define input and output loads as well as to check potential current and compatibility.

Lightfair International Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Record-Breaking Show The 20th annual LIGHTFAIRŽ International (LFI), the world's largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, ended last week with record-breaking attendance of more than 23,000 industry professionals and conference participants*. LFI 2009 in New York offered the most robust trade show and conference in its 20-year history. Boasting an exhibit hall of more than 170,000 square feet, the 2009 trade show floor-the largest space in LFI's history- was sold out, featuring 475 national and international manufacturers showcasing the latest product designs and introductions, technological advances and lighting solutions.

2009 Distribution Reports Available for Download The NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence has released 2009 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports for 19 different product lines. These Reports are available for immediate download as PDF files. To order, go to www.naw.org/wder09 or call 202.872.0885. The 2009 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports - written by Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., President of Pembroke Consulting - contain detailed 2008 economic statistics on the $4.5 trillion wholesale distribution industry, including revenue and employment growth trends, the number and size distribution of companies, gross margins, wages, and many other operating statistics.

2008 Sales Award Winners Announced by Bryant at NEMRA Annual Conference Bryant announced their 2008 Sales Award Winners at the NEMRA annual conference held in Orlando, Florida. Seven awards were presented including National Territory of the Year, six regional territory awards. Each winner was recognized for their outstanding 2008 performance. Following are the winners: o National Agent of the Year: All-Pro Sales, Dallas, TX o Regional Agents of the Year: Southwest Region: ElectriGroup, Sacramento, CA Northwest Region: H & K Sales, Portland, OR Midwest Region: Agents Midwest Ltd., Wood Dale, IL Southeast Region: R.W. Chapman & Company, Charlotte, NC Northeast Region: David Role and Company, Woburn, MA and Ironwood Sales and Marketing, Inc., Baltimore, MD Bryant's Paul Criscuolo, Vice President of Sales, and Christian Thompson, Director of Marketing, presented the awards.

SATCO Receives ENERGY STAR Partner of Year Award SATCO Products announced today it has received the 2009 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award in the lighting manufacturing category. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized SATCO, and its NUVO Lighting brand, for promoting energy efficiency and offering consumers lighting technology that is economical as well. SATCO's accomplishments were recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.. Bill Gildin, President of SATCO Products, said, "Today more than ever, energy efficiency is at the forefront of people's minds, and we are extremely proud to have the SATCO / NUVO name synonymous with ENERGY STAR. We gratefully accept the honor as a testament to our commitment to helping make the planet a better place through energy conservation."

NAED Announces Upgrades to EPEC Silver Module NAED announced the completion of upgrades to the Silver level of the Electrical Products Education Course (EPEC). Known throughout the electrical industry as a symbol of quality and a gauge of professional competency, EPEC integrates the full range of products a distributor sells with a unique systems approach. The course not only provides information about individual products and their applications, but shows how each is interrelated with other products in electrical systems. Although EPEC is a self-study course, it provides the added benefit of ongoing personal feedback from industry experts as students proceed through the modules.