Business briefs

Electrical Apparatus, Sep 2005 by Jones, Kevin

GE plans to expand manufacturing in India

General Electric Co. is "eyeing India's financial services sector" and plans to expand its manufacturing there, according to a recent issue of electmindustry, a publication of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. At a May forum organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, GE president and CEO Jeffrey Immelt said, "We are just short of being a $1 billion company in India, and now is the right time to go back to the market in India with investments, including manufacturing."

New U.S. energy law boosts orders for ABB

Even before it was signed into law by President Bush in August, the new U.S. energy bill was boosting orders for Zurich-based ABB's transmission and distribution equipment. The $14.5 billion bill, now law, is aimed at building domestic oil and gas supplies as well as improving the nation's power grid. Investment banking firm JP Morgan estimated improvements to the national power grid underwritten by the law could boost ABB's group revenues by as much as 3% over a number of years.

Pentadyne Power in South Korea venture

Pentadyne Power Corp. of Chatsworth, Calif., a manufacturer of advanced flywheel power systems for urban rail power recycling and transportation, has entered into a distribution agreement with Ehway Technologies Information, a South Korean manufacturer of uninterruptible power supplies. Under the agreement, Ehway Technologies will make available Pentadyne's Voltage Support Solution with many of its UPS models. Pentadyne's flywheel power system is intended to provide a stable, reliable, lowmaintenance, extended-life d-c voltage source to either replace or supplement batteries in UPS systems.

Knight Electronics chooses Canadian rep

Dallas-based Knight Electronics, Inc., a supplier of a-c and d-c cooling fans and trays, power cords, OEM components, and other electronic products, has chosen CanaREP of Vancouver, B.C., as its Canadian representative. CanaREP operates six offices Canada to provide a national reach while maintaining locally available staff.

Guarantee Electrical opens California office

St. Louis-based electrical contractor Guarantee Electrical Construction Co. has opened its first California office, in Benicia, Calif. The company entered the market in Benicia in 2003 when it acquired Kimsey Electrical Contracting of Denver, which had been providing electrical maintenance at the Valero oil Refinery for nearly 30 years.

Financial briefs

* Littelfuse, Inc., Des Plaines, 111., fuse manufacturer, reports that sales for the second quarter were down 4%, to 123.9, from the same period the year before. Excluding Heinrich Industrie AG, which Littelfuse acquired in May 2004 and accounted for $20.9 million in sales for the quarter, sales were down 10%. A decline in electronics sales was attributed to weakness in telecom end markets and lower distributor sales in North America and Europe.

* Regal-Beloit Corp., Beloit, Wis., manufacturer of electrical and air-conditioning equipment, reported that income for the quarter ended in July rose to $18.4 million from $7.6 million for the same period in 2004. Sales also more than doubled, to $368.8 million from $177.7 million. The company attributed the gains to acquisitions made in 2004.

Edited by Kevin Jones