News Updates for the Week of May 23

SPECIAL TRAINING SESSION:

Attardi Marketing is offering a behavior changing training session for sales professionals at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ:

RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY - JUNE 20, 2011

Sales Pro Solution Selling

An important asset of any company, especially one involved in the distribution of products and services, is its sales force and its ability to solve problems in today’s increasingly diverse and global workplace. The current business environment is changing the makeup of both the workplace and, most certainly, your customer base.

This one-day advanced sales training workshop focuses on assessing the individual strengths and weaknesses we all have and the sales skills necessary to recognize and to solve those nagging problems that are impediments to successful sales closure.

Using a highly successful self-assessment instrument (DISC Model) online, the workshop provides the attendees an understanding of different behavioral styles essential for managing and selling more effectively in a diverse environment. In addition, the objective of the workshop is to develop the necessary sales skills to successfully upsell into a rapidly changing electrical industry with emphasis on the new energy efficient technologies and process selling. To convince today's customers to upgrade to the more technologically advanced products because of bottom line improvement and productivity gains that will be realized. The workshop engages and challenges participants through self-assessments, brief lecturettes, questionnaires, customized case studies and interactive group exercises.

Before the session, all participants will be asked to complete an online assessment:

The Success Insights® DISC Profile Behavioral Assessment – an analysis of each individual’s behavioral style is used to increase your self-awareness and abilities to develop adaptive styles to meet the demands of your work and customer environments. Here’s what you get:

- You get to take a 15 minute online assessment that will reveal your personal behavioral style

- Your Personal Success Insights® DISC Profile Behavioral report

- Expert analysis

- Complete binder to continue the learning process on your own

- Continental breakfast and break refreshments and lunch

- Professional Adjunct Professors: Bill Attardi and Mike Protono

Your cost: $350.00 per attendee. The complete one-day agenda and registration available at: www.attardimarketing.com/salesprosolutionselling or send me an email at wattardi@attardimarketing.com for a group rate.

1. What a Show! http://www.lightfair.com  - In my fortunate life in the lighting industry, I have attended virtually every Lightfair Show. For me, this was the most exciting show ever as it is clear to those of us who attended this one that the lighting industry is going thru a metamorphosis. Major electronic conglomerates exhibited and are looking to participate in the unfamiliar digital electronic lighting industry of the future. The unbelievable focus on solid state lighting (SSL) was something to see. This LEDfair is the harbinger of what’s to come. I cannot wait to see how it will all shake out. Special was the LFI Innovation Awards that honors industry innovations for lighting-related products and designs introduced in the past 12 months. See the winners by category at:

http://dev.lightfair.com/lightfair/V40/test/iAwards2011/LFI%20Innovation%20Awards%202011/Welcome/

2. Acuity Brands Wins Top Award in Lightfair Innovation Awards - Acuity’s Revel OLED light fixture won Lightfair’s most coveted new product award. The modular five-panel ceiling mounted system provides 60 LPW and 85 CRI.

3. LED Bulbs Hit 100 Watts as Federal Ban Looms - Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January. The new bulbs will also be expensive - about $50 each - so the development may not prevent consumers from hoarding traditional bulbs. Osram Sylvania said it has overcome the heat problem and will be showing a pear-shaped 100-watt-equivalent LED bulb at Lightfair. It doesn't have a firm launch date. Lighting Sciences Group Corp. will be showing several 100-watt-equivalent prototypes, including some that solve the problem of cooling the LEDs by using microscopic devices that move air over the chips, like miniature fans. Before the 100-watters, there will be 75-watters on the shelves this year. 5/16 AP

4. Philips Unveils EnduraLED A21 17-Watt Bulb - Philips Electronics unveiled the Philips EnduraLED A21 17-watt light bulb today at the Lightfair International trade show. Designed to replace a 75-watt incandescent bulb, while reducing energy consumption by 80% and lasting 25 times longer, the Philips EnduraLED A21 17-watt marks another important milestone in LED lighting technology for everyday use. 5/16 HCN

5. City of Bryan Installs Cooper Lighting LED Streetlights to Reduce Energy Costs and Increase Light Quality - Bryan Municipal Utilities applied for and was awarded a $540,000 matching grant through the ARRA to install approximately 1,400 energy-efficient streetlights. After an extensive evaluation process, the city chose two LED luminaires from Cooper Lighting to replace its 150-watt HPS street lighting fixtures. Expecting to see a savings of 25 to 30 percent in energy costs by installing Cooper's Streetworks™ OVH LED Cobraheads (80W) and CLB Generation LED Decorative Post Top Luminaires (70W), officials are achieving an actual energy savings of 30 to 35 percent, and meeting the city's sustainability goals. 5/13 PRNewswire

6. ASHRAE Releases 90.1-2010–Part 2: Lighting Controls - Last month, the Lighting Controls Association published a guide to the new ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 standard, focusing on its prescriptive lighting power requirements as well as significant changes to its scope and administrative requirements. In Part 2 of this series on the new standard, we will focus on its extensive new mandatory and optional lighting control requirements. Regarding controls, the changes are nothing short of historic. To obtain a copy of the standard, visit the ASHRAE bookstore at www.ashrae.org or the IES bookstore at http://www.ies.org/

7. NEMA Publishes SSL 3-2011 High-Power White LED Binning for General Illumination - This standard, first published in 2010, was produced by NEMA’s Solid State Lighting Section. SSL 3 offers categorization areas (bins) for chromaticity (colors), forward voltage measurements (an electrical designation), and luminous flux (light output) for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used for general lighting. The binning process helps ensure continuity among suppliers. The standard also sets a level of expectation for characterization that result in a reasonable number of bins for stocking purposes. The contents of SSL 3 may be purchased for $39, by visiting www.nema.org/stds/ssl3.cfm

SSL 3 is the third solid state lighting standard published by NEMA in 2011, joining new publications SSL 1 and SSL 6. To learn more about the association’s lighting standards, visit www.nema.org/stds/lighting.cfm

8. New Solid-State Lighting Standards Help LED Gain Greater Market Share - On Feb. 16, 2011, U.S. EPA updated its specifications covering the qualification of luminaires under its Energy Star label. Effective October 1, 2011 to qualify for the Energy Star label under Energy Star Luminaires, Version 1.0 (Luminaires V1.0), which replaces both the RLF V4.2, “Residential Light Fixtures” specification and SSL V1.3, “Solid State Lighting Luminaires” specification, luminaires must demonstrate a 30% increase in efficiency above the current qualification level. In addition, by 2013, performance must show an additional 10% increase — a 40% higher efficiency compared to the current qualification level. Moreover, the fixtures must continue to meet other performance criteria, such as quick start-up, high-quality light output, lamps that last 10 times longer than standard lamps, reduced toxics associated with fixture materials, and be backed by a three-year warranty. 4/21 EC&M

9. Sens. Shaheen, Portman Introduce a National Energy Efficiency Strategy - The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000) of 2011 intends to increase the use of energy efficiency technologies in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors of our economy, while fostering job creation. Enactment of S. 1000 would:

* Boost private sector investment in building efficiency upgrades by expanding the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee program.

* Help manufacturers reduce energy use and become more competitive by working with states to establish a revolving loan program to help finance efficiency upgrades.

* Provide standards on outdoor lighting, residential heating and cooling systems, residential appliances, and other appliance products based on agreements between manufacturers and efficiency advocates.

* Work with states to strengthen national model building codes to make new homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient.

* Require the federal government – the single largest energy user in the country – to adopt energy saving techniques for computers, saving energy and taxpayer dollars, and adopt better building standards and smart metering technology. 5/17 Alliance to Save Energy

10. DOE Releases Special CALiPER Summary Report on Retail Replacement Lamp Testing - The U.S. DOE has completed Retail Replacement Lamp product testing through the DOE Solid-State Lighting (SSL) CALiPER program. A Summary Report containing the results is now available for download on the DOE SSL website at www.ssl.energy.gov/reports.html. This special testing was undertaken to identify and test performance of solid-state lighting (SSL) replacement lamp products directly available to the general public through retail outlets (stores and websites). Product testing covered a limited sample of 33 SSL replacement lamps, including five A19, four B10 (candelabra), two C7 (night light), eleven MR16/PAR16, four PAR20, and seven PAR30. The 33 different lamps represented products by 10 different manufacturers and were anonymously purchased from eight different retailers.Detailed test results from this report will be available soon through the searchable online CALiPER system: www.ssl.energy.gov/search.html

11. ENERGY STAR Integral LED Lamps Specification Version 1.4 - Attached is the Integral LED Lamp specification, Version 1.4. This version formalizes enhancements to the non-standard lamp labeling requirements and incorporates a number of refinements associated with the institution of third-party certification. Products qualified under previous versions of the Integral LED Lamp specification are not affected by this revision. EPA expects to finalize and post Version 1.4 by June 1, 2011.

12. Walmart Posts $103.4 Billion in First-Quarter Sales - Walmart reported net sales for the first quarter of $103.4 billion, an increase of 4.4% from $99.1 billion in the first quarter last year. Walmart's net income was $3.4 billion, compared with net income of $3.3 billion in the prior-year quarter. The company said it expects U.S. same-store sales for the second quarter to range from down 1% to up 1%. 5/18 HCN