Editor’s Note / Contents


EDITOR Deborah Eales Email: deales@datateam.co.uk Tel: 01354 461430


DIVISIONALMANAGER Mike Gammon Email: mgammon@datateam.co.uk Tel: 01622 699142


SALESMANAGER John Wilson Email: jwilson@datateam.co.uk Tel: 01622 699127


PRODUCTIONMANAGER Claire Noe Email: cnoe@datateam.co.uk Tel: 01622 607963


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It was a time to shine at this year’s EW Awards W


hen we established the EW Awards four years ago, a core aim was to reward


excellence within the electrical wholesale sector and to give a well-deserved pat on the back to wholesalers, manufacturers and individuals who go the extra mile. We hope you agree that the awards – the


only awards dedicated to electrical wholesalers and their suppliers – are a force for good within the industry. The EW Awards are growing in stature, year


by year. And to win an award in the face of such tough competition is a real achievement and something to be proud of. Everyone who took time to enter – and the


hundreds of people who went online to vote – helped to make this a stellar year and, of course, we couldn’t do it without the invaluable support of our sponsors and supporters. Many congratulations to those who made it


onto the shortlist, to those who were highly commended (no mean feat) and to our eventual winners. You can find out who they are in our special four page report, starting on page 27. There are many people who contributed to making this year’s awards a success – not


NEWS


5 INDUSTRY NEWS Market and industry update


14 INSTALLATION NEWS Case studies from around the industry


27 EW AWARDS 2017 Find out who won this year’s prestigious EW Awards


REGULARS 9 EIC UPDATE


JUNE 2017 VOLUME 56 NUMBER 06 Electrical Wholesaler is


proud to support the Electrical Industries Charity


12 COVER STORY 16 INDUSTRY COMMENT 20 INDUSTRY COMMENT 40 MARKET REPORT 43 INDUSTRY COMMENT 45 COMPETITION 46 PRODUCT FINDER 51 RECRUITMENT 52 BUYERS GUIDE


least, my colleague and Divisional Manager, Mike Gammon. The awards truly are his ‘baby’ and he does a sterling job, pulling it all together, supported by the EW team. Thank you, too, to my fellow judges, Eddie


Embleton (Voltimum), Richard Pagett (Aria PR) and John Sheppard (eTrader websites), whose insight and experience is greatly valued. We also thank EDA Director, Margaret


Fitzsimons for her eloquent and insightful tribute to our Lifetime Contribution Award winner, Bob Robertson, Chairman of R&B Star. It’s a well-deserved award for Bob, who you can read about on p30. The feedback on this year’s awards – from the unique comedy of Nish Kumar, to the brilliant hosting of Ryan Philpott and the excellent awards dinner – has made very pleasant reading.


Here’s to the EW Awards 2018!


Deborah Eales Editor


deales@datateam.co.uk FEATURES


19 TIMERS & CONTROLS Selling PIR detectors


22 CABLE MANAGEMENT The very British roots of Marshall-Tufflex


25 TOOLS Box clever with tools


33 WIRING ACCESSORIES Gridpro from Scolmore


34 CABLE MANAGEMENT When to recommend gel and cast resin joints


37 SPECIAL REPORT A wholesale view of Amendment 3


41 SMART CONTROLS Smart doesn’t have to be complicated


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