What's New?

CRESCENT Power Systems proudly announces the addition of Paul Ingamells to our sales staff. Paul is based in Houston and will handle our business activity for this marketplace. This allows us to cover a major part of the Gulf Coast territory and handle projects that reach into both areas.

Paul is a Cal Poly ME graduate and has been in the electrical power equipment business for many years. At one time, Paul and I worked together for BBC selling everything from gas turbines to Kirk key interlocks. At BBC, we were introducing the first wave of SF6 power circuit breakers and ITE Circuit Shield protective relays. It was not uncommon for the highly conservative utility engineers to totally reject these products and escort you to the door with a "no thank you, sir." We were later transferred to the Atlanta office when the company became ABB in the late 80s. Paul has a wealth of experience and we have hit the Houston ground running. Please join us in welcoming him to our team.

LECTRUS – has announced the acquisition of D.T.S, Inc. of Tea, South Dakota. The purchase expands Lectrus' sales, engineering, fabrication and electrical integration capabilities into the upper Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Western Canadian regions. DTS was established in 1979 and manufactures custom steel and aluminum enclosures, sub-base tanks and trailers for the commercial generator market. DTS, also known as Dakota Enclosures, has developed a specialization for large, sound-attenuated projects that require unique electrical components enclosed in a high-quality, engineered metal housing. "DTS is a wonderful addition to the Lectrus family", said Lectrus’ President and CEO Jerry Driscoll. "Their commitment to build the highest quality product and exceed customer expectations is second to none in the industry. The location of their plant, the talent of the team and their presence in adjacent markets fits perfectly with Lectrus' vision".



CASTLE POWER – shipped two 13.2MVAR/13.8kV metal enclosed, tuned cap banks to a local shipyard. We worked with the customer to provide a final design that would minimize Parallel and Series resonance on their power system. We expect the power cabling and control wiring to be completed this month. Nick will be in town for start-up and a double serving of spedini at Tony Angelo’s.

POWERCON – has delivered a fully integrated power center to a bio-fuels company in PA. The package includes five sections of 15kV switchgear, batteries, chargers and panel boards in a 15' x 28' equipment enclosure. PowerCon did it again and provided a great package that is fully compliant with the customer's needs. The FAT had a punch list that was only a few items. You don't see that too often in this business.

TOSHIBA - is working with us on a project for a handful of high HP, 600V, VFDs for a retrofit of some existing drives on an offshore oil platform. As you would expect, we have been asked to put ten pounds of hardware in a five pound enclosure. The challenge is to provide a design that addresses harmonics on a soft power system, locate our power cable terminals so we can reuse the existing cables and provide dynamometer testing at full HP. Toshiba has all the building blocks we need, including an 18 pulse design, high efficiency, a small footprint and a test lab that can provide the full load testing. We just hope that when we do the on-site testing, they will let us fish for a few red snapper off the side of the rig.

AREVA – We have started the new year with a flurry of substation activity. From the trendy wind farm and solar projects to the first nuclear plant switchyard in a long time, there seems to be activity in a lot of different areas. At the same time, AREVA continues to grow its brand acceptance with competitive pricing, on-time delivery and of course our great service. We are well positioned to move forward with the ALSTOM group and feel sure that this transition should be quite smooth.

In case you were wondering, our latest excursion was down to Venice to shoot a few rabbits. Our duck hunting this year was a bust, so we were excited to have the opportunity to fire off a few rounds. Junior was not available, so his brother Thomas stepped in and did some damage. Between all nine guys we shot 62 rabbits. Needless to say there were rabbits everywhere, so if you have a good recipe please send it to us.

It is hard to adequately express the amazing electricity associated with the New Orleans Saints victory in this year's Super Bowl. It has been an incredible uplifting experience for the entire Who Dat Nation. They did us proud and the whole city seems to be on a path to a better way of life. Bless you boys, cause we ain't the Ain'ts no more.

On a final note, Donna and I recently moved into our new home in Lake Vista in New Orleans close to Lake Pontchartrain. It is a wonderful place with an open floor plan and several large live oak trees to enjoy. We have begun landscaping, walking the dog and putting out the trash like regular homeowners. This officially puts an end to the four and one half years of camping out brought on by Miss Katrina. It is great to be home.

Thanks for all your business and don't be afraid to send us a little more, as we have plenty of new home bills to pay.