2013 A Good Year for Bedding Industry

The Greensboro, North Carolina-based Furniture Today is reporting that 2013 was a good year for the bedding industry.  Quoting an International Sleep Products Association report, units increased 1.5 percent and 2.1% in U.S. Dollars. In this Blogger's opinion, this is significant news related to this important industry.

Why does GET, LLC value the work of the IPSA?  Next year they celebrate 100 years of encouraging uniformity in industry standards and government regulations and are always fighting the good fight for the common interests of the 700 bedding manufacturers and related industry members world wide. Their analysis hits at every level of the bedding industry is very informative-they truly understand the bedding industry and those involved are best served by tapping the IPSA's expertise.

The IPSA figures showed the innerspring segment outperformed the specialty sleep segment helped last year by a strong sales year of hybrid sleep sets-the combination of innersprings and specialty foams.

Furniture Today reports that preliminary figures for last year show innerspring mattress units up 2.7% for the year, compared with a 7.3% decline for specialty mattress units. And the dollar value of innerspring mattress shipments was up a healthy 8.1%, compared with a 4.3% decline for specialty mattress dollars-the worst performance of the specialty sleep segment since 2009.

The average unit price for innerspring mattresses was up 5.3% for 2013, to $266.02, while it increased 3.2% for specialty mattresses, to $767.90. But the average unit price for foundations plunged 7.5%, to $80.83. Overall, the industry saw the average unit price rise just 0.5% last year, to $217.11, according to the preliminary figures.

Final figures for 2013 won't be available until ISPA completes a more detailed look at the year and issues its annual report in a few months.

ISPA also issued a fourth-quarter breakdown that showed innerspring mattress units up 4.1%, compared with a steep 11.7% decline for specialty mattress units. Innerspring mattress dollars were up 9.1% in the fourth quarter, while dollars were down 4.8% for specialty mattresses that quarter.

There is a caveat to all this information as the ISPA cautions that the reports may not necessarily reflect the performance of the full industry, due to market share or distribution changes. Good to know.  We will continue to follow this story and keep you posted.

For more on how GET,LLC through our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture and teaming partner American Hotel Register can assist you with your specific bedding needs-please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss the best solution for your facility.  All the solutions are Made in America!

Unified Communications Market = $61.9 Billion in 2018

The trend is making its move in Micronesia-an aggressive effort to cut expenses, grow productivity and increase efficiency.  The Albany, New York-based Transparency Market Research released a report recently that says that the unified communications market could grow from $22.8 billion in 2011 to $61.9 billion by 2018.

GET, LLC has confirmed that a number of the largest corporations in Micronesia are moving towards unified communications (UC)-the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging (chat), presence information, telephony (including IP telephony), video conferencing, data sharing (including web connected electronic whiteboards interactive whiteboards), call control and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified messaging (integrated voicemail, e-mail, SMS and fax).

UC becomes even more important in this era of increasing workforce mobility and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) practices, the analysts said.

Because of these trends, IT departments increasingly will be forced to provide cost-effective and flexible ways to communicate. Driving the adoption of UC are video, audio and Web conferencing because of their ability to link geographically dispersed organizations, according to the report.  Many of the corporations here in the Western Pacific have presence from Majuro to Manila. UC makes sense for them all.

UC comes with the promise of simplified management of collaboration technologies—from voice and video to email and instant messaging—and a better user experience for employees, partners and customers looking for better ways to work together. Like Transparency Market Research, other analyst firms also see a huge upside for the market.

While industry observers have said the UC market hasn't grown as quickly as expected over the last several years, due in part to the complexity around the technologies, such trends as a mobile work force, the growing use of video and cloud computing will help fuel interest and spending. According to Transparency Market Research, the proliferation of mobile devices capable of video communications and the growth of networks that can more easily handle video as well as voice and data will further drive UC adoption.

At the same time, there are no shortages of challenges, according to the analysts. Enterprises and service providers need to ensure the quality of the service on networks that are being asked to handle multiple services, they said. At the same time, security remains a concern. Other factors impeding adoption of UC technologies include the lack of interoperability between vendor platforms and the amount of money organizations need to spend to put a UC system in place.

GET, LLC is a proud Cisco Registered Partner providing the latest Cisco products and services direct to businesses and organizations-including unified communications. For more on the benefits that our Partnership can bring to you and your respective business contact us at 671-483-0789 or check out our website at www.get-guam.com for more information.

Genie SX-180 Begins Production-Tall is an Understatement

GET, LLC bragged on this Blog about this unit last year-it is finally here.  Terex Aerial Work Platforms (AWP) in Redmond, Washington has begin full production of its new Genie SX-180 telescopic boom lift, the world’s tallest self-propelled aerial work platform. Terex unveiled a prototype in April 2013 at the Bauma trade show in Munich, Germany. It then spent nine months field testing and making improvements before beginning full-on manufacturing.

The SX-180’s 180-ft. maximum platform height, 80-ft. maximum horizontal reach, unrestricted 750-lb. lifting capacity, and ability to travel at full height make it productive in a wide variety of applications, from commercial and infrastructure construction, to oil and gas work, industrial construction, general maintenance, and ship care.

"The SX-180 can do some work now being done by big truck-mounted aerials or cranes, while costing one-half to one-quarter the purchase price of those kinds of equipment," said Frank Schneider, super booms product manager for Terex AWP in a recent interview with Fort Dodge, Iowa-based Lift and Access Magazine.

 

“Buildings and other structures keep getting taller in all kinds of construction-There are all kinds of applications in wind farm work, cell tower installation, bridges, buildings, stadiums, refineries, mining structures, and electrical transmission tower construction," said Schneider.

In addition to high vertical reach and long horizontal outreach, the SX-180 is mobile on a job site. It can travel at up to 2.5 mph and climb a 35% grade with the boom stowed. With the platform raised to 125 ft. or less, it can travel at 0.4 mph, and with the platform at 180-ft. maximum height and the turret swung to any position, the SX-180 can still travel at 0.1 mph. The chassis has 1'3" of ground clearance.

Although Genie recommends using a spotter, the SX-180 can be set up and operated by one person in less than 10 minutes from arriving on a job site.

The five-section, fully proportional, telescopic boom is designed for strength, stiffness, smooth operation, and easy maintenance. Each of its five 39-ft. sections is a welded box-section structure. The four extending sections slide smoothly on ultra-high density composite slider pads that never need lubricating. Mounted to the end of the jib, the platform is self leveling and articulates 160° horizontally for precise placement. The single front entrance is standard; a tri-entry platform, optional.

If you have any aerial lift needs and would like to discuss potential solutions, including the SX-180, please drop GET, LLC a line via our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-797-0789-your authorized Terex/Genie Representative for Guam and Micronesia.

  

Guam-A Different Perspective

Today it yet another attempt by the Office of the Governor of Guam to help spin the Department of Administration out of a complete mess.  A day after a terse 1100 word statement was delivered to the Guam Legislature justifying proposed pay increases to public sector employees,  the Communications Team at Adelup is making the effort  to lay out where raises across the Executive Branch will in fact happen.  The Administration has taken a different track related to this particular issue as the public outcry continues to grow by the day.

The recent statement by the DOA Director was full of political rhetoric and lacked substantive financial information.  The only numbers that the statement included were that employees waited 23 years for a raise, there was a promise made 20 years ago for a raise-not sure which one, in 10 days government workers will receive a pay increase, the Administration saw inequities in the proposed Hay Study four years ago and every employee will see a three percent increase on their respective pay checks.  Also, the DOA Director did point out conditions which she "discovered" three years ago with a negative $17 million checking account balance, government owed taxpayers an average of $7000 in tax refunds, and there was a $330 million deficit.  Did I say the Governor's appointee mentioned the cost of pay raises was $7.7. million? Did I miss a number?

This issue would have never came about if the DOA Director had simply provided a detailed breakdown of how the plan would be implemented-along with the current financials of the Government of Guam-when asked by Senators.  That is why they are the "check and balance" of our government system.  With seven months left in the fiscal year, any change to impact the cash strapped Territorial Government should come with a clear financial direction that the community can be aware of and plan for accordingly.

What small business owners on Guam don't realize is that Business Privilege Taxes will be called on in the next year and years to come to pay down the huge debt taken on by policy makers and even these proposed pay raises.  In a flat economy, is this where the burden to pay for a lack of fiscal discipline by government should lie?

I am always supportive of the authority of the Chief Executive in bringing about substantive changes to improve the delivery of government services-even increases for the salaries of the Gov Guam workforce. It is the delivery of critical services that drives decision making at the highest levels within the political offices-heck, they use the old education, healthcare and public safety cards as the pillars of preserving their places at Adelup or Hessler Street. But when making the public spin, both sides should remember the impacts of words and actions in the heart of a political season. Voters have short or long term memory here?

The legislative branch is also responsible for the mixed messages sent to taxpayers on this drama.  In this Blogger's opinion, they did not act quickly enough to demand more transparency in the process.  The first time they had a chance to solve the Hay Study issue, they respectfully put the pay raise matter on the back burner as they focused on more important issues like innocuous resolutions to Congress, increasing Government of Guam mandates further, and making promises on streamlined public services that need-you guessed it-more money.

Both sides look bad.  Both sides look petty.  Both sides of the political system on Guam look ready for a heated 10 months of battle with the high stakes seat of Governor of Guam sitting in the balance.

Take a moment to gather the facts on your own.  Don't rely on the media and blogs alone. Be aware of the impacts of political decision making as you will see it in your face from now until the General Election in November 2014.

  

DOE Releases Pedestrian-Centric Outdoor Lighting and Glare Report

The US Department of Energy (DOE) through its Gateway Demonstration Program has once again struck a chord with lighting designers and manufacturers related to the development of pedestrian-friendly outdoor lighting.  I have witnessed first hand that nighttime outdoor lighting has been designed locally for the vehicle driver, rather than the pedestrian.  This was reaffirmed by DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in a report issued late last year.  

The Pedestrian Friendly Outdoor Light Report noted that metrics such as pavement illuminance or luminance, illuminance uniformity ratios, vertical illuminance on objects or faces, and glare metrics such as Veiling Luminance Ratio or Glare Ratings from the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Luminaire Classification System (BUG) guide decision making among municipal and state governments and agencies.

 The U.S. Department of Energy GATEWAY Demonstration Program featured pedestrian-focused projects at Stanford  University in California and the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The results from these projects revealed that pedestrians  have different criteria and priorities than drivers, especially in areas where cars are subordinate to bicycles and users on foot. Both of the demonstration areas tested multiple light fixtures based on LED and legacy sources in an attempt to identify luminaires that were both safe and pleasant for the residents with minimal glare. The results of the demonstrations showed that of the current commercial technologies, LED luminaires can serve the communities' needs with warmer correlated color temperatures (CCT) and glare reduction techniques, and also may change the thinking of lighting professionals on appropriate light levels.

Also in both cases, it  became clear that users

• Cared about the daytime appearance of the luminaire

• Found luminaire glare to be a significant factor in luminaire acceptability

• Preferred luminaires that produced a soft-edged pattern of light on the ground

• Preferred a warm color of light (2700K to 3000K) given the character of their neighborhood and the  fact that they were used to either incandescent sources or high-pressure sodium as a baseline

The work verified that glare is a significant factor in pedestrian ratings of lighting. Indeed, the LED products that proved most preferred were augmented with diffusers to further soften the appearance of the lights. The test subjects also preferred a soft-edge pattern of light on the ground, whereas streetlight projects often seek sharp boundaries on beam patterns.

The research also revealed that area lighting in pedestrian-centric areas could essentially offer better nighttime visibility at the low end of IES guidelines on luminance and illuminance. Elimination of glare, enabled in part by lower lighting levels, allows the human visual system to better perceive objects and possible danger in areas of lower light away from the nearest light source.

Every outdoor lighting project is different.

The needs vary according to the project client, the users, and their activities, and therefore the best lighting solution will also vary from project to project. There

are invariably trade offs that must be weighed among visual comfort, color, visibility, efficacy, and other factors. There is no glare metric that works reliably for pedestrian lighting, so full-scale mock ups or pilot projects are an important step for gathering feedback from users.

DOE said "The report is meant to stimulate discussion among specifiers,users, energy specialists, and industry in hopes that new approaches, metrics, and standards can be  developed to support pedestrian-focused communities, while reducing energy use."

To learn more about outdoor lighting, check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give GET, LLC a call at 671-797-0789.  We are a provider of Independence LED Lighting and Deco Lighting Inc. products including the Deco D8624-LED Strada I Cobra Head-ideal for highway, parking lots, public entrances, off-street areas or other commercial applications-Made in America!!!

Case Good Furniture Business On Up Swing

A great article in on-line industry magazine Furniture Today highlighted the increase in business of Case Good Vendors across the country-a sign that design, finish and materials mean so much today in a very tough furniture marketplace.

Writer Thomas Russell noted that the introductions of more modern furniture looks comes as the economy is making a comeback through the housing and employment marketplaces.

"Case goods vendors say they want to be prepared with fresh new looks and approaches to both bedroom and formal dining," wrote Russell.

Our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture have responded with their industry competitors.  Their push is simply: Curves, pops of color, personality.

Savoy rolled out last month a great desk system that provide ample work space with less of the bulk of traditional student desks and a new "kidney-shaped" desktop design.

The detachable desktop storage unit is an open concept design with both form and function and finished in the color of your choice-modern and polished appeal.

They also introduced a complementary High capacity storage drawer system with curves by design. Savoy allows you to choose your color of the laminate top to match the personality of your end user. Did I mention that they are also available as a stackable unit?

Savoy and other furniture manufactures are seeing positive response to changes in their respective products.  Whether their respective lines are available in new finishes, painted, or other tones, the options are helpful to creating a certain aesthetic and feel for the modern living space or office. Expect this trend to continue throughout the year and beyond.

GET, LLC is a proud partner with Pennsylvania-based Savoy Furniture. We thank them for all that they do to give their customers the quality and stability that continues to make them a top choice for your respective case good needs.

For more on how Savoy Furniture and GET, LLC can assist you with your furniture needs, please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-797-0789 for more information. 

Certified Fiber Installer Training Coming to Guam in May 2014

GET, LLC is proud to announce that our friends at Fiber Optic Marketplace have confirmed that they will be holding a a Certified Fiber Installer Course in Guam from May 19-22, 2014.  The  joint TFS/ETA Certification course is geared towards those who layout, install or maintain fiber optic cabling systems.

The Fiber School is known as the premier certification body in Fiber Optics, as well as many other telecommunications areas including wireless, pro audio and video, fiber optics for wind turbines and much, much more.

Thousands of technicians have gained Electronics Technicians Association certifications since 1978, including over 28,000 fiber optics installers and thousands in each basic or specialty segment of electronics. Some reasons for choosing an ETA certification include the modeling of  its electronics certification exams after international competency standards including the International Certification Accreditation Council (ICAC), the National Skills Standards Board’s feasibility study concluded the ETA electronics certification programs were among the best industry certifications available, and educators, practitioners, students and employers have the opportunity to provide regular feedback (to discuss individual exam question wording, practicality or fairness) for added reliability, validity and consistency.

The program will identify you as an installer able to demonstrate a practical knowledge of fiber optic theory, codes, standards and practices widely accepted in the fiber optics industry. In addition, the program will incorporate two days of individual hands-on training validating installer skills, including fiber terminations, cable preparations, fusion splicing, OTDR and optical loss testing. These skills are applicable to all the requirements to safely and competently install, maintain, and test fiber optic cabling systems. 

Also, the fiber optic installation course will be offered with a self-paced, online lecture and a hands-on workshop. This innovative approach to Fiber Optic Training and certification allows students to minimize expense, time and travel by learning at their own pace, on their own schedule (using online e-Learning to complete the lecture portion of the class.) Students will then complete the hands-on portions of the class at any of our scheduled sessions around the world (and can review the material within one year of registering for the course.)

For more information, please give us a call at 671-797-0789 or drop us a line at www.get-guam.com for more information on the related products and services we provide-though our friends at Cisco Systems, Panduit and Fiber Optic Marketplace LLC.