Welcome to the March issue of PEW! I have been working from home for the last two weeks and am now in recovery mode having had my old bathroom ripped out and a new one put in. While at home I did manage to catch bits of the Winter Olympics and see what new and creative ways they had managed to come up with to hurl people down an icy slope as quickly as possible.

Out of curiosity I started delving into the history of the Winter Olympics. First held in Chamonix in 1924 and made up of five sports (bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing and skating), it has evolved over the years with new subdisciplines introduced, categories dropped and others modernised – for example military patrol eventually became the biathlon event. There have also been some surprising sports that, while never introduced as an official event, were showcased as demonstrations at various Olympics, such as skijoring (being towed on skis behind a horse or dogs), acroski (ski ballet), and speed skiing – where athletes descended a steep, straight course in a tight aerodynamic tuck at speeds of up to 130mph! Unsurprisingly, concerns about safety prevented that from ever becoming an official event.

So yes, the Olympic Games, both summer and winter, have evolved but at their core remain the key values of excellence, respect and friendship which have helped the games to endure for so long.

“Where are you going with this?” you might ask. Well, Theben’s journey began just before the first Winter Olympics. The topic of ‘sustainability’ might be considered a very modern movement but the thought process behind it goes back a long way. At Theben, as explained in this month’s Soapbox column, it was precision engineer Paul Schwenk who started developing time switches in 1921, with the principle that buildings don’t need to run at full tilt all the time. Fast forward about 100 years, with a lot of innovation and progress in between, we are living in the age of smart buildings.

Evolution runs throughout the built environment, including the electrical wholesaler, ever since G. Binswanger and Company, later to become the General Electric Company, first started selling electrical components over the counter in London in the late 19th century. In the 21st century traditional distribution methods are being challenged by rapid changes in customer expectations (especially digital buyers), sustainability requirements, and broader shifts in the energy and construction sectors. To evolve and thrive, wholesalers are rethinking their business models across technology, operations, sustainability and customer experience. In fact it’s evolving faster than an average curling match seems to take.

Enjoy the issue!

– Tracey Rushton-Thorpe
Editor

Catch up on previous ‘Editor’s Viewpoint’ here

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Welcome to the March issue of PEW! It feels good writing that even though I’m actually writing this in February, the cold, dark nights of January and February are coming to an end. When I walked into the bathroom this morning I thought I’d left the light on, before realising that it was actually sunlight streaming through the window, happy times ahead!

I always do my best to steer clear of politics on this page as there are already enough opinions out there and this page really just serves as a friendly introduction, linking real life with topical industry subjects. I am even more reluctant to stray into American politics, but when President Trump delivers such a gift of a talking point for the construction industry then it is very hard to ignore.

Headlines such as ‘Freedom to choose lightbulbs’ and ‘Trump reignites the lightbulb wars’ might once have been dreamt up in the writers’ room of a satirical comedy but in 2025 it is in fact reality, as the 47th (and 45th) President of the United States has declared war on LED technology and vowed to bring back the traditional lightbulb.

Of all of Trump’s many gripes with the world I didn’t think LED lighting was going to be up there but he has indeed signed an order dubbed ‘Unleashing American Energy’, designed to remove ‘burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations that have impeded the development of [natural] resources’. In an ironic moment of self-awareness he also stated during his first term that “you look better with incandescent lights”, adding, “of course being a vain person, that’s very important to me.” With lines like that the future of satire really is in danger!

Such is the nature of American politics, the ‘lightbulb wars’ have been a thing ever since George W. Bush started the transition to LEDs in 2007 when he signed the Energy Independence and Security Act. Barack Obama kept things going in the same direction, before consecutive reversals occurred in the Trump/Biden/Trump era.

Given the advancement and widespread popularity of LEDs in today’s market it remains to be seen how successful Trump will be in his quest to bring back the incandescent lightbulb, and I can’t speak for all Americans so all we can do for now is watch with interest from afar.

Back on this side of the Atlantic, Recolight continues to carry out sterling work in its mission to deliver a circular economy for lighting. On page 26 Chief Executive Nigel Harvey explains how electrical wholesalers can play their part, and we’ve also got features from Ovia and Ansell Lighting making up our special feature on Lighting, while in this month’s Soapbox column you can find out how Zumtobel Group is advancing its sustainability journey.

If you’re reading, Mr President, enjoy the issue!

– Tracey Rushton-Thorpe

Catch up on previous ‘Editor’s Viewpoint’ here

The post LED It Be | Editor’s Viewpoint appeared first on Professional Electricians Wholesaler.