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Webinar: AI and Ecommerce: The Future for Electrical Distributors

William Attardi on October 10, 2025

Discover how AI is transforming electrical distribution—from customer insights to ecommerce efficiency—in this exclusive webinar with industry leaders from DDS and ECI.

October 22, 2025 @ 11:00am ET, Duration: 1 hour.  

In this webinar, Matt Christensen, President & Co-founder of DDS, and Chris Fisher, VP of Global Ecommerce at ECI, will share how both organizations are introducing new AI-powered solutions designed to help distributors:

  • Gain actionable insights into customer behavior and buying patterns.
  • Improve and optimize the product content that fuels online sales.
  • Streamline ecommerce management to free up valuable resources.
  • Strengthen digital marketing, SEO, and customer engagement.

REGISTER @ AI and Ecommerce: The Future for Electrical Distributors | Electrical Wholesaling

Trump’s Take on Energy Policy by Chris Sokoll

William Attardi on November 26, 2024

Here at DISC, we see the electrical distribution community ending 2024 at $141.4 billion for +2.3% overall year-over-year (YOY) growth. We see 2025 at $144.5 billion, up +2.2% over 2024. This is in line with historical norms and inflation. Looking ahead, for now, we see a robust growth year in 2026 fueled by hearty performance in both the construction and industrial verticals. Now is the time to align resources and consider strategy. There is no doubt that the new Presidential Administration will have an impact on the electrical distribution industry. It’s important to consider this impact during our future planning. We can start to consider what changes may take place that will have a bearing on our forecasts and the overall direction of our industry. In the long term, balancing economic growth with sustainable energy sources will be critical, and the electrical industry will likely continue to face challenges and opportunities as it navigates the transition toward a more sustainable energy future. Trump’s Take on Energy Policy | Electrical Wholesaling Christian Sokoll is president of DISC Corp., Houston, the electrical market’s leading provider of sales forecasts and related market data. He can be reached at chris@disccorp.com.

The Statue of Liberty was made with copper but due to oxidation, it turned green.

When the “Lady in the Harbor” first arrived in New York in 1886, she didn’t look like the mint-green icon we know today. In fact, for the first twenty years of her life, she stood as a towering, metallic beacon of reddish-gold. Designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and engineered by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the statue was a gift from France to America. To build her, Bartholdi chose copper for three practical reasons:

  • Malleability:It could be hammered into elaborate, thin sheets.
  • Weight:Copper is lighter than stone or bronze, making it easier to ship 350 individual pieces across the Atlantic.
  • Durability:It was strong enough to survive a 27-day ocean voyage and the harsh winds of the harbor.

When she was unveiled on October 28, 1886, her skin—made of 300 copper sheets roughly the thickness of two pennies—shone with a bright, metallic brown luster. The transformation from “penny-colored” to “patina-green” wasn’t planned. Bartholdi actually expected the statue to age into a deeper, darker red. However, the unique environment of New York Harbor—a mix of salt air, moisture, and industrial pollution—triggered a process called oxidation.

The Timeline of Change:

  1. 1886–1900:The bright copper dulled into a dark, muddy brown.
  2. 1903:The first hints of a light green crust, or “patina,” began to appear.
  3. 1906:The color change was so controversial that Congress nearly stepped in. They appropriated $62,000 to paint the statue back to its original color, but the public protested, calling the idea “sacrilege.”
  4. 1910–1920:The statue was a patchy mix of brown and green until 1920, when the oxidation was complete, leaving her entirely teal.

While we now view the green color as iconic, it actually serves a vital structural purpose. The layer of verdigris (the green patina) acts as a protective shield. It seals the copper underneath, preventing the metal from further corrosion and weathering.  By the time the color fully changed, a new generation of immigrants had arrived in America seeing a green statue.