A new white paper from the Professional Electrical Apparatus Recyclers League (PEARL) discusses the need for technical testing and reconditioning standards in the unregulated secondary electrical supply market.

AURORA, CO - A new white paper titled, "PEARL Standards Bring Safety, Reliability to Secondary Electrical Distribution Chanel," addresses the size and origins of the secondary - sometimes referred to as surplus or 'used' electrical supply market, and the need for proven best practices and technical standards to protect industrial end-users.

The secondary electrical supply market consists of independent electrical distributors, resellers, and brokers that do not have contractual agreements with major electrical Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Although these distributors do not have contractual arrangements that require them to buy directly from OEMs, their independent status allows them to acquire and holder larger, more diverse inventories of electrical equipment for longer periods of time than electrical distributors in the primary electrical distribution channel.

As the paper points out, the amount of surplus and used electrical equipment far exceeds the amount of new equipment produced by OEMs. This is because industrial electrical equipment is designed to last much longer than the seven to 10 years that OEMs support most electrical product. This means that independent electrical distributors and resellers can save end users considerable time and money when it comes to expansion and maintenance of electrical service, but also creates a need for end users to be careful about where they source surplus, used, and reconditioned electrical equipment.

"Until PEARL, the problem has been that the secondary electrical distribution channel existed with no organization or standardization," explains David Rosenfield, one of the original PEARL charter members and president of ROMAC Supply Inc. (Commerce City, CA). "Consequently, dealing with this network has always come with some degree of risk. Among the many traders of surplus and reconditioned electrical equipment are some very sophisticated product- and service-providers with engineering departments and test centers employing trained and certified technicians. Many secondary-channel electrical suppliers, however, do not have such qualifications. Electricians and maintenance managers need to know who they are buying from to make sure they're buying material that has been reconditioned or verified by industry-accepted electrical testing."

Since 1997, PEARL has developed hundreds of electrical reconditioning and testing standards for most commonly used electrical products used in industrial service. To further improve these standards, PEARL's Board of Directors recently created a committee to explore ANSI Standards Development Organization (SDO) status. The ANSI initiative will be discussed further at PEARL's annual conference to be held in Portland, OR, May 14-16, 2011.

Download or view the white paper online: Electrical Testing and Reconditioning Standards for Secondary Electrical Supply Market

About PEARL:
Founded in 1997, the Professional Electrical Apparatus Recyclers League (PEARL) creates, collects, and disseminates information, policies, procedures, and standards to ensure the proper recycling and reuse of electrical power equipment. Its 70+ corporate members must meet strict technical, safety, and operational requirements.

Editorial Contact Winn Hardin Marketing Director Tel: 904-246-8958 winnhardin@pearl1.org

Association Manager Mark Stone Tel: 877-AT-PEARL Fax: 888-996-3296 pearl@pearl1.org