Eaton Outlines Deal For MGE Office Protection System

"MGE is the latest in an ever-expanding track we've had around power quality," says Steve Smidler, vice president of sales for the Americas for Eaton's Powerware brand. "The acquisition provides us a broad global footprint in manufacturing and engineering -- the types of services long term you really need to be competitive."

The deal helps Eaton bring more solutions to the plate, he says, and gives the company a larger production footprint. "It's one of the most important acquisitions we've made," Smidler says.

Strong growth in emerging markets in Latin America and Asia along side a major presence in Europe made the deal particularly attractive for Eaton. MGE has distributor partners in 60 countries providing for offices across 41 countries. Smidler says one of the first items on the agenda post-acquisition is managing the IT sales channel, which falls to Curtiz Gangi, vice president of sales, North and South America for MGE Office Protection.

Curtiz says this acquisition is a benefit for existing partners and helps those who have been looking for a competitive alternative provider. "That's something MGE has done a really good job of -- making sure the resellers go to market with the most advanced technology," he says. "We now have the capability to be the solid number two globally."

For a long time there haven't been choices for the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resellers, Curtiz claims. "Now you have a dominant player to make sure customers are aware there's another alternative out there," he says. "Before those decisions tended to be made for them based on the scale of the market leaders."

Along with an emphasis on supporting the reseller base and working with them to develop future business strategies, another important aspect is education, says Curtiz. "We instituted with MGE a back-to-basics Webinar training program because it's really a combo of education of technology, and how they can make incremental dollars associated with the business," he says.

In an industry both executives see as constantly mutating and adapting, Curtiz admits training is "an ongoing process" regarding installation and repair. "Most people in the power industry need to get a little better at this," he says. "And it's a great opportunity for us to take a look and see what our partners need."