Client Wins From June 22

Electric co-op picks Minnesota firm's software: St. Paul, Minn.-based utility software developer Powel Inc. said Tuesday that Great Lakes Energy of Boyne City has selected its StakeOut mobile field design client to streamline work flow as well as synchronize all office, customer and engineering data for greater access and higher productivity. Great Lakes Energy is Michigan's largest electric cooperative, and one of the largest in the country, serving 125,000 members in over 26 counties across the western half of the Lower Peninsula. Great Lakes system engineer Gus Paz said that installing the client-server based StakeOut 7.5 was part of a substantial technology upgrade that saw them transition from paper to digital after commissioning a Milsoft WindMilMap GIS. StakeOut is the industry-leading field staking software that tracks work through carefully defined processes from initiation to close out, making status updates available throughout the utility. The software integrates with most CIS, Accounting and GIS packages using the NRECA's MultiSpeak Standard. Work done in the field and posted to a GIS automatically updates the utility's system maps in near real-time. Personnel throughout the enterprise have access to the most recent information. The decision to go with StakeOut, according to Paz, was based on a selection criteria developed by Great Lakes when it began evaluating products. Even before the cutover to advanced mapping and staking, Paz said that Great Lakes Energy understood the productivity gains and improved customer service that could be achieved simply by the reductions in data entry. StakeOut is just one application within the Powel WorkStudio suite. WorkStudio is a mobile work management platform with office-based analysis that helps utilities work smarter through the entire asset lifecycle. Powel WorkStudio contains other complementary applications for vegetation management, storm assessment, maintenance management and timesheets. By implementing applications based on a common platform, utilities can reduce the total deployment cost and risk. More at www.powelinc.com.

Whirlpool Named Exclusive Appliance Partner by Horton Homes: Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) has been named the exclusive appliance partner for Horton Homes, a privately held leader in the manufactured housing industry. As part of the agreement, Whirlpool Corporation will provide Whirlpool and Maytag brand appliances to Horton Home's modular and manufactured homes. Horton Homes develops and manufactures many components within the homes it builds, including dry wall, frames and moldings to ensure quality craftsmanship and fast delivery. Priding itself on providing superior construction, energy efficiency and breadth of amenities, Horton Homes will offer Whirlpool and Maytag brand appliances in its homes' kitchen and laundry areas. Horton Homes, located in Eatonton, Ga., is the leading producer of HUD code manufactured homes and modular homes at a single facility in the nation. Manufacturing three homes a week in an abandoned chicken house in 1970, Horton Homes has grown to a 100-acre plant, with a manufacturing capacity of 100 floors a day. More at www.hortonhomes.com. Whirlpool is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. More at www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

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