EA August 2026
Sales and Service
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IN THIS ISSUE ---
ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | AUGUST 2026
EA Reader Profile
12 No time to buffer
How Amir Kouhestani learned to judge risk
By Colin Gregory-Moores, EA Contributing Writer
Electric Avenue
20 Powering the transition
How electric vehicles, renewables, and grid technologies are reshaping electric power systems
By Maura Keller, EA Contributing Writer
Conventions & Trade Shows
26 We’re only humanoid
Robots fed off human energy at Automate 2026 in Chicago this summer
By Charlie Barks, EA Managing Editor
27 Market intelligence
AI, leadership, workforce succession, and the nitty-gritty of motor repair dominated this year’s EASA Convention conference program
By Charlie Barks, EA Managing Editor, and Kevin Jones, EA Senior Editor
46 A material world
Coiltech North America 2026 emphasized the importance of magnet wire, insulation, and other basic electric materials
By Charlie Barks, EA Managing Editor
47 Go big or go home
IMTS 2026 will present innovation on a massive scale
By Charlie Barks, EA Managing Editor
Maintenance Operations
31 Smart motor maintenance
The benefits, challenges, and future of artificial intelligence in electromechanical service
By Bill O’Leary, EA Contributing Writer
Energy
36 Force multipliers
Weather, war, and energy intersect in the first half of 2026 By Charlie Barks, EA Managing Editor
Motors & Generators
37 The hipot advantage
High-potential testing methods, standards, and diagnostic evolution for motor insulation systems
By Chase Fell, EA Contributing Writer
Finance & The Workplace
42 Taxing lessons
How entity choices and tax structures affect seller proceeds in mergers and acquisitions
By William Wiersema, CPA, EA Finance Editor
Pump It Up
57 When pumps meet SCADA
The benefits of connecting chemical metering pumps to SCADA systems may be too significant to ignore
By Kevin Jones, EA Senior Editor
ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | AUGUST 2026
Departments
04 The editor's comment
Lots to see and do this trade show season
05 Let's solve your problem
Answers to questions about motor application and maintenance
06 Know Your Industry
ASNT brings awareness and innovation to nondestructive testing
08 Calendar
Upcoming events on pumps, manufacturing, coils, and energy
11 Plant happenings
Minnesota loses a lighting plant and gains a meat processor
10 Names & faces
Ken Lefever takes the helm at CAM Innovation
30 Associations
Report suggests standards may help spur innovatio
44 Product Showcase
What’s new in components for electric power transmission
59 Utilities
$10.5 billion federal initiative to enhance the nation’s power grid
60 Classified advertising
Your monthly marketplace for equipment, businesses, and more
60 Cy's Super Service
The electrical service industry’s most prominent curmudgeon
61 EA puzzle
A crossword puzzle based on EA’sJune and July issues
63 Moe, Genny & friends
The surreal world of an anthropomorphized motor and generator
64 Direct & current
U.S. job growth slows but solar capacity expands
64 Advertising index
Who’s who—and who’s where—in this issue of Electrical Apparatus