Growth and acquisitions have flooded Group CBS with talented professionals, ready to share their experience and guide our future. All told, 18 president-level managers are now part of the Group CBS family. That wealth of talent is a great asset for the company and our customers – an innovation and expertise advantage we can leverage on every customer engagement every day. We’re thrilled to be able to retain and nurture the people who worked to make our companies great.

To better manage the overall businesses – from long-term planning to goals for day-to-day operations – three of those managers are moving to more senior positions. Please join us in congratulating Ashley Ledbetter, President, CBS Power Products; Craig Archer, President, Circuit Breaker Sales, LLC and Dan Hook, President of CBS Field Services. This group’s oversight, supported by our other senior managers, can act efficiently and decisively to uncover needs, seize opportunities and control risk.

As we expand services, locations and ways to help customers, we’re paying close attention to details and carefully managing our growth to maintain our focus on quality, safety and value. These three proven professionals will help us achieve that goal. We look forward to seeing the positive influence their ideas will have on improving performance for us and our customers.

Craig Archer – President, Circuit Breaker Sales, LLC

Craig has dedicated his entire career to the industrial electrical apparatus, field service and engineering field. Trained as a Diesel Mechanic, he started his career as a breaker mechanic and worked his way up. Craig earned a degree in Electrical Technology while working full time. He spent nine years with Shermco Industries in Dallas, Texas, where he successfully tested as a NETA certified Field Service Technician and then took over as Shop Services Manager.

In 1996, Craig was a Co-Founder of Northwest Circuit Breakers, later to become Western Electrical Service, Inc. (WES), a Group CBS company. Craig led Western Electrical Services to become a well-respected industry leader in both apparatus equipment services, field services and engineering. WES grew from a one-person operation to become a thriving 70-plus employee, $16.5 million company.

Craig is well known in the industry, by both competitors and customers, for embracing three core values of integrity, innovation and growth. He has presented technical seminars at industry conferences and served on the founding board of PEARL.

Dan Hook – President, CBS Field Services

As President of CBS Field Services, with Western Electrical Services (WES) and Powertech Services (PTS) Dan Hook’s responsibilities cover the nation. Currently he focuses on strategic growth of each production division, trade associations, industry affiliations and corporate-level sales efforts.

Dan holds a Master’s degree in Electric Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and he maintains his professional engineer’s license in Washington, Oregon, Utah and Arizona. He earned an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Closely Held Businesses. Dan is a NETA and NICET Level IV certified technician.

Both PTS and WES are NETA-Accredited Companies, focusing on onsite maintenance testing of service aged equipment and acceptance testing of newly installed equipment in accordance with the ANSI/NETA Testing Specifications. Our widely diversified customer base includes heavy industrials, commercial, data centers, utilities and government installations. PTS plans to continue its Eastern expansion, so expect to see field services technicians in several Group CBS facilities.

WES’s Engineering Services (ES) Division provides power system studies, such as Arc Flash Hazard Analysis, Coordination Studies, Short Circuit Studies, etc. Additionally, the ES Division performs online partial-discharge testing of Medium Voltage Equipment, such as cables and switchgear, as well as failure analysis and consulting.

ANSI/NETA ECS Electrical System Commissioning is a growing field, and both our field-service and engineering-service divisions perform Commissioning.

We are all seeking field-service and engineering-service opportunities whenever possible to improve customer results. Matt Wallace and Mose Ramieh lead our field-service efforts and Rob Coomes leads our engineering-services divisions. Feel free to reach out to Dan Hook and Jason Bontrager for opportunities.

Ashley Ledbetter – President, CBS Power Products

Ashley is responsible for the strategic guidance, growth, and performance of the Dallas/Fort Worth based organization, which includes CBS ArcSafe Inc., Vacuum Interrupters, Inc., and Instrument Products Group. As the company’s top executive and fiduciary, Ashley works daily with a tremendous team of employees she has carefully assembled to achieve operational excellence and deliver outstanding financial performance.

Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas Tech University. She is responsible for building CBS ArcSafe, Inc. from a start-up business with two workers into a thriving $20 million company with 40 employees. Ashley is known for her “think big” strategies that were essential in developing the national demonstration and sales programs that fueled CBS ArcSafe’s exponential growth. In addition, Ashley has spearheaded projects such as launching Group CBS’s training center in Chicago, coordinating the nationwide recruitment of skilled employees for the Group CBS team, and overseeing tradeshow/business development activities.

CBS ArcSafe is the electrical industry’s leading provider of remote racking and switching solutions for arc flash mitigation. Their products are available worldwide through our internal sales team and Group CBS affiliate companies. From the outset, CBS ArcSafe’s solutions-based approach utilizes high quality components and the latest technology to bring arc flash mitigation equipment to the marketplace. Ashley and her team created the products and developed the markets that include oil refineries, water treatment plants, data centers, utilities, and virtually any industrial application requiring large power equipment.

Vacuum Interrupters, Inc. operates in the same customer marketplace and manufactures vacuum interrupter bottle replacements and pole assemblies. It also houses a testing and certification laboratory onsite in Addison, Texas. Vacuum Interrupters, Inc. will soon be offering the only U.S.-manufactured vacuum bottle solution. Its products are sold directly to end users and via the same Group CBS affiliate network as CBS ArcSafe products.

Instrument Products Group is a newly formed company operating under the CBS Power Products umbrella that manufactures vacuum interrupter test equipment. The MAC-TS4, VITS60M, CB-1201, and CTVT-45 are part of the Instrument Products lineup of test equipment that is manufactured in Addison, Texas for the electrical industry.

Innovation and a stream of design engineering breakthroughs for every customer’s needs are what ties the three CBS Power Products companies together. They address growing needs in their fields and provide proven solutions for every customer – solutions they can’t get anywhere else. Feel free to reach out to Ashley or one of the company leaders – Ben Walterscheid (CBS ArcSafe), Julia Neves (Vacuum Interrupters and Instrument Products Group), or Justin Gaull (all three companies) – to learn about cross-selling opportunities with CBS Power Products. We have more ways to help customers than you may know!