b"Ciceri said that most conversations go the EV route and the company takes aat Jamestown and engaging with local partners to get high school students inter-common sense approach to EVs.ested in the trades, Callahan explained. The benefit of working directly with It is based on the customer and their needs, he noted. If you are building athe manufacturer is we can do these types of things together to improve lead park we think about what the developer wants for the next 10-30 years, but if atimes and quality. Our customers have been happy to see lead times come down park is making upgrades we tell them to start somewhere, put it on their websitethis year. and see what the demand is like.Last year, Jamestown and Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) launched an 352-460-0810EV charger designed for campgrounds, and Callahan noted that the chargers can www.electricalworksflorida.comnow be found in over 100 parks.We get questions every day on EVs, he said.GAMA SONIC SOLAR LIGHTINGThe Jamestown, N.Y., company has also been working with park owners inter-Working in the solar industry since 1985, Cohen said that the company has in- ested in metering sites.stalled solar lighting in thousands of communities across North America.Power outlet demand is strong for both metered and non-metered pedestals, Cohen told WCM that solar lighting is becomingCallahan said.more popular at parks because it eliminates the need800-452-0639 to trench wiring throughout a park.www.jamestownadvanced.com There are no ongoing power bills or electrical costs, he explained. With our lights, you just needMIDWEST ELECTRIC to pour a small, concrete foundation, and it elimi- Scott Vining, senior channel manager at Midwest nates the cost of having to dig and trench.Electric, noted that the company has been providing Cohen said the lights have a 10-year lifespan andelectrical equipment to the outdoor hospitality indus-come with a five-year warranty.try pretty much since it opened its doors in 1945. They're monocrystalline solar panels infused inBusiness continues to go exceptionally well as we tempered glass, the same solar panels you find oncome out of the COVID camping environment, but I rooftops, he added.think COVID drove a lot of people into exploring op-Thelightsthemselvesaremadefrompowder- tions, he said. RV sales have increased and a lot of coated cast aluminum. Cohen mentioned that path- campgrounds are expanding accordingly. way lighting and street lighting are some of the mostVining explained that the company is seeing more popular products, along with security lighting.developments and expansion projects pop up all the The companys Commercial Solar LED Post Lighttime. looks like a standard streetlight at 10 feet tall.Some of it is geographically situated, he noted. After 10 years you would just have to replace the head of the unit, Cohen ex- You see more new developments in the south and plained. The batteries would need to be changed after five years. You just opensouthwest, and you see a lot more renovation and ex-up the top, unclip the old batteries and clip in the new ones.pansion projects in the northeast and the upper mid-800-835-4113west. www.gamasonic.comVining said that the North Carolina company con-tinues to deal with supply chain issues but that things HIALEAH METERare getting better. Lisa Senior, general manager of Hialeah, Fla.-based HialeahIt's still longer than it typically would be in a nor-Meter, told WCM that the company is still warning campgroundmal environment, but it is much better than it was owners that it is getting more difficult to get used dial-type metersprobablyanytimeinthelast18months,heex-from utility companies.plained. It will keep getting better as a result of supply Owners are looking at having to pay more for newer digitalchain issues being resolved in the seasonal slowdown. meters without access to the meters the company acquires fromVining said that one of the major things it is focusing on with owners is the 30-utility companies and refurbishes as a way to recycle them.amp, weather-resistant receptacle. HialeahMeterWe're significantly ahead of some of the new code changes that are coming hasbeensupply- out and we're going into production with these within the next three to six ing electric metersLisa Senior months, he noted. We are going to be well ahead of the curve when the code to campground and RV park own- changes. ers since the 1950s, according to866-685-0577 Senior.www.midwestelectric.com Hialeah Meter also repairs and calibrates existing meters that parkUTILITY SUPPLY GROUP owners have installed.Croteau told WCM that Utility Supply Group continues to If a meter has been plugged inwork with suppliers to meet the needs of its customers, but for more than 10 years in a singlethat supply chain issues change from one week to the next. spot it should always be looked atOne week it is plastic and the next week maybe aluminum to make sure it is still accurate,lugs. It is all material shortages, he Senior explained. It is really im- noted. It is improving but it is still portant park owners keep up on their calibrations, especially at sites that hostgoing to be a challenge looking for-long-term seasonal customers.ward. We are telling people to plan 800-654-0821ahead. www.hialeahmeter.comOnthepricingside,Croteau noted that wire has been extremely JAMESTOWN ADVANCED PRODUCTSvolatile. Jamestown Advanced Products has been busier than ever as its customers areHopefully, it is going to level off, saying bookings are up.but we will have to see how the sup-We are hearing about more glamping accommodations coming into the mar- plyanddemandeconomytakes ket as well, said Liam Callahan, a marketing associate with the company. Thesecare of the issues that are there. two things together are driving demand for campground products to recordCroteau said that a lot of the cus-highs.tomers he speaks with are still on the fence about EVs. HeexplainedEverybody is talking about it and there are a lot of people that the companydoing their homework, he explained. We are just focused on hascontinuedtoensuring that we can talk to people about EVs and that we can facesupplychainsupply those products if they need them. issues,butthatitKingston, Wash.-based Utility Supply Group has also no-hasbeenworkingticed a large uptick in pedestal metering, with 80% of the with its partners atpedestals it sells set up for metering. ETL to build up its800-800-2811 network. www.go-usg.com Inadditionto oursupplychain,UTILLOT wehavebeenAn offshoot of MarineSync Corporation, Utillot has been focused on campsite adding automationmetering and metering technology for the last 15 years, according to Michel in our factory, in- Rivas, a business development representative for the San Diego firm. vesting in the em- Over the last two years, the company has developed two new products that ployeeexperienceare geared more toward the RV park and campground space. 18 January 2023Woodalls Campground Magazine"