Sun-Pull Wire: Schuler-Haas Case Study

Overview

Schuler-Haas Electric Corporation, a premier industrial electrical company ranked in 2023 as one of the top 10 solar power electrical contractors in the nation by Solar Power World, has served the needs of commercial and industrial customers across New York since 1961. Working with a diverse group of clients, the company performs very large scale and self-design projects as a single-source electrical contractor. Recently, the company has been working in the solar industry in New York State.

Challenge

Installing String PV wire in the field can waste a lot of time and motion of labor that is much more valuable elsewhere and in very short supply. Prefabricating PV cables can be a very helpful but demanding aspect of utility-scale solar installations. Schuler-Haas had been building cables in-house, but was hampered by issues of processing materials in smaller quantities, manpower challenges, and delivering finished spools to the jobsite. While working on a solar project in Plattsburg, New York, Kari Wilmot, a superintendent for the company, had a wiring issue that was holding up the work. A call to Sun-Pull Wire brought the company in to help with a solution. Learning Sun-Pull could fabricate and deliver bundled PV wiring for any size project was the beginning of a working partnership for the two companies.

Solution

The combination of flexible, comprehensive bundled PV wire solutions and a whatever-it-takes attitude has cemented the relationship between Schuler-Haas and Sun-Pull, who now collaborate on projects from start to finish. Sun-Pull provides project takeoffs, fabricates and delivers the wire spools, follows up after delivery to ensure the order is correct, and retrieves spools and pallets when the project is complete.

Sun-Pull spark tests every inch of string PV wire before it leaves their facility. They also provide printed string legends every 12 inches from end-to-end. This greatly simplifies installation and helps end users with installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and servicing.

Results

The partnership is unique in that both companies share the mindset of “building a better mousetrap.” Collaborating on projects allows them to make jobs “better, easier, more productive, and more profitable for both of us,” said Wilmot.

The companies often bounce ideas around and Sun-Pull’s flexibility in implementing Schuler-Haas’ requests has contributed to greater efficiency and cost-savings on projects.

“I consider them a partner, not just a contractor that we just give drawings to and say make your product and send it to us,” Wilmot remarked. “They work with us from the start so when it comes time, everything shows up on the jobsite… and everybody is on the same page. [Throwing challenges at them is] never a negative thing. They’re all about making your problems go away.”

When asked for one thing he would want to say to other ECs/EPCs about Sun-Pull Wire, Wilmot quickly noted, “I would tell them not to bother Sun-Pull because we want them all to ourselves!”

“I think we’re doing the best job in the solar industry because of our partnership with Sun-Pull.”